No need to wonder, it's a fact. That's not to say old pharts must have the best and newest gear... but it doesn't hurt.Originally Posted by BigStu
Ah, Trek Poles. Monkey and I started out without them. We thought they were stupid. We refused to spend money on them. I kept hearing about how overloaded hikers would leave stuff at the beginning of the AT and I figured that maybe I would find some. Well, I didn't, but I did find a stick. I kept losing my stick, and then I would have to find another one. Luckily, I was in the woods all the time, so that was fairly easy. Sometimes, if I couldn't find a stick, I would just pretend to be holding trek poles. This actually, in my mind, seemed to improve my balance. Then I met Pirate at Walasi-Yi and he has a sticker on his water bottle with some type of profane anti-trek pole message on it. I heartily agreed with him and we had a good laugh.
Monkey found a really nice stick, and he scraped off all the bark and oiled it and got a cane tip for the bottom.
Then one day, we were coming down into the NOC on a real windy, rainy, muddy day...and that is some descent, especially on newly acquired trail legs. It took me forever. And you know how there seem to be outfitters strategically placed just after you have some type of bad experience that you think gear will fix? Well, I spent $109 on a pair of those Leki titanium trek poles. It felt really awkward at first, but once I got the hang of it (and once I remembered to take them with me when I left a shelter), I really started to like them.
When we got to Pearisburg, Monkey had some pain in his knees and he chucked his sweet stick into the New River, and bought a pair of trek poles himself.
About halfway through the trip, we swapped out our heavy Mountain Hardware PCT-2 tent for a tarp and I used them all the time to pitch the tarp. I also hung my socks on them to dry at the end of the day and I also chucked them at the vicious red squirrels in Maine when they were trying to get into our food bag.
If I had known that I would want to walk with sticks, I probably would have just got a couple of old ski poles, although I do appreciate the light weight and sturdy structure of my Lekis. Also, from walking with the poles, I got really ripped in my upper arms by the end of the trip.
Nope
I've been a walker, hiker and runner for almost 30yrs and have never used them. I hike the AT regularly here in Maryland, and since the terrain is relatively flat (but yes, we do have a few good climbs, Weverton Cliffs and Annapolis Rocks come to mind) don't feel I need them. I do pick up an occasional walking stick, off the trail, and will use that for leverage on the steeper parts of the climb. It does help. And then I toss it back when I'm done. Of the earth, and back to the earth...works for me.
We thought the trail had been relocated after discovering so blazes painted over with dark paint. It was a little difficult to follow in the snow as the path is not so "broken in" as it is in other sections. What is the 'Gate to Heaven'?
Like the questions of whether to sleep in a tent or a hammock, filter/boil/chant healing remedies over your water or just drink it surely the use of poles is merely another personal choice with no right or wrong answer.
For those that have no need of them - fantasticfor those that get benefit from them, is there a problem with that ?
Is anyone a lesser hiker for picking up a pair of poles ? Not-bloody-likely !
I get the feeling that there may be some for whom The Great Pole Question is a bit like guitar players that get sniffy at the thought of others using a capo, or sneer at the thought of those that have not learned how to read music .... my reply is simple...none of your business - doesn't hurt you, so bog off
I also have pondered the pros and cons of trekking poles. I find trekking poles or a hiking staff indispensable when I know I'm facing a lot of deep swift fords like during early spring run-off or when hiking in/across deep snow/ice fields on steep slopes. For those who have a special medical condition(ankles, feet, knees, back, etc.) they can be beneficial and even necessary. Trekking poles can help establish a hiking rhythm, aid in ascents/descents, and minimize the forces on your body with each step. They can be used be used to erect a tarp, hammock, or sometimes a tarp/tent. This can result in carrying less overall wt. and enables gear to be utilized in more than one way. However, not all shelters/tents are designed to be used with or have their included tent poles swapped out with trekking poles.
Manufacturers of trekking poles market their gear to lead us to believe that we always need their gear to hike or they always save wt. or they always save energy etc. I don't necessarily agree. It depends. Remember, they are in business to sell you their merchandise. They are only going to give you the upside of trekking poles. I'll give an example. My primary shelter is a Mountain Laurel Designs tarp. I don't normally use trekking poles. If I use tarp poles to set up my shelter I'll be carrying 2.6 oz(that's one 28" rear and one 42" front carbon fiber collapsable pole, there are other tarp poles on the market that are even a bit lighter). If I leave the tarp poles home and erect my tarp with my trekking poles(Komperdell Airshock) I'll be carrying about 7 oz. (these trekking poles are some of the lightest made). Using the tarp poles instead of the trekking poles SAVE me 4.4 oz wt.! Of course, to many hikers this wt. savings is not a big deal, but my pt. is that trekking poles don't always save wt.. It depends on if you already use/require trekking poles. Also, my tarp poles cost $40 while my trekking poles cost $165( although these are some of the priciest trekking poles available). I can make similar pts. about saving energy and minimizing impact upon your joints. On my last thru-hike of the Vermont(Long) Trl. I started with trekking poles but decided to send them home part way into the hike because they kept getting hung up on brush and rocks on the narrow trl. I found myself carrying them more than trekking with them. On a wider trail like the PCT or many sections of the AT they would have been fine. I also found I was making more noise with them than without them. Consequently, I saw a lot of the rear ends of wildlife or no wildlife at all when I was using them.
In the end, you're the one who is best able to decide if trekking poles are best for your particular hike. After all it is you who has to pay for, carry, and use the poles. My advice is to borrow/rent(REI rents gear cheaply) a pair and get out and hike with them. Then decide. Happy hiking.
It's a good thing I didn't follow LW's lead and say I *never* use hiking poles. I had to cross 35' glare ice over a stream on Mid State Trail in northern PA to get to our cabin, MST follows our driveway through the creek. I keep a rock bar to reorganize rocks in the creek that look ready to take out fog lights or oil pan.
So, lacking anything else, I used the rock bar as a pole to anchor myself. Makes nice divots in the ice too.
Moral, if there is one: If you must use a trekking pole, consider a rock bar. (and, while you're at it, stay in PA a while to use it.
trekking poles saved my life on knifes edge on katahdin
cheech
They take more energy over a long day, and if you're in good shape they're not nessecary.
as my trail name implies, yes I use a single leeki (mispronounced) as I like an umbrella as well, heck I'm a redneck
I use them as third and sometimes fourth legs. They help me balance on rough and slick terrain and allow me to check holes without sticking my hand or foot in it. Plus, I have a bad knee so, to me, it feels like they are taking a little stress off of it.
Okay, y'all who use these pole thingies, got a question for ya.
What do you do with them when you're in town? Like in a restaraunt or market or someplace or hitchhiking?
And for you folks with dogs, when the dog's on a leash, what about then?
In town, poles are folded (collapsed) and strapped to my pack.
I've decided against them. not needed. I'm going away from tech. I was led astray by shiny new equipment, heresay, and advertisement. I got a pack, something to sleep under, maps, food, warm clothes...that's good enough.
I have used the Komperdell poles now for about 4 or 5 years. I could'nt imagine hiking some of the trails without them. I have really bad knees and they are extremely helpful going down steep ups and downs,as well as boulder and stream crossings
I don't use them. Partly because I just never got around to getting any, but also because I don't like what they do to the trail. On the rocky bits of the Bruce Trail where I have been lately, there are pole tip scars on almost all of the rocks in the tread. The only time I would like to have them is on clay ups and downs (especially on steep switchback turns) in the wet, or descending big steps. We'll see how long I hold out, or my knees.
Be good to beat gators in fl with but ...oak works just fine.
Collapsing staff
There are still some collapsible staffs produced if you want to go that way. Check most of the major outfitters and you'll find several made by the same companies as trekking poles. I used a Leki Wading Lite staff for several years (replacing a fine old Paulownia-wood staff I made a good twenty years ago now) because it collapsed enough to fit in luggage or pack (just as trekking poles will.) I'm a section hiker so that's a fairly important charateristic, as I spend a lot of time throwing my gear into cars, busses, trains, etc. and just couldn't take a wooden staff in those situation.
That said, I now use Leki trekking poles and am more than happy with the switch. Beyond the answers that others have already given (better stability, climb and descent aid, etc.) I'll tell you a little story as to why:
I was on a section hike NOBO from NY17a back in 2006, using my Leki staff, and it significantly failed to save me from a rather unpleasant accident. I was descending the secondary summit of Arden Mountain and slipped on loose dirt on a switchback about twenty feet from the bottom. This is, of course, quite a normal kind of occurrence on a hike, but it was just the beginning of my fun. I slid on my left foot, on the opposite side from my staff. As I tried to arrest the developing slide off the downhill side of the trail, the right side of my pack caught on a projecting branch and spun me to the left. With nothing in my left hand to plant and save myself, I ended up doing a nice swan dive down Arden Mountain and landing (just past a 180* flip) on my left shoulder, cracking the shoulder blade in half and sliding the remaining ten feet to the bottom. I ended up having to strap the pack back on and hike out to NY17 (about 1.5 miles) while unable to raise my left arm from my side, and I can tell you that descending the Agony Grind that way was one of the more "interesting" (and least desirable) things I've ever done on the trail. All preventable if I'd just had two poles.
After I'd recovered, my brother-in-law and sometime hiking partner talked me into trying a set of his trekking poles on a day hike. It was like being four-footed, quite a change and far better than I had ever imagined (I'd been using a single staff since I was a twelve year old Boyscout, for goodness sake, and I'm well over forty now.) I ordered a set of titanium Lekis and have never regretted it.
I'm with you both on that one. I'd be hard pressed to carry what I did when I started hiking back in the 70's (about 40-45lbs for a week out, which was light back then.) Now I can get my packweight down to about 25lbs for a week due to the lighter gear. It's what makes it possible from an arthritic middle-aged section hiker like me to keep going.No need to wonder, it's a fact. That's not to say old pharts must have the best and newest gear... but it doesn't hurt.
hiking poles
I went through two pairs of poles by Maine. They really helped me with balance on uneven terain-98.5% of the AT. The last 200 miles I used a single wooden staff I whittled from a downed Maple tree at Gull Pond Lodge, Maine. Either way they can really help especialy when desending steep trails or trying to power your way up that last big climb of the day.
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