Trekking poles, why bother?

[aero-hiker]

I am thinking about starting to plan for a thru hike. I have a good amount of backcountry experience, but in the past have always had "luxurious" equipment, which, when food is added, correlated to 60 lb packs. I would frequently do long days of 3000 m + elevation gains and 12 + miles on the same day. I have come to the conclusion that this is ridiculous and causing myself a lot of unnecessary pain, and want to go as light as possible.

I've been thinking about switching to hammock camping, and an ultra light setup. My thinking is that I can cover way more ground if I lighten my load.

All this having been said, I've never once used or felt like I needed trekking poles. However, I have been researching peoples ultra light and hammock setups, and often trekking poles will be used in leu of some tarp/tent pole.

Am I missing out not using trekking poles? Will I need them to support tarps for ultra-light setups? Why do you like or dislike trekking poles?

[Gambit McCrae]

I think it is not a must have item. They are expensive, fragile and when I forget them I do just fine. Where they save weight is when they can be substituted as tent poles, thus in a way you are getting to use your tent poles all day and not have to carry them on your back! But just bout every thru hiker I come across has either damaged or broke at least one pole if not many during their hike.

[BirdBrain]

I find them very useful. They are like 4 wheel drive for me. The help push on ups. They help pace on flats. They help absorb shock on way down. They keep my hands from swelling. That last part is what will always make me take trekking poles. My hands swell if I hike without them. My hands do not swell at all if I use trekking poles. They also help combat T-Rex syndrome.

[Odd Man Out]

In addition to often mentioned help they can be to the knees, etc... I find that my hands tend to swell when hiking, especially in warm weather. Trekking poles prevent this by keeping the arms elevated and moving. Also the gripping action also keeps the fluids moving. But as with anything, if you get by without them, don't feel pressured to start using them.

[rafe]

Most long distance hikers seem to be using them. I find them useful on most AT terrain. Less so on extremely flat or extremely steep stuff, so they need to be fold-able for when they're not being used.

[Another Kevin]

I like trekking poles because descents without them kill my knees. My knees mightn't get punished as easily if I had started using poles when I was younger.

Lone Wolf says poles are for weenies. I'd rather be a weenie in his eyes, and have my knees not hurt.

60+ pounds is a ridiculous load for a trip with reasonable resupply intervals unless you're doing serious mountaineering or in deep winter. A 15-20 pound base weight, 12 pounds of food and 4 pounds of water will add up to 31-36 pounds total weight, and that will get you through a week (I actually base this estimate on six days' food, since the first lunch will be takeout from town and the last dinner will be in town again.) And that's a pretty traditionalist carry - no weird ultralight stuff. (Yes, with deep winter gear, or climbing gear, all bets are off, and mountaineering sometimes means a Tipi Walter pack weight.)

Where the heck do you have a 10000 foot (3000 m) elevation gain on a 12-mile trip? Calibrating to routes I'm familiar with: The Presidential Traverse, from Valley Way to Crawford Notch, is just under twenty miles with 8500 feet of elevation gain. The Wildcats are five miles, 3150 feet of elevation. The portion of the Adirondack Great Range traverse from the Rooster Comb trailhead to the summit of Marcy is about 8000 feet of elevation in 11 miles (and the rest of the trail, either to the Garden or Heart Lake, is pretty mellow). Devil's Path in the Catskills, which everyone says is seriously tough, is about 9000 feet up (and the same down) in a little under 25 miles - although about 3/4 of the elevation change is on the east half, so call that 12 miles with 7000 feet of elevation gain. That's about as steep as a hiking trail ever gets, because when things get steeper, out come the ropes. Every one of the four eastern summits on the Devil's Path has sketchy rock scrambling at some point, and I've seen less confident parties bring out ropes, particularly in bad weather. The same goes for the Great Range - several of its ascents have chains or cables permanently fixed in place.

[SkeeterPee]

I wonder if age related. At 56, I find them useful for all of the previously mentioned reasons. I have saved myself from falling many times by catching a stumble, though I might have been able to avoid a fall anyways, but the poles made that much less traumatic to the body then stopping a stumble without them.

[Harmless]

I can't possibly make it down a series of long hills without them. If you're young and healthy, they might be irrelevant to you. If you're undecided, maybe try going half-way and carry just one. You can use it when you need a little more stability (such as crossing a stream) and put it back on your pack at other times.

If you find you aren't using it much, bounce-box it a couple of weeks ahead and see if you miss it.

If you're trying to go light, I recommend carbon z-poles. Although they are only a little lighter than adjustable poles, the fact that they don't have a clip near the bottom reduces the mass near the tip. Tip mass has a big effect on the effort needed to swing a pole, and you'll have lots of pole swings on a thru.

[yerbyray]

Two other benefits not listed above:
I use them to set up tarp in areas where lack of ideal trees are.
Sword fighting during breaks.

[Dochartaigh]

[QUOTE=yerbyray;2002898]other benefits not listed above/QUOTE]

Another one from me: I use them to setup my 3 ounce Jerry Chair. It's lovely having comfortable back support while sitting in the back country.

And as already mentioned, depending on the tent or hammock I'm using they can double as tent poles, setup my tent in awning mode, be used in place of stakes (i.e. freestanding tent on my TarpTent Rainbow), be used on my hammock tarp in porch mode, extremely versatile (besides also helping my out-of-shape butt make it up and down the trail easier).

[Casey & Gina]

I like trekking poles because descents without them kill my knees. My knees mightn't get punished as easily if I had started using poles when I was younger.

My knees are sensitive, particularly the right one, and using poles helps offset that quite considerably. On descents, I move my palms to the top of the poles, and press down on them as I lower my feet more gradually in each step - not slowing myself down but making a more smooth motion out of the process - and this makes it a lot more fun. I hike in minimalist shoes and a way to offset weight when I need to rebalance my footing to avoid a sharp rock is very helpful. I find using my arms to aid allows me to both ascend and descend faster, and generally they allow me to reduce overall stress on my body. They are also something to lean against when standing still for a moment, and yes, I use them for our shelter (a Big Agnes Scout UL2) as well. All in all they enable me to hike farther more comfortably and quickly. These are NOT an item I choose to go ultralight with, as I strongly prefer the stability and ruggedness of beefier poles - I use Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Corks. I seriously questioned buying poles at all and thought I would end up carrying them a lot, but in reality I use them constantly while on the trail and have no regrets!

[Uncle Joe]

I read/heard on a video that trekking poles can take about 20% of the weight off your body when hiking. Get on a bath scale and touch the ground with your trekking poles and you'll the a difference. Just resting my hands on my trekking poles will give me about 6 lbs of savings. With moderate pressure I get 10 lbs. Add the pressure of a climb or descent and you could get much more. If your trekking poles weigh a pound, is it worth 5 lbs of savings to have some stability?

[misprof]

I use them for the reasons mentioned above. I use them to save my knees and hips especially on the down hill. Also I put up my tarp with them. The other things I use them for is stuff like removing big spider webs from in front of me and pushing aside briars so I can pass through unscathed.
I see some who use only one pole. I cannot do this as It throws my hips off balance so I use 2. The other benefit I found with them is it helps me with finding my rhythm. I am an ex cross-country skier so having gotten use to a rhythm using poles in the snow it was a natural carryover. I no longer country ski as where I now live has not seen a substantial snow fall in 15 years.

[Namtrag]

Didn't see mention of it saving your ass on a regular basis when you are about to fall in the creek, or saving you from falling and busting your ass on a sharp rock if you trip or lose your balance.

They have saved me countless times. Maybe other people aren't so uncoordinated!

[tflaris]

Didn't see mention of it saving your ass on a regular basis when you are about to fall in the creek, or saving you from falling and busting your ass on a sharp rock if you trip or lose your balance.

They have saved me countless times. Maybe other people aren't so uncoordinated!

+1

That's why I use them!


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed that is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

[Sarcasm the elf]

Didn't see mention of it saving your ass on a regular basis when you are about to fall in the creek, or saving you from falling and busting your ass on a sharp rock if you trip or lose your balance.

They have saved me countless times. Maybe other people aren't so uncoordinated!

Yup 4-wheel drive.

I thought they were totally unnecessary until I bought a pair and started using them. Now I think they are essential.

[Walkintom]

Trekking poles are very useful for me.

Despite having times where I've packed them up and not used them for a hundred miles at a time, I still take them on every trip.

Last year was a real clincher for me on this; while on Isle Royale an old ankle injury flared up for no obvious reason. Instead of having to take the ferry back from Windigo to Rock Harbor and then cadge an early boat ride back to Copper Harbor or sit around miserably waiting until my ticketed day, I leaned harder on my trekking poles and took the Minong trail as planned. I hiked every mile that I had planned and a few more because I had my poles along.

BD Trails - not fancy or expensive - just good.

[Tuckahoe]

IMG_20150816_183734278.jpg
I like to use my trekking poles to prop up my tarp.

[Traveler]

The reasons I not only like trekking poles, but find them indispensable:

Lighten the load going uphills
Less joint impact downhills
Balance when crossing creeks, logs, or narrow rock
Stopping a fall (too numerous to count)
Defense against dogs
Picking up litter
Pretending I'm Bigfoot on my buddies tent
Hang packs and other gear
Picking up things I drop (like when the other pole slides off the cliff lands precariously 3' below me)
Dig a cathole in a pinch
Very high stability on ice
Prying tool (load limited) for rocks, logs, etc
Picking high growing grapes
Making noise to alert people I come up on that I am there
Selfies
Duct tape supply
Slopes with loose surfaces (gravel, talus, mud)
Snowshoeing
Clearing snow from sitting places
Drying boots and gloves/mittens
Wave with signal flag(s)
Probing creek and ponding water depth

Trekking poles are pretty useful things to have when you look at all you use them for over time.

[fiddlehead]

To me, they are a luxury item.
Good for fording rivers, self arresting, setting up tarp/tents.
When there's no snow or fords for my planned hike, I will find a stick to setup my Sil-shelter.
Works for me.
For hiking, they seem to slow me down and make me lose my sense of balance.
I'd rather not hike with them, unless I'm hurt, then they can be a crutch.
Just my 2 cents.
Up to you of course.