Interesting but I just use a hiking stick made of sassafras. A friend gave it to me and I treat it like an old friend. I do notice many hikers using the two pole system.
Tested on a treadmill!...no frigg'n wonder!
Do one thing everyday...that makes you happy...
using poles is a "system"?Originally Posted by Plodderman
Hold on wait....The horse is getting up....NAH it is still dead keep beating away.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.-John Muir
Trekking Poles Get Thumbs-Up In Study"
L.A. Times From the Los Angeles Times, 3/13/07:
"Trekking Poles Get Thumbs-Up In Study"
"That hiker wielding trekking poles like kendo sticks might be onto something.
"Although researchers have found that using trekking poles while hiking on downward slopes eases stress on the lower body, there's been little study of the effects of using trekking poles while wearing a backpack.
"Now, investigators at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., and Willamette University in Salem, Ore., have found that using poles while hiking downhill appears to ease muscle activity and strain on the knees and ankles, even when hiking with a heavy pack.
" 'The poles were effective accross the board, with or without the pack,' says lead author Michael Bohne, and assistant professor of biomechanics at Western Illinois.
"Fifteen male hikers recruited from a Salem hiking club were studied while walking down a specifically designed ramp with embedded sensors ro detect impact. In separate trials, they walked with and without poles while wearing either no pack, a light pack (15 percent of body weight) or a heavy pack (30 percent of body weight).
"According to mathematical models used by the investigators, use of trekking poles resulted in a significant decrease in pressure to the ankle and knee joints, suggesting that they could, in the long run, reduce pain and overuse injuries."
People are now using them walking on level ground, even when they aren't overweight, or wearing packs, or elderly. In our upcoming marathon by the sea they have added a 21k Nordic Walking event as a 'demonstration sport', whatever that means.
I suppose if it gets people out walking, that's a good thing right.
Still makes me sad.
Properly? I would say yes. Using and adjusting the straps correctly, adjusting the pole length correcly, uphill and downhill have different techniques of pole placement for maximum benefit . . . with all that I'd say yes they are a system. Use one instead of two and you pretty much lose everything beneficial.using poles is a "system"?
I just use one, and carry it horizontally most of the time.
Back in the day, we used wood hiking sticks, which we called "staffs". They were a status symbol of sorts. My Montana beaver-chewed aspen staff always garnered respect. But that was back in the day... Today, Chinese people make us shiny metal poles, for about $100.
I tried a "staff" back in the early '70s but after a short spell decided I preferred full arms swing instead - hiked that way for about 33 years. Then I decided to see what all the hype was regarding trekking poles. The benefits I experienced are not the result of slick marketing or imagined . . . they are real. My legs, knees, and feet take less of a beating and my upper body (arms, shoulders, and chest) gets the workout it needs.
Trekking poles, properly adjusted to length and straps used properly, gets your whole body in the game . . . not just your legs, knees, and feet. On rugged terrain, four-wheel drive is better than two!
I wondered about using poles before I started but decided to try threm.. I used them the whole hike and would not do it without them now.. They really helped my knees on the downhill. I did not use the straps except when one would fall on the ground and I would scoop it up through the strap with the other pole.
When conditions allow, I like to use my poles in 'crop spray mode'. There is also the game-torture where you try to guess how far a leaf will remain attached to a pole point.
I use a pair. Like 'em. More fun than a stick and easier to travel with.
I'm a klutz... I can usually walk and chew gum without falling, but when backpacking with a full pack over rocky terrain, I need the poles to keep from doing a face plant. And I agree, they help take some load off the knees on downhills.
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