Walking sticks and staffs

[Pattree]

My hiking days long predate walking poles. In fact in the days when I could move thirty miles in a day (road walking) and happily manage twenty across country I thought of staffs and sticks as a nuisance.

Then, much later, when I started our annual winter trip to the lakes or the peaks, everyone was using walking poles, usually in pairs. I sort of inherited a nice pair but I didn’t find them very useful.

Now some years have passed and I find myself making use of a stick more and more. Now it is a walking stick and it really helps me to get about on a bad day.

I have two favourites.
One is a shooting stick with an aluminium folding seat.
The other is the usual telescopic aluminium pole but with a handle that I can lean on rather than a taped grip.

Do you use a stick, pole or staff?
How do you use it?
Can we see it?

 

[Toddy]

When rheumatoid arthritis hit I was still working. Fieldwalking ten/twelve miles a day was usual. Then it hurt, it really hurt. I used two Leki walking poles, just spares my husband had.....he'd bought them, it was the 'thing' but honestly they were tied on his rucksack and pretty much that was how they stayed.
The walking poles kind of spread the load for me. It meant that the arms and shoulders could take some of the effort too. They got in the way when I stopped when I found stuff, but you get used to them, poke one in the ground and lean on the other for a bit, sort of thing.
Going down hill was so much safer, and going up hill had the benefit of four limbs in action
Crossing burns was a lot steadier too.

https://www.leki.co.uk/browse/c-Poles-6/c-AllYearRound-66/c-Trekking-78/

On the whole, a bit of a faff to get used to, an irriation to have around unless in active use, but good things.

I confess that I have been tempted again by Pacer Poles though.

Hiking, Walking & Trekking Poles | Pacerpole Walking System

Pacerpole produce ergonomically designed walking and trekking poles. Pacerpoles improve your walking ability and general health. Free worldwide shipping.

www.pacerpole.com

 

[Pattree]

The Pacerpole looks very much like my walking stick. I tend to use it a little longer than recommended for my height and posture. Could you shut down a pair of telescopic poles to do the same thing?
I think I’d want to take a look at a Pacerpole in the flesh and see how I can make something for myself.

I might use some polymorph to make handles that fit my different hands perfectly.

Honest question:
I’m told that you get what you pay for. What is the difference between a £20 pair of poles and a £150 pair?

 

[Toddy]

I honestly don't know. I used the Leki ones because it was what was in the house, but Himself bought a set of Lidl's ones and they seemed to be fine too.

Pretty sure someone more knowledgeable about them will comment, I just use them.
I find the basket things on the tips wear out/break/get lost. I'd be really pretty cheesed off to lose one of the ends of a hundred and fifty quid pair on an outing when they were new-ish though.

 

[forrestdweller]

wooden stick since a sprained ankle in my long-gone youth...
he's honorably retired now, but i still have the faithful friend who accompanied me since 2005 for over a decade around Down Under, Aotearoa, Mt Fuji etc.; he's currently writing his memoirs and went on board of a few flights in a nylon bag labelled "fragile"
a stick helps with river crossings, on steep mountain trails, dispatches snakes and attacking dogs + endless more uses (and NO! i'm NOT gandalf/ moses/ the local mountain god! )

 

[Springchicken]

I use a pair of Black Diamond poles but only when I'm backpacking, as they are also the supports for my Hilleberg tent.

I'm undecided about their usefulness while actually walking: yes, they give support on the downhill bits and add impetus going uphill but they also get in the way quite often, are an encumbrance on narrow tracks and, for reasons I don't know, cause a tingling sensation in my hands.

Even after quite a number of years, I'm still undecided about them - unless I'm backpacking.

 

[Pattree]

for reasons I don't know, cause a tingling sensation in my hands.

I wonder how much tension your wrists are putting on the straps when on slopes. Could they be affecting blood supply or nerves to your hands.

My early attempts with my poles caused pain in my thumbs and wrists but that was because my thumbs were taking a lot of weight rather than adjusted straps.

Knowing what I know now; I think that I would choose walking stick handles rather than ski pole grips even were I young and fit. Leaning rather than hauling is easier on the hands.

 

[Falstaff]

I think the two videos on the pacer page, contrary to their claim, show a total lack of benefit or any load transfer whatsoever.
A walking stick with a proper handle you can lean on is a great benefit for those with impaired mobility as they can take part of the load/support needed, especially when stationary. For others, they only really become a benefit on slopes, up and downwards, and for all those essential ancilliary uses like checking water depths, clearing vegetation, beating off dogs, and maybe even as tent poles.
I have a variety of walking sticks and staff's of different designs and types. This used to include a "Gandalf" which has now disappeared. I use them infrequently, and pick which to take depending on the trip/journey.

 

[plastic-ninja]

I have a pair of Black Diamond ones which I bought after an injury. Now I’m older and have a few more health issues I appreciate them more than ever. They also work as poles for my MSR tent and do collapse down pretty small for stowing away.
They do help with stability for sure.
I think the answer to the what do you get if you pay more? Is a combination of brand name, lightness from carbon fibre, graphite or titanium alloys and the ability to pack small.
If packing small isn’t an issue, but Nordic walking/skiing poles. Usually one piece but superbly light and a quarter of the price of trekking poles.

 

[bearbait]

I have a pair of Leki poles but only use one of them; the other lives in the car as backup. I wouldn't be without a hiking pole as I find it very useful for easing ascents, and especially so for confidence on steeper descents as my knees are not what they used to be. I don't use the handle loop at all, and swap the pole from left to right hand every few metres. Once I'm up on reasonably level, albeit gently undulating terrain, I collapse the pole and fit it to my pack. I've been using one for maybe 30 years. An additional bonus is that it can be used to prop open the back door of the car while I get my gear out (and the bags from the grocery shopping!), and for checking the firmness of boggy terrain before taking the next step.

 

[Laurentius]

I have been using a stick for so long it is hard to imagine walking any distance without one. I do have a lightweight folding job for taking shopping and what have you, but mostly I use the elaborately crafted one you can see my avatar using. It is a regular topic of conversation wherever I go.

 

[Aristotle]

I use a pair of Black Diamond poles but only when I'm backpacking, as they are also the supports for my Hilleberg tent.

I'm undecided about their usefulness while actually walking: yes, they give support on the downhill bits and add impetus going uphill but they also get in the way quite often, are an encumbrance on narrow tracks and, for reasons I don't know, cause a tingling sensation in my hands.

Even after quite a number of years, I'm still undecided about them - unless I'm backpacking.

I have had a pair of aluminium Leki poles since the late 90s. With a heavy pack they can be helpful on the correct terrain, but they do often get in the way.

I have a pair of collapsible carbon Leki poles for mountian running too. They are good for assisting going steep uphill fast.

I took the walking poles to do the GR20 in Corsica last year. It was very rocky. I'm not convinced that they were of any overall benefit. When I put them away, I didn't miss them.

I do have a couple of wooden walking sticks/staffs. I quite like using them. They can be useful for depth finding in mud or water, setting up a living shelter and may be useful in fending off a vicious animal. A stick could have been good when being hassled by a pack of dogs in the Balkans.

 

[Aristotle]

 

[Pattree]

That brings back memories.

I don’t believe that the idea was adopted much - if at all.

Scouting books and magazines were full of ideas that probably hadn’t been built or tested. Scouting for Boys has an illustration of something like a Welsh dresser made of poles and sticks. How long out of your camping break it takes to build it doesn’t seem to be an issue!

I like the idea of cord etc stored wrapped into the pole but who ever used the inches? That many brass tacks would seriously weaken your pole.

A pole was part of our scout uniform in the late fifties. We even saluted using the pole. However, other than exercises and badge work we rarely used them for anything practical.

Edited add:
Just seen the date!!!
I suspect some contact between tongue and cheek.

 

[Aristotle]

It will have been partly as a result of the military origins of Scouting

 

[Broch]

My grandson and I practice quarterstaff and short-stick - they're both very ancient martial arts and great fun

We use un-protected quarterstaffs, and yes, we have both had a few knocks, but we use foam covered short-sticks that allow us to be a lot more 'adventurous'.

 

[Aristotle]

My grandson and I practice quarterstaff and short-stick - they're both very ancient martial arts and great fun

We use un-protected quarterstaffs, and yes, we have both had a few knocks, but we use foam covered short-sticks that allow us to be a lot more 'adventurous'.

My Dad and I would do that when I was a lad.

I have sometimes hit the heavy bag with a stick

 

[HorseGuy]

I have some Karrimor hiking poles and although I don't use them often I find that they make walking a little easier. They feel like they help with light upper body exercise too, particularly the triceps and back muscles.

I bought them a couple of years ago after a knee injury. I first tried a pair of the cheap Karrimor aluminum poles to see if they helped to take some weight off my sore knee. These worked well so a few weeks later I upgraded to the more expensive carbon version of the same poles. The carbon ones are slightly lighter, some of the plastic components are swapped for more robust aluminum items but the biggest improvement is the handle which is a slightly different shape and material which is more comfortable to hold.

 

[StevieE]

I have 2 of the Lidl poles which are great but not used that often so can't testify to the longevity of them. Made a few myself from Hazel for friends. This my personal one I'm still working on. Top handle thread is survival paracord. Main handle is leather binding. 3 mm. Middle section is survival paracord again

 

[Tengu]

I left my pilgrims staff at Rough Close; no doubt some Scot has found and adopted it.