Are poles worth it?

[mirabela]

Almost everywhere except intense bushwhacking or sustained steep scrambling. Even in the latter situation I'll often just lash them to my pack. They have saved my knees *so* much abuse.

 

[Mike P.]

would have picked most of the time had it been an option. I'll leave them in the car for trips many of you wouldn't even count as a trip. (Summer, less than 4 miles, less than 1500 feet of gain.)

They help with the uphill, as I get older the downhill advantage has become more important.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

I use them almost all the time. No shock absorbtion, no flick lock. Cheapo Leki Enzians. They were around $40 I think.

My pole-less hiking buddies always start complaining about their knees before I do on the downhills. Actually my knees so far have really been a-okay. Even coming down Falling Waters Trail from Franconia Ridge, etc - fine. I keep waiting for them to start being upset at all the abuse but nothing yet.

I definitely like the fact that they take some weight off the leg/hip joints foremost, and the slight use of upper body is good too. I do use them for balance, water crossings, and as a safety thing - who hasn't used their poles to take weight off a rolled ankle, etc for a few mintues? I like to think that in the case of a real injury, having poles would make it a bit easier to move than if poleless.

 

[DougPaul]

I find them to be useful on moderate uphills and downhills--if it gets steep enough that I need to use my hands, I put them away. They don't make much difference on level ground unless my legs are really tired.

I adjust the length as needed to match the current situation.

They are also useful in delicate balance situations like stream crossings, bog bridges, etc.

Another use is to push brush out of the way (particularly good for sticker bushes...).

I remove the (small trekking) baskets because they catch in the underbrush. However, this may reduce the floatation in mud.


Peter Clinch has posted a very good set of instructions: http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm

Doug

 

[IndianChris]

There are techniques for using poles, and believe it or not, youtube videos on such. Check it out. I find them useful for a variety of things:

• snake repellant! (More than once)
• spider web repellant! (All the time!)
• balance
• mud depth tester
• help going down
• a little upper body work out
• stick flicker
• [something new every hike!]

I used to just carry one, but more and more I am a 2 poler.

My poles are BDs, 2 flick locks each, with the shock absorbers. This allows me to shrink them down to almost nothing or expand them to very long.

As Neil once posted a treatise on poles, I would look that up too. Short version: Longer going down, shorter going up.

...stick flicker...hilarious!
And don't forget "Nettle whacker!"

 

[Fourfingers]

My wife had a TBI 20 years ago has had balance issues ever since. A few years ago a hiker our age on Moosilauke convinced my wife to get poles and it saved her hiking. I've found them to be very helpful on rocky downhills - Liberty Springs Trail for instance, less helpful on rooty downhills (Mahoosuc Arm) where there are always trees or roots to grab. Two weeks ago they were a real impediment in Mahoosuc Notch because I had brought my fixed length poles and couldn't adjust them to tie them to the pack. They are also an impediment on bushwhacks, as stated earlier.

But, since I took up using them several years back at about age 60, I've become convinced that they are keeping my knees in better shape, especially when backpacking.

 

[Roxi]

I didn't use poles until a knee injury occurred in 2006. I found using poles very helpful as my knees recovered. I now find having one pole helpful during some water crossings, but rarely use them for anything else until winter when both poles come in handy again while snow shoeing.

 

[duane]

I have used poles all the time since I turned 50. My knees don't seem to hurt as much when I use them.

 

[marty]

There are techniques for using poles, and believe it or not, youtube videos on such. Check it out. I find them useful for a variety of things:

• snake repellant! (More than once)
• spider web repellant! (All the time!)
• balance
• mud depth tester
• help going down
• a little upper body work out
• stick flicker
• [something new every hike!]

Good stuff Tom. I also find them very handy for banging on rocks so that hikers in front of me know I am there. Hate to scare anyone.

I am generally a two pole hiker. I use only one pole for bushwhacking (other hand to hold compass, GPS or grab tree) and have been experimenting using one pole only this year on three season trail hikes. Haven't decided whether I prefer one pole or two yet. Still experimenting.

I will always use two poles on winter hikes. They have prevented me from falling into several spruce traps and they allow me to snowshoe ski downhill without falling.

Marty

 

[erugs]

Like Mike P, I would have checked "most of the time" as I prefer using them but have on occasion forget to transfer them from my car to a friend's if we are carpooling. For one thing, I'm a little off-balance (but I didn't admit that to a guide who was taking us up the Grand Tetons and I wanted to use them until we got to the Lower Saddle). For another, I went to a talk on hiking about eight years ago and the speaker sited research that showed they gave more of a whole body workout, while using less energy on the legs. They are also good for flicking branches off the trail. It's a skill that is enhanced with practice.

I sometimes get annoyed with the clicking sound and don't like it when I've lost the rubber tips that quiet them down. (However, I've found almost as many as I've lost and now have a backup collection.)

I've got two types: the standard straight pole, and two of the cane-handled type. I like the cane shape when my wrists are sore due to symptom of Lyme. Right now I can use only one as my whole left arm hurts.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Currently the sum of the responses is 164.91% ...

No 4 7.02%
Some of the time 23 40.35%
All of the time 23 40.35%
Depends on trail conditions 17 29.82%
Uphill 6 10.53%
Downhill 9 15.79%
On the steeps 5 8.77%
On the flats 3 5.26%
On the rocks (not booze!) 4 7.02%
164.91%

 

[RoySwkr]

Currently the sum of the responses is 164.91% ...

You are allowed to check multiple boxes

Someone who checked "All of the time" might also feel they need to check the last 5 too

 

[billski]

You are allowed to check multiple boxes

Someone who checked "All of the time" might also feel they need to check the last 5 too

By design and intent. Don't try to add up to 100%. Treat each category individually.

 

[Elizabeth]

I checked "some of the time" and also specified which times.

Having collapsable poles, so you can attach them to your pack when not in use is key. The upper body work-out is nice. Help w/balance and knees definitely an issue w/age. Unfortunately, age can also bring forgetfulness with it, and leaving the poles behind by mistake can be a bummer.

The little rubber covers you can get to attach to the ends work well in non-icy/snowy conditions. They dampen the noise and reduce the soil erosion effects. I also attempt to place the pole tips mostly on rock surfaces to keep from tearing up the terrain.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

By design and intent. Don't try to add up to 100%. Treat each category individually.

What am I missing?

Are you saying you designed the poll so that someone can answer "No, I don't use poles" and also "Yes, all the time"?

Not to seem overly argumentative, but if the above is correct, isn't this poll a waste of time?

 

[--M.]

Just put a piece of cardboard over the part of the screen that shows the percentages!

I have bad joints, so yes, I'm a partisan. Not so much in the Mahoosucs, either, or on the Wilderness Trail, but yes, absolutely, coming down Osseo or Adams (the worst!), and yes, going up the Twinway, TRT or 19MB.

I like 'em
==cheap (RI State Job Lot),
==adjustable (stow-able at the steeps),
==cane-length (as opposed to staff-length, like Gandalf), and
==two at a time.
In the winter, I switch to $80 Black Diamonds, with big, powder baskets. I finally bent one; it was a $13 repair and I was back in business.

They are great for getting your shoulders ready for the winter skiing season.

They've saved my knees.

Also, there are two things I keep buying over & over: poles and the Map Adventures map of the Whites. I give them out as gifts to newcomers or the momentarily needy. It's a good, cheap, karmic boost. And an excuse to visit the Wanderer.

 

[erugs]

...and leaving the poles behind by mistake can be a bummer.

The little rubber covers you can get to attach to the ends work well in non-icy/snowy conditions. They dampen the noise and reduce the soil erosion effects. I also attempt to place the pole tips mostly on rock surfaces to keep from tearing up the terrain.

There have been more than a few times when I've picked up a friend's poles and carried them until they remember. Then I have the fun of presenting them!

I, too, try to keep my poles of the duff. Reminds me, though, that people have complained about hikers tramping down the trail yet poles soften the ground up.

When my tips stay on my poles long enough to wear through the bottoms, I've been known to fit a washer in there and plug it with a caulking that is flexible.

 

[griffin]

I use them most of the time - going up, going down, going flat...There are definitely places where I stow them so I can use my hands, or the trail is too tight for them not to be a pain, but most other times I have them out.

Same benefits that others have noted going up and down, and I also don't get sausage fingers when I use them.

 

[shamples]

It's all about personal preference. Many who use them swear by them.

That said, never have used them and don't see the need to. I can be a speedster at times rock hopping and they would just be more a hinderance most the time. Hikers who have great balance and agility and control don't need them.

I could make a case for liking to have some for maybe 1-5% of the time at certain muddy sections and water crossings, but it's just not worth it for me.

I just say NO to poles!

 

[Stash]

All the time.

- Balance
- Spread the work over the whole body
- Helps maintain a walking rythm

...and is having multiple postings in pole poll that's a waste of time a waste of time? Or is that a waist of thyme?