Do you use trekking pole straps?

[Gary Dunckel]

I need to do a quick poll of you people regarding whether you prefer to use your trekking pole straps, or if you remove them. 4 years ago on a Glacier N.P. day hike I had my first face-to-face encounter with a big grizzly. It seemed to take forever to get my hands out of the straps so that I could get the bear spray ready. That afternoon, back at my room, I removed the straps, and I've been hiking without them since. Tuesday night we had our monthly Boulder Lightpackers meeting. The main speaker finished his presentation early, so a couple of us did some minor show-and-tell things to fill out the time slot. I showed the folks some carbon fiber trekking poles, including the cheap Costco ones and a pair of BPL Stix (my all time favorites). Somebody asked why the Stix didn't have straps, and I explained that I preferred to not use them. At that point, a seasoned (and very opinionated) person in the audience proceeded to rip me apart for not using straps. He let me know that he thought I was absolutely wrong to not use them. Now, for snowshoeing or xc skiing, I do prefer using straps, for the increased leverage they provide. But when hiking on trails, I mainly just use poles for balance, not so much for propulsion. I routinely grip them lightly with my thumb and forefinger, except when I am going downhill or doing a stream crossing. I will add that I use my poles to support my Contrail, with the handles lashed together and positioned in an inverted V. I like not having the straps dangling and brushing my face when I get into/out of the front entry. So how about you people–do you prefer to use straps, or not? Would you please share your reasons why you do what you do?

[Cayenne Redmonk]

The folks not using straps are just carrying sticks in their hands, but lots of bpl like to do this. I would never use a pole without straps. Too much effort for very little benefit.

[Billy Ray]

sometimes I use the straps, sometimes I don't depends on the terrain… if some terrain I change where I grip them constantly and then the straps are a problem, but in other terrain I find the straps helpful for leverage/propulsion and less tiring for my hand/forearm muscles. Personally, I would never remove the straps as they are quite useful. but there is no right or wrong here… just personal preference. billy

[bjc]

What Billy Ray said! For me, mostly used sans straps.

[Art …]

I seldom use poles at all, but when I do, I always prefer straps. (of course I don't hike among grizzlies). better propulsion. better stabilization. less wear on thumbs and palms.

[Todd T]

"But when hiking on trails, I mainly just use poles for balance, not so much for propulsion." Then I guess you don't need the straps. I personally can't imagine carrying poles without getting the propulsion and unweighting benefits, and for those things the straps are all but essential. I put a LOT of weight on my poles and couldn't do it all day if I had to rely on my grip to support it. As for getting to your bear spray (or camera or whatever), there's no need to pull the straps off your hands; just let them dangle.

[George F]

Years ago I figured out that I never use them, took the plunge and cut off my first set and have never looked back. When hiking my hands are moving around a lot, up and down the poles and changing grip. And on easy terrain I will carry them both in one hand for long stretches using them for abrupt steps, fallen logs and stream crossings and then going back to carrying them.

[Lisa F]

I have fixed poles with no straps. If I do slip or fall, I want my hands free. I guess I don't put a lot of weight on my polls, but I love them for clearing the trail of cobwebs! They help with my balance, sore hips and knees.

[Michael Gunderloy]

Without – but I'm using PacerPoles, which are explicitly designed to use without straps.

[Jay Wilkerson]

I have Gossamer Gear fixed length poles and have not used straps for quite some time and use my poles for tarp & tent set up: Multie-Use!

[Jeffs Eleven]

Well i guess im the only one who likes straps. They keep them on my arm if they get snagged on things. I keep my poles short and my hands on the top of the grip. Cricket legs! Its better for my wrists, stronger, and my leki aergon grip poles are made to be held like that so they are comfy all day. No edges cutting into my hand, they are rounded and oblong for grip and control. No affiliation. Just nerded out on my poles since ive had them for like 5 years. ( with no probs, mind you. ). I ski with them too. The horror! The horror!

[ed hyatt]

Yes. For some of the reasons Billy cites. I like being able to put all of my bodyweight onto a pole by using the straps – especially when descending. properly set-up and used correctly I don't really get why one would not use them – but then YMMV.

[d k]

Yes – as cited above, better propulsion, ability to put my weight onto the pole without having to have a death grip, etc. And "As for getting to your bear spray (or camera or whatever), there's no need to pull the straps off your hands; just let them dangle." – absolutely! Seems like without that, I'd have to find a place to put the poles down or lean them up against something, and I also might just walk off and forget them!

[Lori P]

I use GG Lightrek 4s and don't use straps. I used to use straps. I get the same benefit without them. Hands tighten when the poles hit the ground, loosen on the swing, same thing. Straps hurt my wrists especially after I have been doing a lot of typing – I have always been prone to tendonitis, and during a flare up my wrists hurt — have been tested for carpal tunnel a couple of times, last year the most recent, and nope, tendon issues is it. So I have wrist braces and don't use straps on trekking poles.

[Ryan Bressler]

The conventional wisdom for backcountry skiers is to never use pole straps in avalanche terrain as you don't want the poles attached to your body in a slide. Skiing makes intensive use of the poles and I've found i'm fine without the straps. I've also found that hiking In rough and brushy terrain i like being without straps as i'm able to move my hand up and down to the normal grip, top of the pole or a lower grip/duct tape wad on the shaft of the pole as I need more or less length. I'll also often pass both poles to one hand when I to fit through some tight brush or scramble over a log. I do still have them on my poles though and i'll use them when kick and gliding long flat cross country style sections on skis or griding up or down a long hill on a good trail. Even when I don't have the straps on my wrist i'll also often hook my thumb in the loop to provide support in a lower grip. g3 makes ski poles where the strap is on fastex style buckle that clips into the head which is a neat idea.

[Kenneth Keating]

Big yes for me, I use poles quite a bit for forward propulsion(why use only my legs, when the arms can easily help out), and with proper strap placement the load gets distributed to the wrists/arm without having to have to grip the poles tightly. K

[Jake D]

No straps. still cannot figure out how people get "propulsion" from pushing their arms. It still seems to me like banging the steering wheel to make the car go faster. There is no gliding like xc ski which is when they push their poles. :shrug: i hike fast enough without and with my balance helped by the poles i can move my feet faster along the trail without needing to be perfectly stable every step. easier to drop if the tip gets stuck, easier to hold both to go over/under a log.. etc it is personal preference and whatever habit you get into is probably what you stick with.

[Roger Caffin]

XC Ski poles: yes. Straps are essential there. Walking? Don't use poles. Quite able to stand and walk on my own two feet thank you, and they are worse than useless in scrubby or rough terrain. Cheers

[James Marco]

Yes. I always use straps and never use handles. I grip the pole like a big pencil, always keeping it behind or even with my feet.

[Katherine .]

Left then on til I was sure, then cut them off. Get plenty of use out of my poles (bd carbon cork) w/out.

[Paul Beres]

x-c skiing yes; walking I only use one pole if at all, and no strap – but I do have a loop of cord so that I can let go of the pole for photography or whatever and not have to put it down.

[Matt Dirksen]

Personally I use them. And sometimes even having poles "gets in the way". Depends on where I am, and when. While I'm not much of a byciclist, I was educated about those foot pedal straps years ago, and how one gets more "propulsion" out of their pedaling by using them. And while all the serious byciclist folks out there use clips, I'm sure there are days when they might just "get in the way". One things for sure: we don't need any more opinionated "let me tell you how to use your trekking pole" fanatics ripping people apart for their choice to not use them. Lest we forget that we all may have different reasons WHY we do things, which in turn might impact HOW we do them. The "know it all" part of me forgets this at times. I'm glad to know you came out ok with the bear encounter. Perhaps your poles help your remember in a good way.

[Gary Dunckel]

Thanks, everyone! I thought there were a lot of good comments, all quite valid. I liked James' "pencil grip" technique, and I didn't know about Pacer Poles. I still will want to not have to deal with pole straps when trying to aim a bear spray canister. I can just see myself tripping over a dangling pole as I am backing away, while trying to maintain a bead on the bear. But that's just me, and I'll likely never be in that situation again. Anyway, here are the results of your comments as I see it: Always use straps (9) Sometimes, sometimes not (1) Sometimes, but mostly not (2) Never use straps (8) 20 of us, almost perfectly split between those using straps and those not using them. N=20 is hardly a scientific sample size, but it gives me a decent idea of what folks are doing. Thanks for taking the time to share your techniques.

[Brendan Yeager]

I guess I am a little late to this conversation, but I almost always use the straps. The only times I wouldn't use them is when I am using the poles for balance only (i.e. crossing a stream) and for steep descents where I will put my hand on top of the pole to get a little more reach. The BPL article below does a pretty good job of explaining the propulsion argument so I thought I would share: https://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/hiking_poles_technique.html#.VkYo0HarS00

[Lester Moore]

Also a little late on the reply, but here are some observations/experiences with poles and straps: – When descending steep gullys on peaks, using the straps allows me to reach lower with more precision before big steps down over rocks – planting the pole in the best spot and reducing my energy expenditure. This saves my knees big time. – For fast forward propulsion on nice easy trails, try something similar to skate skiing. Set the poles 15 – 20 cm longer than usual, double plant, push hard with full extension using the straps, take 2 or 3 steps, then repeat. Works great for me if I need to make miles. Try it for normal moderate speeds too, just not as vigorously and with shorter poles – it feels more efficient than moving the poles with each step. Les

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