Trekking poles – All in the Head?

[Gary Boyd]

I remember once looking for a trekking pole that converted into an umbrella and there was actually a German company that made them, I thought this was a great idea. The coverage of my spiderweb destroyer would be stupendous ;) But to be honest the lighter my pack gets the less I feel like lugging around a couple of poles.

[Roleigh Martin]

I have the Komperdell hiking pole/umbrella. The umbrella is a little too small — instead, I favor hiking in the city (I walk to work) with the Brookstone portable golf umbrella. It is great. Also, the Komperdell umbrella pole kept on slipping on me. For hiking poles, I favor the non-slipping Black Diamond poles with their flicklock mechanism.

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/komperdell/umbrella-pole/
http://tinyurl.com/lbbyhl

ps – brookstone has a tiny, < 6 oz ultraslim umbrella too:
http://tinyurl.com/m6pa4f
(but I don't own one–I have their bigger, heavier one). I don't hike with umbrellas on thru-hikes. Only in town do I walk with umbrellas.

[Gary Boyd]

Thanks for the info Roleigh… Is brookestone montbell's supplier then, that ultralight you sent me a link to, is exactly like the montbell, only 15 dollars less.

[Roleigh Martin]

Debiant, I would guess the opposite that Montbell is the supplier for Brookstone for their ultralight. I doubt if Brookstone manufactures anything. They're kind of like a Sharper Image. They're scattered around the country. I like the fact they have a very inexpensive extended warranty for umbrellas and I find the umbrellas (those with "pop out") features sometimes break, and I've gotten new umbrellas from brookstone when the older one stopped popping out.

[Gary Boyd]

Great, well I think you saved me 15 dollars, and anyone who saves me money is allright in my book.

[Lynn Tramper]

"But to be honest the lighter my pack gets the less I feel like lugging around a couple of poles."

Yeah, especially when any old stick you pick up along the way works just as well for disabling spider webs.

[Gary Boyd]

That's why I'm thinking umbrella, because I probably miss about 30 percent with the pole, so I'm thinking the full coverage of an umbrella would eliminate that problem. Of course I probably wouldn't be able to see where I'm going half the time, but that's another issue. Maybe get a clear plastic umbrella.

Dunno though, still not quite sure that an umbrella fits with my manly man image ;)

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I often stop using my poles on the uphill and just wedge one hand under a shoulder strap. But sometimes I hold both poles in one hand and if it's really steep, I'll really lean heavily on them to pull myself up one of those giant Sierra rock steps.

I find them more helpful for stability going downhill on slippery or rocky surfaces and for crossing streams. I find the straps helpful for keeping mosquitoes away from my hands, and holding the poles keeps my hands from swelling.

My umbrella has been one of my most important thru-hiking essentials. I've used it as much for rain as for sun. For rain, I can get by without a real rain jacket and just use hairbands to hold Subway sandwich bags on my lower arms, the only part that gets wet under the umbrella.

[stefan hoffman]

A few years ago i made some cheap poles out of dowels so i could decide what size to buy. Before i had always just used one good stick or staff. So testing out two poles, the first thing i noticed was that its painfully annoying. I never realized how much i used my free hand for scratching, drinking, swatting flys/mosquitos, moving branches. Ive adapted though, and now i use both of my LT3s on longer hikes. Having poles makes a huge difference for me in that it stabalizes me and reduces the fatigue in all of the little support muscles that keep my knees lined up and working painlessly. In addition, i move MUCH faster with two poles. Using my dowel poles when i first tried them out took almost an hour off of my 25 mile local summit hike. I use poles mostly for charging up hill. Downhill i sorta fall as gracefully as possible, sometimes jogging or running, keeping my knees bent a little and usually holding the poles parallel to the ground.

[Elena Lee]

On my first prolonged backcountry experience (a 20-day trek on PCT in Seirra Nevada), I didn't bring any poles. i thought i wouldn't need them. After a day hiking, my partner made me poles out of wood sticks. I've changed a few pairs, some of them broke, some were lost, but i wouldn't proceed without my sticks! Poles make a difference to me as being able to get out there, or not going at all. these are the obvisous benefits to me:

1. take stress out of your knees, especially steep uphill and downhill
2. distribute energy to your upper body
3. provide balance when needed (snow slopes, river crossings)
3. can be used in other application as previously mentioned (set up tent, dig things)

just recently, i was climbing, and on my decent, i terribly slipped on the side of the mountain. my ice axe was tied to my pack, and i only had a pair of poles in my hands. i kept sliding, trying to stop with my feet, but that didn't work. finally, i stuck one of my poles into the slope, and I completely stopped. not a self-arrest method that i would recommend, but helped me stop before the slope got practically vertical.
one problem with my poles, is that they are collapsable and very often the mechanism gets stuck and requires a lot of tweaking. i had actually to use plyers on mine to get them "unstuck" just recently.

[Lori P]

I think that poles are like anything new – it takes time to get used to them. Like stoves, tarps, hammocks or any alternative to the "norm." Even within the pole users there's the strap v. no strap poles… I have LT4s and consistently people say they can't do it without the straps, while I'm poling happily along strapless and hardly noticing the weight in my hands. With some practice I can do nordic walking and find myself loosening up the grip on the forward swing, tightening as the pole contacts the ground.

I think the multiple uses and the stability they provide are worth it. Just in terms of safer creek crossings, the extra seven ounces of the Lightreks make it worthwhile.

[Author]

Posts