Black Packing Light
  • Sections
  • Today’s Features
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • Email Newsletter
  • Membership Info
  • Articles
    • Recent Features
    • Gear Reviews
    • State of the Market Reports
    • Gear Guides
    • Gear Lists
    • Skills & Techniques
    • MYOG
    • Science, Technology & Testing
    • Stories
    • Calendar
  • Education
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
    • Masterclasses
    • Online Courses
    • Guided Treks
    • Education Portal
  • Forums
    • Forum Index
    • Recent Forum Posts
    • Gear Forums
    • Gear Swap (Buy/Sell)
  • Gear Recommendations
  • Gear Deals

Backpacking Light

Pack less. Be more.

You are here: Home / Skills & Techniques / Wilderness Travel Skills / How to Use Trekking Poles: The Gas-Brake-Coast Method

How to Use Trekking Poles: The Gas-Brake-Coast Method

by Skip Spitzer on October 11, 2011 Wilderness Travel Skills

Enjoy this free preview of Members-only content.
Login or Subscribe to see it all.

Introduction: How to Use Trekking Poles

While there is plenty of information available about why you should use trekking poles, very little information is available about how to use trekking poles. In this article, I describe a systematic and methodical approach describing how to use trekking poles in a way that allows you to use them to your advantage by making your hiking easier and more efficient.

Adjusting Pole Length

You can't learn how to use trekking poles properly if they are either too short, or too long. So first off, your new legs need to be a suitable length:

  • For general use, set pole height so that when the tip is at your foot, your elbow makes a roughly 90° bend. Setting the height a little shorter allows you to clear plants or rocks with less lifting.
  • On a typical three-tier pole, set the top adjuster so the upper section is telescoped halfway. Then fix the lower section to achieve the desired height. Make any adjustments en route using the top adjuster.

Why? It is hard to load (bear down on) your poles with your arm grossly extended or bent. (See how much less force you can generate at 180° or 0° than at 90°, for example.) Setting pole segments as suggested lets you change pole length using just one adjuster, the closest and least likely to be muddy and contaminated with poison oak/ivy oil.

How to Use Trekking Poles: The Gas-Brake-Coast Method - 1

Attaching your Poles

Next up, you have to attach your new legs to your original equipment.

  • For each pole, put your hand up through the bottom of the strap loop and then pull the strap down by holding the grip.
  • Adjust the length of the straps such that your fingers land where they fit on the grips.
  • Hold the grip loosely. You don’t even need to close your bottom three fingers around the grip (a good way to ensure that you aren’t over-gripping). Change how your fingers (loosely) hold the grip as needed to prevent hand or wrist soreness.
  • Keep your elbows close to your sides.

Why? You are making a joint by using the strap as a strong, tireless ligament. If you grip tightly, your hands and wrists will needlessly work and stress. Keeping your arms close to your sides conserves energy and keeps your poles traveling where the path is most likely to be clear: down the center.

Effectively Using Hiking Poles: The Gas-Brake-Coast Method - 2

The Multiple Uses of Trekking Poles

Trekking poles are used primarily for endurance, building upper body strength, and reducing injury, but they serve many other functions:

  • Checking for critters in high brush
  • Moving poison oak/ivy, nettles, and other no-touchies out of the way
  • Making a stand for a dromedary bag or gravity filter
  • Poling a tarp or tarp tent
  • Making noise to avoid bear, lion, and other unwelcome encounters
  • Bluffing off an animal attack (swing poles over your head)
  • Defending yourself in an actual attack
  • Temporarily marking a trail
  • Resting and stretching while standing
  • Probing depth of water and mud
  • Probing trail obstacles in the dark
  • Stabilizing a camera
  • Poking companions, as needed

Moving Trekking Poles Forward

Limbs attached, check. Now we have to move them forward, from “plant” to plant, as we hike.

  • Jog the forearm up slightly to cause the pole to swing forward and then back down to plant the tip (for now don’t worry about where to plant). Or, move the pole with a slight flick of the wrist.

Why? These minor motions get the job done with a minimum of movement and energy.

Movement Patterns

  • Alternate legs: Each pole goes forward when the opposite leg does. This pattern maximizes balance and lets your arms swing the way they do naturally when hiking.
  • Parallel legs: Each pole goes forward when the same-side leg does. This pattern provides the most relief to your legs, so use it to minimize leg fatigue and stress as needed.
  • Double (or simultaneous) pole: Both poles move forward at the same time. This pattern is useful for stepping up or down, or as a change up.

Load, Load, Load

The pedal-pushing analogy reminds us that it is essential that you load your poles! Without loading, you are basically just hauling stabilizers to engage in case of slipping. A lot of pole users are not loading enough. If your upper body doesn’t feel “worked” after an arduous trek, you are likely not loading enough.

Three Basic Techniques: Gas, Brake, and Coast

OK, let's get in gear. Conventional advice tells us where to plant (and how long the poles should be) based on the type of terrain: flat, uphill, and downhill. Instead, the Gas, Brake, Coast Method focuses on what we want our poles to do for us:

  • Adding thrust (or gassing), which you might do on flats, uphill, and even downhill.
  • Slowing assistance (braking), on downhill stretches.
  • Nothing (coasting), which you might choose on any terrain.

The remainder of this article includes detailed sections about how to use trekking poles based on the following techniques:

  • Technique 1: Gas
  • Technique 2: Brake
  • Technique 3: Coast
  • Technique 4: Step Over
  • Technique 5: Step Up
  • Technique 6: Step Down
  • Technique 7: Traverse
  • Technique 8: Variable Rugged Terrain

# WORDS: 1640
# PHOTOS: 10 total, with captions (plus 2 videos!)

--- end of free preview ---

To read the rest of the article, please Login or Subscribe.

Access to the rest of the content on this page
requires either a Premium or Unlimited Membership.

Subscribe

Your membership fees have helped sustain the creation and curation of quality information, education, and community at backpackinglight.com since 2001.

backpacking light 101, trekking poles

Get ultralight backpacking skills, gear info, philosophy, news, and more.


Want outdoor gear and skills info you can really trust?

Get our Handbook - the resource you need to make intelligent decisions about gear, safety, comfort, and pack weight.


Today's Gear Deals

Guide’s Gear Recommendations

Find out what gear our guides recommend if you want lightweight gear that is durable and versatile.

guide's gear logo

Gear Recommendations

  • Publisher’s Gear Guide
  • Staff Picks
  • Guide’s Gear Recommendations
  • Our Lightweight Gear Recommendations for REI Members
  • Today’s Gear Deals
  • Search for Gear on Sale

Subscribe Right Now

Receive new Members-only content, gain access to 2,000+ articles in the archives, and become a part of the most passionate community of backpacking experts in the world.
Subscribe Now
  • Backpacking Gear Reviews
  • Backpacking Skills
  • Backpacking Trips
  • Backpacking & Outdoor News
  • Outdoor Recreation Science & Technology
  • Backpacking Courses, Webinars & Other Events

Follow Us

Get outdoor skills and gear info you can trust.

Download the Backpacking Light Handbook to help you make intelligent decisions about gear, skills, ultralight philosophy, and reducing your pack weight.

Join Now: Support fair and objective product reviews.

Something for everyone: Basic, Premium, and Unlimited Membership options available.

View Subscription Options

More @ Backpacking Light

  • About Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise with Us
  • Write for Us
  • Submit a Product for Review
  • Diversity Grants
  • Help / Support / Contact
  • Terms & Policies

Call Us

Membership Sales & Support: 406-640-HIKE (406-640-4453) | About

© Copyright 2001-2021 BEARTOOTH MEDIA GROUP, INC. | U.S. Library of Congress Serial Registration ISSN 1537-0364
BACKPACKING LIGHT® and the FEATHER/MOUNTAIN icon are registered trademarks granted for exclusive use to Beartooth Media Group, Inc. Subscribe here.

  • Subscribe
  • Log In
  • My Account
  • Forum Profile
  • Private Messages
  • Newsletters
  • My Course Enrollments
  • Unlimited Membership Portal
  • Help / Support / Contact