AKICOLJ/DW - trekking poles

[nineveh_uk]

In a fortnight (hurray!) I shall be going on a holiday involving walking with lots of steep descents, including steps. Walking/trekking poles are advised, but I've never used them. Other than "make sure they do in fact fit in your suitcase" has anyone any experience or advice on them? I feel it might be time to get a pair, but they are very expensive - a lot more so than my skiing poles, which involve more metal and have to stand up to rather more forceful use than a glorified walking stick.

How did it come to be ten to eleven? I need to get up and get on with things.

Comments

via network

[jumpuphigh]

I transformed my hiking poles into walking sticks with little rubber booties and they make such a difference in how fatigued I become. I highly recommend getting a pair.

Re: via network

[nineveh_uk]

Thanks. They seem very good for lots of people. I don't imagine I'd use them a great deal for ordinary hiking - I'm fairly fit and have no problem with ascents - but for steep descents I don't want to be the only one without them, hanging off the back!

[jest]

I thought they were for the weak until I tried them. Now I swear by them, particularly for descents. On multi-day treks with a heavy pack, my knees are always grateful.

[nineveh_uk]

I am inclined to go for some on the basis that they will no doubt prove their worth over time (and are small beer compared to overall cost of holiday and not worth skimping on).

[tree_and_leaf]

I have no experience of trekking poles. I was leafing through my parents' Lakeland Walker magazines, though, and this months issue has a kit review of trekking poles. While I don't remember which model they recommended, I seem to recall that they did give a good write-up to a budget model, so it might be worth seeing if you can get hold of the issue.

[nineveh_uk]

Thanks for the tip - sounds like a lunchtime trip to WH Smith is required.

[caulkhead.livejournal.com]

I use them - it's the only way I can keep up with my partner on the uphills. They're brilliant for taking the strain off your knees, but I find sometimes they get in the way, and I like to have my hands free on loose ground, so it's worth having, or contriving, a way of attaching them to your rucksack. A bit of bungee elastic and a slide closure works fine.

They are expensive in outdoor shops, but it's worth checking places like Lidl. Or as I'm unlikely to be anywhere that I will need mine till at least October, I'd be happy to lend you mine if you're anywhere London in the next two weeks.

[aunty_marion]

I think I bought mine when they were on sale in Tesco some years back, but I've seen them in Lidl too. Make sure they have a decent wrist-strap so you can dangle them from a wrist when you need to stop and do things (like drinking, reading a map, etc) without them getting in the way or dropping on the floor so you have to pick them up. If you can, get hold of extra rubber feet for the bottoms - I have some that are a couple of inches long and curved, so they rock as you walk. Mine concertina/slide down to a size where they fit reasonably well diagonally across the suitcase; if I'm taking the big rucksack, it has straps on it to attach them.

Mostly I just take one with me when my knees are playing up, as they're more convenient for me than a walking stick!

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Good point about the wrist strap, thanks. I actually already have little rubber feet as I got some for my ski poles in shallow UK snow/

I don't do big rucksacks - the only time I tried I could hardly walk!

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

That is a very kind offer of you, but honestly, I'd spend the whole time terrified that I was going to lose/break one (which is silly, but I would still worry), so I shall decline on this occasion. But thank you!

I think I am going to buy some, though - they seem reasonably priced online, and my rucksack already has loops on for them. My knees are generally in good nick, but very long descents can exhaust anyone and it would be annoying to end up at the back all the time.

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

I used them on the Camino, but haven't since. They are very useful once you're used to them - almost like having an extra pair of legs. I would recommend taking them out a few times before the actual trip.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

The main variables that you can actually check in a shop (as opposed to reliability, which is more difficult) are size (max expanded size not usually an issue unless you're very tall, but min collapsed size is relevant if they need to fit in particular bags), weight (particularly relevant if you're going to be carrying rather than using them some of the time - I find heavy ones more trouble than they're worth but ymmv), whether the grips are comfortable, and whether you get a rubber thingy for putting over the spike on hard surfaces/when carrying. All the ones I've seen have a wrist strap.

I don't use mine enough to have made it worth paying full price, but I'd definitely take them on really long walks or where I would be taking a heavy bag. I'd definitely consider borrowing them if you're not going to be doing this sort of walk often - if you break them and need to replace them, you'd only be out of pocket by the same amount you'd have paid anyway, assuming you're not borrowing gold-plated ones*.

*And on that note, there's one company that makes a 'Titanium' range of walking poles, where 'Titanium' means 'this is our lighter range', not 'these poles are actually made of titanium'.

[jennyrad.livejournal.com]

Comfortable grips are important, and if you have small hands, potentially difficult. Trying them out is good. Strapping them to your rucksack when not using them is vital.

But I'm not really replying to this post - another post from you has come up in my Google Reader feed that I want to reply to, but LJ won't give me permission. I know about the Black Prince! That is, off the top of my head, I know he was called the Black Prince because he wore black armour, and I think he was Prince of Wales - he was certainly heir to the throne, but pre-deceased his father so never got the crown. What I want to know now is why there's a statue of him in Leeds ... (I vaguely, very vaguely, associate him with the crown prince character in A Knight's Tale.)