I don’t need any hiking poles but I am starting to think I may find them useful to have, mainly for any walk with a nasty downhill.
I’ve done some research and needs some advice I can completely ignore, please.
The ones I have settled on are carbon, cork grip, and fold down to about 2 foot. About 450g. They will probably hang off my day bag a bit as I am not sure I’ll have them to hand the whole time.
I’m wondering if I should get the z type that fold down to much less. I’m never going to use them for much more than day packs and scrambles. There is a wide range of types and I do prefer to spend more to get better lightness and quality.
Always helps to ask before buying something I see as a long term item.
If I didn’t then they were an unnecessary nuisance and weight and cost and one more thing to go wrong or to get lost.
Sometimes I find a pole handy though. They can be good for
Stabilising myself on paths which are narrow and muddy/slippy
Shooing cattle away (surprisingly effective - cattle seem to regard people without sticks as interlopers and people with sticks as ‘maybe the farmer’)
Probing to check where the standing water in the bog is 5cm deep and where it’s 60cm deep. Or more.
Flattening the nettles and, if swung hard and fast enough, chopping a path through the brambles.
Hanging the rucksack from when I stop for a break and the ground is wet.
For most of these things I need a substantial stick, capable of taking most of my weight and ideally with a little hook at the top made from a short length of side-branch. It won’t be weightless but it will do the job(s).
I’ve never bought one. I’ve always picked them up from where a recent storm, or a farmer with a chain-cutter, has cut them down. Then I’ve trimmed them to suit. Any that have snapped off naturally or lain on the ground for more than a very few months will be too rotten to be reliable.
I do use poles a lot, and have gone through at least 10 pairs over 18 years or so. When you use them downhill then a lot of your weight can come on them and you might be looking at a steep drop, so you really don’t want ones that will break or telescope under load (as I have found out!).
From experience I avoid Z-folds (nice idea but my ex and I managed to break several Black Diamond pairs, both carbon and ali) and only go for flick-lock junctions to avoid telescopic collapse.
I prefer aluminium ones, which tend to bend rather than break when they get stuck in a a crack in the rock.
My longest-lasting pair have been Leki Sherpas (still using an old pair) which are also the most comfortable that I’ve found (sloping top on handgrip). Snags are that they are a bit long for packing, fairly heavy, and list at £140 for a pair. For my last two trips to the Costa Blanca hills (15 weeks total) I’ve taken the same pair of Brotree Tundra, shorter when collapsed, Chinese and cheap but well made, which have not yet let me down - unfortunately it looks as if they are no longer available
As ever, everyone has a different view (largely linked to different needs)
An element on the the sizing is what options your rucksack has for storing them. If you have side straps that you can use to hold them on the outside, you really don’t need to worry too much about how much they fold down.
Sarah has been using a pair of Harrier Catbells for ages, and they’ve been very robust (and she puts some serious miles on them each year with the running she does):
They’re plenty light enough even for trail running, and their customer service when things got lost was top notch too.
I would also say, unless you really want to have knee replacements at some point, it’s worth using them for any days of reasonable length or with appreciable downhill, they do a lot to alleviate the load.
Just for another option, I’ve been using one of these for a few years now. Powerlock works really well and stays locked, the handle has various grips which helps for different tasks/preferences. I’ve beat the snot out of it and had no problems.
Barring a last minute change of mind I think I’ll go for these (at a much better retail price).
Mainly due to reviews. They are 24 inch packed down which isn’t great, but as they will be strapped to the outside of the bag I’ll cope.
Nearly went ultralight, but if I think I’ll be carrying them I won’t need to take them?
Had Leki aliminium for years which have been great but bought the better half some carbon ones which have been fantastic.
I know there are lots of reports of carbon being fragile (BD and others breaking), but they have been great and I will likely buy myself some down the line…