Here’s another article on the benefits of hiking with a pair of poles. It covers all the basics at the beginning but gets into an area we don’t hear much about in the U.S.: Nordic walking, which is all the rage in Europe. Basically, it’s cross-country skiing without the skis. You move your poles stride-for-stride with your feet rather than every other stride as you might while hiking.
I tend to go Nordic-style when I take my poles out, because it’s the only way I can get much of an upper-body workout while hiking. The article mentions that you burn 40 percent more calories while Nordic walking vs. regular walking, which is nice but don’t forget: 40 percent more calories is 40 percent more work. It’s a lot more tiring.
Poles are great for your lower extremities — not just knees, but feet and ankles, too. I’d caution against using them all the time, though, because the muscles in your legs will become accustomed to a distributed load, so hikes without poles will seem far more strenuous. As with any exercise, it’s best to mix it up.
Owning poles will give you more hiking options. For instance, when I got my insulated, waterproof overboots for mud-hiking season, I reasoned that since the boots add an extra pound per foot (plus the weight of all the mud that’ll stick to them), hiking with poles would help spread the load around and make the hike less hellish for calves and thighs. Worked pretty well, though it was one more thing to clean up when I got home.
My poles are stowed unless I’m backpacking, hiking more than 10 miles or doing mild upper-body training. They’re good to have around but the real question is like all other deal choices: will you actually use them?
I’ve been looking into getting a pair of poles but I haven’t yet really researched into them too heavily? What are some of the considerations you should look for in picking a pole? Is it all about weight, anything else is secondary?
There’s tons of considerations… the better ones are spring loaded and have cork handles to absorb perspiration. Top of the line Lekki poles are built pretty strongly but other makes are quite a bit cheaper.
Weight is a big deal but not the only consideration… I’m betting if you did a search at whiteblaze.net (the appalachian trial bbs) you could get some good pointers. Most long-distance hikers use ’em so they’d be good people to ask.
(Any thru-hikers hanging around who’d care to chime in?)
I use two trekking poles for all my hiking now as do many serious walkers in the UK. There aren’t many off-road walks that I would do without them.
I do find that it is nice, occasionally during a walk, to stash them away in the pack for a while. I guess it is like anything else, a bit of change in stress and posture will do you good. So, I tend not to use them on tarmac road surfaces for example.
The other area that you have to watch for is scrambling. Here poles can be dangerous and can lull you into a false sense of security. It is easy to have the poles at the wrong length and they can easily pitch you off balance. And, of course, poles can get stuck in holes and divots. When embarking on any length of reasonable scrambling it is far safer to put the pokes away.
I use Leki poles – non cork. I’ve never had any trouble with them. They are lasting a very long time. My poles have taken a lot of punishment and the only real effect here is that the pain on the shaft has been rubbed away so much that you can’t see the measurement marks.