Or is it staves???

Anyways, what makes for a good hiking staff, either natural or manufactured?

In my experience, Western Red Cedar saplings make the best sticks I've ever tried. When thinning a cedar grove, I pick ones that are at least 2" diameter at the base and 1" or more at 6'. I've tried Spruce and a few hardwoods, but found Spruce to be too soft and tending to bow during the curing process too much. Madrona is my favorite hardwood, though it is heavy and finding a straight piece long enough is quite an adventure. I think some of the Madrona I've worked with is harder than English Oak!

Cedar is light but strong, though the wood will dent easier than others. It carves fairly easily, and tends to hold true better than any other evergreen I've worked with. It is naturally weather resistant, though I always varnish my sticks anyways. I have yet to have one split on me, though if one were so concerned, a simple thong wrap at the ends would tend to exclude that possibility altogether.

I've never been one for manufactured walking sticks, or staffs, though I realize that they can be made with far superior physical properties to natural ones. For me it is aesthetics I suppose, and the value of making my conservaton efforts pay a dividend or two.

I have always been kinda lazy, so I used to just buy a 1" in diameter six ft long clothes pole at the lumberyard, stick a rubber cane tip on it, cut to desired length, drill a hole in the other end and add a paracord loop, then hit the trails. When we needed to downsize a lot of stuff, we bought two Tracks Sherlock Walking Staffs, which collapse down to 41", and extend to 56". They come with a rubber tip, which is removable to bare the steel point, and have a removable snow basket. Kind of pricy, but they do what we need now...


Edit: It must have been one of those dreaded senior moment, 'cuz I just remembered that we have bunch of diamond willow in a side compartment that we brought back from Alaska. Gotta finish scraping the bark off, get 'em sanded and laquered, and figure out a tip for at least a couple of them. Then we will have some pretty hiking sticks...

For years I've used a wooden staff with a metal hook at the top (very useful for catching branches/roots/stuff that fell into the creek, etc).

I use an 1 1/4 inch rod for mine with finger grooves filed into it at top/middle/and bottom. (I think it was an old closet rod).

The wooden staff has some structural advantages that the telescoping ones don't. On our last trip I was able to wedge one end of my staff into a root bundle and the other end wedged onto my thigh to give my daughter a stable foothold scaling up a steep incline. The metal staff probably would've bent under that use.

I've even given my old one to my daughter and she uses it just like a hand reaching up without thinking to hook onto my staff so that I can pull her up an embankment, etc. She also hooks onto my daypack so that I can tow her up hills (A daddy's job is never done).

Recently I've found out how much easier it is to use two staffs while hiking so I bought a telescoping staff to use in my left hand.

It made a big difference having the two of them taking a lot of strain off my knees and I can collapse it when I only need the one .

I've thought of just going ahead and carrying two telescoping hiking staffs but I've gotten so used to having the hook and having the stouter wooden one that I've compromised and plan to carry both.

I currently use a pair of collapsable Al/Ti hiking sticks for the light weight and to help take the load off my knees when backpacking. When out with the scouts when hiking is not the emphasis of the trip, I prefer a natural stave. I am not sure of the proper name, but we always called it "ironwood". Increadably strong and light weight when dry. Mine is approx. 5 foot long and about 1 1/4" at the top, tapering to about 1" on the bottom. I trimmed the bottom a little bit and glued a 3/4" copper tubing coupling on the end to keep it from splitting under heavy use. Drilled near the top and ran a leather thong through it for a wrist / hanging strap.

There is such a wide variety of options and opinions that it is hard to say what is "the best", so just get what suits you. However, people with bad knees probably do need two ski-pole type hiking sticks when negotiating rough terrain at speed. I prefer rigid poles to those with shock-absorbing features, but many people prefer the opposite. I collect hiking staffs and have a wide variety both store-bought and handmade. But I rarely carry any of them unless I am making a multi-day backpacking trip. Then I prefer my homemade hickory staff, 5' tall, 1" thick, very tough, a crutch tip on the bottom attached with shoe goo, and a natural Y top. The Y at the top is perfect for catching snakes, proping my backback against a tree with the carry loop, or to stretch a line across for a tarp shelter. On shorter hikes, I generally prefer to just pick up the first stick I find and keep "trading up" until I have a pretty good hiking stick by the time I get home. If it's really nice, I trim it up and add it to my collection.

When I was out on a fire I brought back some aspin staves. They work wonderfull when dry. Light, strong and fairley stright.

(I am reposting my response from an old hiking pole thread )
"I am a recent convert myself. Before I always hiked without them, thinking that the poles would get in the way.
As I got older, I realized that my knees were giving out on me,. On my last hike to the top of Mt. Whitney, hiking poles made a huge difference: I was able to go down the mountains with ease, and my uphill speed increased dramatically.
I have Black Diamond hiking poles. They are easy to adjust if you are switching from uphill to downhill, unlike the Leki kind.
Here is an old knee support/hiking poles thread "

Thanks for some great ideas concerning walking stick attachments. I will try the hook first and see how that works out.
My walking stick is an oak (sapling) tap root. Very hard and coated with polyurathane. It is approx 5' 6" (L) x 2" (D). I use it in many ways and I am still finding new applications for my stick.

The following company sells beautiful walking sticks, I have one of their twisted oak sticks.

http://www.brazos-walking-sticks.com/index.html

Hello All,
I am newcomer to this forum and I wish to introduce myself. I am an old timer of 51 with many years of backpacking, hiking, hunting experience as well as other outdoor pursuits. I have only recently become interested in survival skills and I hope to learn all I can from the folks here. I reside in Albuquerque,NM and spend much of my free time fly fishing and hiking the trails near town and in the romote areas as well.
Regarding hiking poles or staves:
For the last ten years or so I have adopted a pair of MSR adjustable hiking poles when I am backpacking. I find them invaluable for maintaining balance on rough or steep terrain and especially when crossing creeks, etc. For simple walking for pleasure I use a single six foot length of Rattan, 2" in diameter, with brass ends and a rubber crutch tip at the bottom. I have a length of 550 paracord wrapped around the grip and a small button compass in the top brass cap that is removable. I find Rattan to be the best balance between strength, weight, flexibility and durability. Sometimes on a lark I will carry a dried Yucca staff...amazingly light and surprisingly strong but prone to damage and splits. Thse are good in a pinch as they are disposable and replaceable almost anywhere in New Mexico.
I carry a fairly comprehensive personal survival kit in the fanny pack that I wear or a smaller essentials kit inside a pocket sewn into the crown of my hat.
I hope to meet and get to know many if not all of you in the future, perhaps I can contribute an idea or two as well as learn much from you all.
Regards,
Kixonrt66

Welcome new guy.

Since you are from NM, maybe you can answer a question for me. Once, while vacationing in Arizona, we were out hiking, and stumbled upon the remains of a downed saguaro cactus. The ribs were a honeycome pattern, and seemed to be very light, I have wondered ever since if one of those ribs might make into a really light and strong hiking stick. Do you have any experience with the stuff???

Hello OBG,
Actually I have a friend who has used these Saguaro "ribs" for hiking staffs before. They are very light and make a good temporary staff but they are not durable enough for a permanent one, sort of like the yucca stalks I have used. I wouldn't hesitate a minute to use one in a pinch though.
Kix

Thanks for the info. Next time I find a dead one I might cut myself a chunk, just to play with...

i too have a wooden staff i use. i purchased it at cold steel's parking lot sale. some type of chinese wood - according to their website, but now no longer available. i think no longer available due to the relatively high shipping cost in comparison to the staff itself. i also saw something like it on several martial art websites.

edited - it is 'wax wood'.

mine is unvarnished as wet is not an issue where i hike.

i have a copper 'plumbing' cap epoxyied (sp?) to the bottom.

and i have it wrapped top and bottom as seen here:

http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html

"hiking staff"

i have grown to like mine and use it every time i go out.

the question i have is: what type and size hook do you use? i had thought about that but wasn't sure if the hook would get in the way or catch on someone's hand if we were using the staff to pull someone up an incline.

thanks,
bsmith

Why not use a loop of rope?

I use one of those rubber coated hooks you use to hang your bike up with (by the wheels, upside down).

It's about 7 inches long from tip of threads to curve.

The hook is about 3 inches wide from tip to shaft.

The curve of the hook is parallel to the top of the staff with the thread screwed into the staff at an angle.

Once the hook is screwed in as far as I want it, I bend it so that the shaft of the hook is flush against the staff (kinda looks like a shepherd's crook).

I've wrapped some cord around the staff at the hooks insertion site and shaft in a vain attempt to have something that looks like cocks-combing and to provide some stability (Not pretty but it works).

It hasn't gotten in the way at all in fact the "V" shape the hook's shaft and the staff make at the top are pretty handy for pushing branches/briars up over my head while I walk under them.

The hook at the top of the staff also acts like a lever to better steer the staff as I'm descending hills or rocks.

I've taken a picture of it and attempted to attach it to this post but I don't have a website to give it a URL address (am I saying this right?).

Like most men, I know how to download pictures (don't ask), but I'm not real savvy about how to upload them.

I guess I'm going to have to join the rest of the planet and put a "my space" site of my own (I feel so old).

Around here hazel is probably the best option. Pretty light and strong and you can find long straight saplings easily. In a pinch you could also make a bow out of it (even green wood if a dry sapling is not available).

I've always said "staves".

A good staff does the job you need it to do. What are your priorities?

Many people here have commented that they like the high-tech sort of ski pole like walking sticks. Myself, I have a pair of three-section Komperdell poles (rebranded by EMS) that I use for skiing only, mainly because I switch off between Salomon 1080 skis and Line Jedi 89 skiboards, so if I don't want to use the poles for awhile, they can be collapsed and strapped to my backpack.

I would never use these things as general hiking sticks, or even worse "survival sticks". They're just not sturdy enough to do anything other than what they were specifically designed to do, and I'd rather have something a bit more versatile, sturdier, and more reliable than multi-section aluminum sticks with lots of parts.

Around town, I use a Cold Steel City Stick. Nice thick fiberglass stick with a pretty polished stainless steel head. It only lacks two things. One is a proper tip, solved by sticking a standard black crutch tip on the end, available at any pharmacist. The other is something to hold it up when you need your hands free. I need to put some nice cord around it for that, because I keep dropping it and nicking up the head. Now I know why so many canes and umbrellas have a crook! I think I want to get another one and paint it brown for vanity's sake.

My favorite stick these days is a Red Oak stick that I hand carved (well, whittled, really) out of a spacer from a stack of lumber from back in the days when I used to work at a lumber yard. Just the other day, I gave it a nice coat of beeswax polish. It's about the length of a Jo staff (4.5 feet or so), and about 1-1/8 inch thick. Someday, I will replace it with a prettier version with nice shod ends. I think I'd like Japanese White Oak (shirakashi), like my favorite drum sticks from Pro-Mark.

The Crawford Survival Staff looks neat, too, if a bit pricey!

thank you for the explanation of your hook. i can see how it really must come in handy for you.