I'm a huge fan of trekking poles. Once you start using them, it's hard to imagine how you hiked without them. I've gone through a few pairs, I started with some cheap aluminum poles from Target, my current set is the Mad Rock carbon fiber, which weigh about half of what my first set did.

If you're just starting out, pick up a pair at Walmart for $10 each, they're heavy, but pretty durable, and if you decide they're not for you, then you haven't lost that much. The ultralight poles are really nice, but you do have to be a little more careful with them, a wrong placement could easily break them. It will also give you a chance to learn how to properly use them. There are some techniques to learn that will make it much more efficient than just using them as two walking sticks. Notice I always talk about them in pairs, they work much better as a pair than individual poles.