Walking stick? staff? Hiking poles?

Do you carry a stick when you walk or hike/ backpack? Why? What kind?

6' long bamboo staff, mainly to clear away spiderwebs.

-Blast

4 foot long birch sanded stained and poly'd. Leather wrap hand hold, not sure why, just like it. Oh ya ... not big on spiderwebs either blast.

Trekking poles. 20+ years of youthful invincibilty with too many heavy packs over 1000's of miles of rough trail hiking and mountaineering has now started to play havoc on my mid 40's knees...

When hiking I like to have a sturdy pole of some description.

I have a few I've used previously buy I often forget to bring one and often simply scavenge one near the trail head from dead fall. Bamboo is nice if it is handy and in good condition. But I'm not really picky. Nor do I get very sentimental about a stick. Picked up at the trail head I often leave it leaning against a tree for the next hiker when I get back.

Mighty handy. Clearing spiderwebs, checking to see if that 'puddle' is really six feet deep (it happens in the land of sinkholes), checking a clump of grass for snakes before charging into it, and probing the water's edge for alligators hiding underwater before kneeling down and working your water filter. Also handy for persuading a snakes to move off the trail, discouraging an overly friendly raccoon, and propping up one edge of a poncho to make a quick shelter to sit under while waiting for the afternoon rain to clear.

A nice stick is about as universally handy as a good bandanna.

bought one over the winter - a 1st for me:
http://wupensticks.com/index.html

An oak taproot, sanded and polyurethaned.

Besides the purposes already listed, I also use it as: a lantern stand, part of a shelter, clothes dryer hanger, and anything else that a need identifies.

I do a lot of skiing. Poles are considered somewhat mandatory. (Not quite true, our kids learn to ski without. Improves balance and the proper nordic skiing technique comes automatic when you don't fuss with the poles. This is why our family motto is: The cool and though ski without poles. Of course I must set the example and ski without poles with our kids...)


Using ski poles 3-4 months each year I am a bit pussled that I'm not bitten by the hiking poles bug. I've tried a couple of times, and objectively there is no doubt that it relieves the knees and legs. But so far it feels better to hike without them. Guess I have somewhat to try a bit harder...

If I'm ever in snake / spider / gator country I will follow the 6' pole advice pretty quickly. Not really a probleme here. If I need a stick to check water levels or whatever I just find one, but I never walk with it.

Nope.

Not coordinated enough.

Cameron

DW and I do a lot of hiking on the forest and prairie trails. Always have our 5' black walnut walking sticks with us. Cut, peeled, dried and sanded by hand, they take on a great luster when stained a golden oak color and coated with glossy polyurethane. Add a camo paracord wrist strap with wooden beads, and a hard metal tip embedded into the bottom end, and it's a joy to wield. We always have a couple of blanks drying in the shed. The sticks give us a little extra traction on a muddy slope, parts the thorny canes to access the blackberries, moves the nettles aside to search for morrels, shuffles the gravel in a clear brook to uncover the agates, helps answer the question; what's that?................

Yes. I walk my dog 1-2 miles a day a lot of it in the woods. Its nice for checking the depth of creeks, getting up and down hills,smashing limbs out of the way.

I use a Cold Steel Walkabout . Not a great "hiking" stick but a mighty fine weapon. Which is a main reason. Last year 3 times unleashed dogs went after mine,2 had a .38 snub pointed at them while I kicked them. One had a aluminum trekking pole broken over its snout/eyes. Which is why I switched the Walkabout.

The walkabout is nice because I can swing it with one hand,while the other holds the leash .

For dog walking I use this with a button compass in the top. It's handy for moving branches from the path, fending off unleashed dogs, correcting my dog's behavior (with a gentle tap) and helping me up and down the hills. I added a leather wrap at the top for a more comfortable hold and a strap to make sure I don't drop the darn thing.

Old broomstick with a crutch tip and a paracord wrap for the handgrip.

Bill

Trax staff I bought at REI last century.
Spiderwebs, snakes - check.

3rd leg for offtrail and off balance situations. Has prevented many falls over the years.

Helps with keeping trail rhythm. Gives my hands something to do and to switch off occasionally.

Hiking without it would feel very wrong.

I have several, everything from collapsible aluminum trekking poles to modified shovel handles to my favorite, a natural cane I happened to find. Very useful in snake country and in fording streams, as well as pitching shelters and tarps. When we carried our child in a baby carrier on hikes, the person carrying the carrier always used a stick.

Using a hiking staff definitely improves stability.

Now that my knees remind me that I'm getting old, I have started using the aluminum hiking poles. They really do help with the knees, and with stability in rough country.

I prefer to cut a 6 foot staff from a decent cedar sapling. There are a number of cedar groves up where I play in the big woods, and I thin them out once in a while for this purpose. Cedar is light, durable, and has a lot of longitudinal strength. I like the butt about 2" diameter; it fits my hand. I name every staff I make, no two are the same. I carve their name in the mid section and I sand, stain and varnish them in a natural look. My staffs last me about a decade, and I only make them for me and my immediate family. I have leather thonged the top of a couple for a better grip, but usually I just go with natural. As with my knives, all my staffs are blooded.

The last three I made were named "AEI", "VAEINE", and "MAEIR". I don't know if I will make any more in that series or if I will start a new series of names.

Yup, several.
What I take, or even if I take one, depends on where I am going and what I am packing.
Sometimes I prefer my hands free.

Some have mentioned using a found stick.
Those have the great advantage of being easily replaced when you are done with them.
(but I am not sure if you can just release naturally grown walking sticks back into he wild without a permit)

Dual collapsible "trekking" poles. Too many miles, too many falls. They do help with sketchy terrain, save some strain on the knees, and come in handy for various other uses. A custom hiking staff can be a thing of beauty, but is hard to stow when not in use on the trail.

Never leave home with trekking poles -- keep a pair in the car all the time.

For easier hikes I carry just one. Two for steep, rocky terrain.

Priceless when you have a bum knee and ankle. Great for clearing spider webs.

For several years I've relied on these REI super lightweight poles for women. The pair weigh 14.7 ounces and telescope down very small so they be stored in my pack or strapped to the outside.

http://www.rei.com/product/784272

And my snowshoe poles with snow baskets more than paid for themselves during and after the three major snowstorms we experienced this winter. For two weeks I did not walk anywhere without one of the snowshoe poles to keep from slipping on snow mounds that blocked many street corners. I lent the other pole to a friend who is now shopping for her own.

Hiking - yes. Walking - no.

I find it handy for keeping my balance as much as anything else. Sometimes you are crossing streams or over obstacles on the trail, and a little more stability is nice.

I have used several different sticks. Once upon a time it was a broomstick with some cord wrapped around it for a handhold. I have also used shorter sticks but found I did not like them for hiking. I bought a walking stick at Gander Mountain for my wife and I sometimes use it. I recently bought a 3 piece stick that I have yet to try in the woods.

Exactly.

I have Black Diamond Alpine trek poles with cork. They have the new flick type lock rather than twisting to seat. They hold much better. The cork is nice b/c hands get sweaty in desert summers and the cork sucks it right up. They weigh a pound and collapse well.

Make a big difference. I think they help hold my pace. They take a lot of weight off your upper body.

Regardless of type, I went with some novices to the Grand Canyon last year and in the gift shop I strongly recommended they buy the wood hiking stick they sold for $9. half came up after we were done, saying they would not have made the rim-river-rim trek without it.

Any time I am off pavement/concrete, I carry a hiking staff of some sort.

Always have. Mostly, it protects my trick knee. But it also pushes wet or spiny branches out of the way, and gives me that extra push to hop over a wide, muddy puddle. Going uphill, it speeds me up; going downhill, it slows me down, on purpose.

I have used a variety over the years. Old downhill ski poles are often free for the asking, and are very sturdy. Sometimes I'll cut a staff locally; in my part of the world, willow is okay but Saskatoon/serviceberry is by far the best.

If I were in trouble with minimal gear, one of the first things I'd do is cut a good, stout walking stick.

I like the current Black Diamond trekking pole I have. It has three sections, so I can turn it into a short alpenstock on easy trails or when traversing slippery boulder patches. As comms said, the flick lock is very strong. Mine has held up to years of use.

If you've never handled a rattan staff - or bo staff - the kind used in marshal arts - they are amazing.

My kids are both in Taikwando (junior black belts!! - proud papa), and they've used the rattan staffs for years. The rattan staffs are solid - not hollow. They are REALLY light weight and amazingly strong. The kids and their fellow students have beat them against each other for years without any breakage or damage. I'd highly recommend them.

I use a 6' staff when walking the neighborhood - mostly to deal with dogs.

Oh, I put a soft black rubber end-cap on the bottom, to make it last longer and to give it less tap, tap, tap.

I agree, third leg is always good and a 4th leg is even better in terrain such as this. One my fav hiking trails in a remote area has a very steep and loose rock field/slope to cross to continue on the trail. When carrying a full 40LB backpack, trekking (or any kind of poles/walking sticks) are almost mandatory as there is zero room for mistakes such as loosing your balance...



Take a fall here and you are in for a very bad day. You might as well be on the moon if you need help.

I also have BD poles with the flick locks. They are the best and most reliable locking system I have seen in any trekking pole design.

A friend of mine related a story about guiding a couple that had lived most of their lives in a city. They get a bit out ahead of him and one says 'Look at the funny rocks' he approaches and the man is squatting down and reaching. He it just about to touch a coiled rattler. Only a shout to stop moving, a slow withdrawal, and the snake being in a friendly mood, saved the day.

But he also related that the snakes, there were three or four on the sunny and warm side of that rock, really did blend quite well with the rocks and gravel and that had he lacked some common sense he might have seen the lumps as odd colored rocks also.

The point being that a good stick allows you to engage your gee-whiz, inner child, wonder of nature, mindset and maintain a safe distance.

I'm surprised how many people have one. I have one that i try to use on longer hikes, but here in Texas the topography can be so flat that there isn't much point to it. It has a carabiner on the strap which is a great feature for those long flat stretches where you don't really need anything. It was good in big bend but mostly a pain on the 4C trail.

I opted for the Leki photo with the removable top knob so you can "add a scope, camera or a gun mount". Although I haven't ever had the need to do any of that. Can't say it was worth it.

yup. I use a Aspen sapling about 5.5 long 1.5 in diameter. pealed,sanded and oiled. there is a spike in the end with a rubber cane cap with a metal insert over it

Another vote for Black Diamond poles. I love mine. Have two, but only use one at a time. Two is overkill for me.

Yep. Six footer with lashed strap long enough to go over one shoulder so I can let go of the staff and it remains within reach, including floating behind me while fishing. Excellent multi-tasker as noted by all above.

Just too usefull not too ..make it lose it Make another one.

I like to use a paracord wrapped staff; unless big mountain hiking where I'll use two trekking poles

Also, if you twist an ankle--or worse--while you are out there, it will make it a whole lot easier to get home.

I have a pair of REI collapsible hiking poles that live in the trunk of the car. I once hefted a very light wooden staff that was carved from spruce, and I remembered that spruce is the favorite material for wing spars in wooden aircraft for its strength-to-weight ratio.

Colin Fletcher said that a staff "turns me from an unsteady biped into a steady triped". He would cut something at the start of his trek.

Why? In case I find the need to speak softly...

6' section of Vine Maple. As Hanscom mentioned, it makes for a stable third leg -- and it's good for spider webs.

It's a fabulous day in the North, and my DW is baking a real cherry pie right now. When she is done, we are going to pick up our walking sticks and take a long hike into the woods. The anticipation is hard for me contain. Oh, and Im looking forward to the walk too.

It is good to hear that Winter is lifting its heavy hand from the North Woods. Are the bass biting yet? (That is probably not on your mind right now...)?

It's all a compromise, of course, but my thought is that we should somehow merge the walking stick with a staff and get a walking stiff.

Always! A 5 foot hickory stick with a rubber crutch tip, 30 feet of paracord woven as a hand grip and the button compass from Doug's kit recessed into the top end.

I carry it just walking through the park with the pooch since some owners don't always keep their dogs on leash.

I like the aesthetics of a wood staff of some sort but I think an adjustable aluminum trekking pole is infinitely more useful. Mine is something I got from REI years ago and has a ball head made from cork. It comes off to reveal a stud that will hold a camera.

I live in high desert country and at 59 stick to easier terrain than I once did. I like the feeling of security a trekking pole gives me and, with the lack of trees where I walk, I have an easy way to rig my tarp for a shelter if the need arose. I suppose it could be used as a thrusting weapon what with a carbide tip but I usually have a firearm with me in any event.

I really need to get a couple more as they should reside in any vehicle (we have 4) along with a basic kit of essentials in a small pack of some sort (each vehicle has one but I have to move the pole to whichever one I'm driving.

Treking poles for me. Crossing streams, or a fallen log suspended over a stream is so much easier with them - especially when wearing a pack.

And when in the "rocky" parts of the Rocky Mountains where some of the climbs are more stair-like than trail they really help too. More with coming down than going up, but even going up they help quite a bit.

And those loose scree slopes with lots of small rocks and gravel? You choose - a rock sanded butt as you slip and slide down, or four-legged trekking pole stability and a pristine backside once you get down.

They do not work well in boulder fields though. They stick, snag, and cause all kinds of havoc. Don't even try it!

5' rattan bo with a rubber foot at each end, and strategically placed gorilla tape. or this.
or, if i find myself wandering "unprepared," whatever hefty stick catches my eye when i realize my error.

Ah yes! I was trekking all over San Miguel Island in slippery winter conditions, with a wrist that was barely healed from a bike spill and I realized I desperately needed a hiking staff, unless I really wanted to screw up my wrist again with another tumble.

Then, walking along a beautiful sandy beach, there appeared a cast up mop handle. Once I had sanded off a few globs of tar, it became the best walking staff ever, and served for subsequent treks on SMI for years after.

You can find amazing things on beaches (just to hijack the thread a bit) - edible food, unopened soft drinks, working flashlights (waterproof, of course), hard hats, marine charts, unexpended phosphorus flares (that was exciting) and messages in a bottle (several). No mermaids, though.....

I tried them once, years ago, and was hooked immediately. My knees have had too many years of punishment, and they help a lot with that. I use some REI collapsible ones with the flik-lok device, they work great. I take only one when dayhiking, both when hiking overnight-multiday.

Here in the White Mountains of NH, hiking is very popular on the thousands of miles of maintained trails. One problem with the poles is that they are causing massive erosion of the trails.

As you hike a popular trail, look closely at the ground - you will see a myriad of holes that have been poked into the soil by the tips of the poles. Soil is loosened, churned up. The next rain washes the soil away. The next day more hikers and more poles. Later on more rain. Cycle after cycle.

The result has been that for many miles the trails have become pathways of exposed tree roots and rocks, and the trails are often even a foot or several feet below grade. You are walking in a trough.

As a youth in the 1970's hiking poles were uncommon. Sometimes hikers might use a stick, but that has a different effect on the ground. For some reason since then the hiking poles have become commonplace (I think it is partially the "cool factor" of looking the part of "hiker", the erosion problem is enormous, and I have taken to bushwhacking off-trail instead of using what I feel is a damaged trail system.

Easy solution - use the rubber tip caps. If it's really an issue I would think signage would caution people to not use the carbide tips on popular trails. This is the first time I've ever heard of such a complaint.

As a follow-up to my post above, I looked at who made my REI hiking staff. It's from Komperdell and REI calls it the "Guide Staff". I really prefer the ball head on these over what you see on most poles. I got two more for my kids. What's great about these is the height adjustability for people of all sizes.

REI Komperdell Guide Staff

And the accompanying boots did nothing to remove soil and incise the trail? If you have lots of people in an environment and on a trail, there will be impacts.....

Single hiking stick with removable cork top - there is a screw stud to accommodate cameras to act as a monopod. I wrapped a construction grade plastic bag around the lower portion of the handle /w 35' of 550 cord and 20' of SS wire. Below that I have duct tape wrapped around the pole (length unknown but I am guessing 25' plus). At one time I also had some aquarium tubing wrapped around the stick but had difficulty keeping it secured in place.

Hiking pole has on optional basket for marshy areas or occassional snow.

I am looking at going with 2 hiking sticks instead of just one to find out if it is any easier on my shoulders.

Humans, indeed every animal, has an impact on the terrain. It isn't just the scuffing and plowing effects of traffic. A lot of damage is a result of simple compaction.

I some types of soil the tendency is that rain soaks in but remains dispersed. This water only very slowly migrates downhill. If you pound down a path in the direction of even a very shallow slope the water will tend to slow toward the path and then preferentially use the compacted path to travel down the slope. This flow becomes a steady stream when it rains and the stream cuts the path deeper. In some soils a small path can become a gaping gully in a matter of days if the rain is heavy.

The only way around this is to recognize the relative delicacy of some areas and to limit the numbers of people who travel through it, to establish some way to make sure people don't follow the same path, or to get people to avoid the area entirely.

HIKING STAFF FOR LAST 40 YEARS

MR LONGARM 5208 - 4-8' Telescoping yellow glass pole with 3/4x5 TPI tip. One end rubber. One end with hardened carbon steel 1.5" spike.

ADD REI rubber trekking tip to threaded end.

ADD furnature rubber foot to other end - plus 1/4 x 2" drill point screw, two 1" washers, two 1/4" nuts.

ADD two hand loops of 550 cord - one to serve each end of pole.

ADD black dye to yellow pole and it turns green camo.

ADD 5" fiberglass disc on spike end in deep snow.

POLE COST with accessories - $25 new.

COMBINE with Kahtoola MICROspikes and you can cross any ice flow, slimey log or steep slippry slope.

It will keep a pack string of Llamas from passing while going down hill. It will keep an irritating trail dog at bay if you don't feel the need to dump it with your 10" Colt M16 Full Auto.

It works well for the center pole on the super tarp.

It works well to support either the Glock or the Colt if needed.

I am looking at going with 2 hiking sticks instead of just one to find out if it is any easier on my shoulders. [/quote]

you might try a fanny pack ( lumbar pack)

I really like this idea, but I'm having a problem following the "Joe Friday" narrative. Do you have any pictures of your invention with accessories?

You can screw a 1" x 1" x 3/4" Schedule 80 PVC Tee on the threaded end. Fine tune the length and you have a reasonable "CRUTCH".

I use a set of treking poles. They are collapsible so it frees up my hands if needed.

ah yes, the venerable mop/broom handle. i used one from the school trash for several years. i'd still be using it if i hadn't broken it across a tree trying to fend off a hornet.