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.