Tom,

Although I agree with most of what you said, I must disagree with this statement. I have used my glacier axe (a long one) many times as a walking stick for the approach. Although it may not be as good as my walking stick, it is very suitable. Like my walking cane on the city streets, it provides an excellent 3rd leg in unstable situations. My climbing axe would not, so it goes on my pack and I carry my segmented walking staff.

Again I would not buy one just for general walking - there are better choices IMHO. But they do work well if you have one of the right length and I would not hesitate to take mine if I felt it would be more useful on the particular trail than my staff.

Respectfully,

Jerry