I discovered I had knee problems getting ready for a backpacking trip. After 5 miles on a practice hike, they became extremely painful. One hiking pole didn't help, but two made a huge difference. It took the weight off on the downhills enough that I could finish.

I tried Patella bands that go around the knee, below the kneecap and a wrap around neoprene support, with a kneecap hole, that fastened with velcro. Neither helped. The magic bullet was an ACE neoprene knee support that pulled on over the foot, had a kneecap hole, and had two flexible tubular side supports on either side of the knee. They are found in most drug stores.

I bought a pair of Leki collapsable hiking poles for the trip. Don't waste money on anti-shock. They are a nuisance and noisy. I used them during practice hikes and never could tell that it helped, so I ended up locking the anti-shock off for the main hike. Mountainsmith makes a reasonably priced aluminum collapsible hiking sticks without antishock. My son used those and was happy with them.

Between the knee supports and the hiking poles, I completed a Philmont trek with the scouts, pain free. The knee supports are hot, but worth it.