Trekking poles are great for adding stability and comfort to your hike, whether hiking across the country or on a weekend trip. Although trekking poles are not essential, many backpackers and hikers love them for various reasons.
This article will cover everything you need to know when hiking with poles and what you should do before you buy a pair.
Trekking Pole PROS
Trekking poles relieve stress on your joints – The biggest benefit of hiking with trekking sticks is that they absorb some shock from your joints when you step, especially during ascents or descents. Do you ever feel pain in your knees when hiking downhill? Use trekking poles to relieve the pain and pressure from your knees.
Give your arms something to do. Every day is a leg day on hiking trails. Your arms may not be engaged if your hike involves boulder scrambles and bushwhacking. Trekking poles are a great way to exercise your arms and keep your hands from swelling as you climb. Poor circulation can cause swelling of your wrists, fingers and hands if you keep your arms straight up while you climb. The pumping action of trekking poles and raising your arms can promote better circulation and prevent swelling.
Maintaining balance You know what’s better than that two legs? Four legs. Trekking poles can be used as an additional set of limbs to give you greater stability on difficult terrain. Poles are useful for keeping your balance while crossing water swiftly, traversing snowfields or ice patches, trekking along narrow ridgelines and climbing hills on the loose ground such as sand, scree, or sand. Trekking poles have been used multiple times to keep our balance when fighting high winds.
Trekking poles are a great way to maintain a steady pace. Trekking sticks can allow you to walk in a smooth rhythm (foot, pole, foot) and help you keep up a good pace for longer. Trekking poles can make hiking faster and more enjoyable.
Poles are used to measure ice strength and depth. It can be difficult to know how deep a water crossing is or how thick the frozen stream ice is. You can cross dangerous terrains safely with trekking poles.
Leave your tent poles at home. We love multipurpose items. Some ultralight tents use trekking poles instead of tent poles. The ZPacks Duplex, Triplex and the Hyperlite Mountains Gear Ultamid2 are some of our favorite trekking pole tents.
Using trekking poles to keep wild animals away can be a good idea. Always being aware of what is happening in the backcountry is important. You must avoid sneaking up and encroaching upon wild animals’ territory. Sometimes animal encounters happen despite our best efforts. You can make a loud noise to scare away large animals like bears by banging your poles against rocks or trees. You can wave trekking poles high above your head to make yourself seem larger. This can discourage animals from approaching.
Trekking poles are a great way to get a ride to town. We always have our trekking poles with us when we must ride from trail to trail or vice versa. Poles indicate to drivers that you’re a hiker and need to get somewhere. We have found that they increase the chance of getting picked up faster.
