Hiking staff
From Trail-Finder -- Dedicated to getting you outside
Contents |
Overview
Hiking staffs are lightweight, strong poles used during hiking. Sold individually, they are similar to trekking poles, which are used in pairs. Held like a ski pole, hiking staffs give you added stability while walking over rugged terrain and also give you added support and stability to help minimize back and knee pain.
Features
A hiking staff is a very simple device. There are only four main components.
- Handle: The pole is gripped by the handle, which is located at the top of the hiking staff. The handle is generally form-fitting, so you should find one which fits comfortably in your hand.
- Strap: A thin nylon strap, usually 1/4" - 1/2" wide. Adjustable length straps are better than fixed-length straps.
- Shaft: Lightweight, durable materials, such as aluminum alloys, fiberglass, or even carbon fiber, are usually used for the shaft, which is the main body of the hiking staff. The better hiking staffs are adjustable length, and may contain springs or shock absorbers to lessen the impact.
- Tip: At the bottom of a hiking staff is the tip. The tip is generally pointed, sometimes quite sharply.
Optional Features
- Tip cover: Some staffs come with screw-on caps for the sharp tips. These allow you to more easily use your staff without either damaging the surface (boardwalks, etc) or sinking into the ground (in soft sand, mud, etc).
- Basket: Like ski poles, some hiking staffs have a "basket" or disk, just above the tip. The basket is designed to stop the pole from sinking into soft surfaces like sand and snow. For snow, large baskets are preferable. For sand and soft dirt, smaller baskets are better, since they're less likely to catch your ankle.
- Camera mount: Some hiking staffs have a ball or cap on the top which can be unscrewed, exposing a standard 1/4" camera tripod mount. This allows you to use a hiking staff as a camera monopod.
Use
To grip a hiking staff, hold the staff with the strap hanging on the right side (or left side, if you want to use it on your left side). With your thumb up, place your hand through the strap, then grip the handle with your thumb over the strap. Normally, you'll swing the staff with a light grip. When you get to rugged terrain, river crossings, steep climbs, etc, you use it like third leg, increasing your stability.
There is no preferred side to use a hiking staff. Some always use it on the left side, some always on the right side, and others switch back and forth. If you're crossing sideways across a steep slope, it's better to use a hiking staff on the downhill side, but other than that, there's no specific advantage to one side or the other, unless you're using it to assist a with an injury, a bad knee, for example.
See Also
- Trekking poles: Basically, two hiking staffs.
- Walking stick: A low-tech version of a hiking staff. Generally a fallen tree branch picked up alongside the trail, but sometimes custom cut and/or carved. If engineered far enough, it becomes a hiking staff.
