Trekking poles
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Overview
Trekking poles are lightweight, strong poles used during hiking. Always sold in pairs, they can be used in pairs, as trekking poles, or individually, as a hiking staff. Held like ski poles, trekking poles 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
Trekking poles are very simple devices. There are only four main components.
- Handle: The pole is gripped by the handle, which is located at the top of the trekking pole. 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 trekking pole. The better trekking poles are adjustable length, and may contain springs or shock absorbers to lessen the impact.
- Tip: At the bottom of a trekking pole is the tip. The tip is generally pointed, sometimes quite sharply.
Optional Features
- Tip cover: Some poles come with screw-on caps for the sharp tips. These allow you to more easily use your pole without either damaging the surface (boardwalks, etc) or sinking into the ground (in soft sand, mud, etc).
- Basket: Like ski poles, some trekking poles 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 trekking poles 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 single trekking pole as a camera monopod.
Use
To grip a trekking pole, hold the right pole with the strap hanging on the right 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 poles alternately with a light grip. When you get to rugged terrain, river crossings, steep climbs, etc, you use them like third and fourth legs, doubling your stability.
See Also
- Hiking staff: Basically, a single trekking pole.
- 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.
