Hello & Walking Poles

"Andy" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone, this is my first post so bear with me.

I have just started walking but am bitten with the whole thing and now
walk twice a week with my dad. We have done many of the walks around North
East Wales and recently been lured to Snowdonia. We have walked both the
tourist path (from llanberis)and pyg and miner track (from pen y pas)
which we really enjoyed. So my questions is the use of poles good or bad.
I have tried to read up on it but can't really find peoples
opinions/experiences. Can you guys please comment on the good/bad effects
the poles have to you.

See the 'Walking with Poles" thread that started 18/4. Normally the tone of
threads is much friendlier in URW :-)

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

[email hidden] said...

Quoted message said:

Can you guys please comment on the good/bad effects the poles have to you.

Hello and welcome. The subject of poles (as opposed to Poles)
does rear its head here every now and then... Basically, some
people like them; others don't. It's a matter of personal
choice. I like to walk with one pole; other pole users prefer
to use two. I like to keep one hand free at all times. I use
my pole for balance; others use them to help prevent damage
(from strain) to their knees. My advice would be to either
find a cheapish pair or borrow some to try. See what you
think, and if you like them buy your own. If you don't find
them useful don't pursue the subject for the time being but
see what the future brings as you may change your mind. With
poles costing anything from £6.99 a pair (Lidl recently) to
£40 each it's not worth spending a fortune unless you're
really sure it's what you want. I don't suppose that helps
you in the least, but OTOH you probably don't want to read the
'walking with poles' thread that's in here at the moment. It
got a bit messy.

--
If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs...
then you've failed to grasp some important aspect of the
situation.

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the
wonderful person Andy <[email hidden]> said

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone, this is my first post so bear with me.

I have just started walking but am bitten with the whole thing and now walk
twice a week with my dad. We have done many of the walks around North East
Wales and recently been lured to Snowdonia. We have walked both the tourist
path (from llanberis)and pyg and miner track (from pen y pas) which we
really enjoyed. So my questions is the use of poles good or bad. I have
tried to read up on it but can't really find peoples opinions/experiences.
Can you guys please comment on the good/bad effects the poles have to you.

I use one ... it stops me falling over (usually), given that something
with three legs is stable and something with two isn't. Something with 4
legs (i.e. two poles) is even more stable, but then you don't have a
free hand for eating your apple, working your GPS, blowing your nose, or
whatever.

You pays your money and takes your choice. If using just one, I prefer
the ones with a dual purpose handle - i.e. can be used as a regular
walking stick as well as a 'ski pole' hold.

Oh, they are also useful for hacking through nettles, brambles,
frightening cows, and figuring out if the mud is quite as deep as it
looks (none of those uses are likely to apply up Snowdon, iirc).

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
Contact recommends the use of Firefox; SC recommends it at gunpoint.

Andy said:

So my questions is the use of poles good or bad.

I couldn't do without them, but others would not be seen dead with
them! And many do not know how to use them efficiently, which is why I
suspect they are often scorned. Useful info at
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm

Andy said:

So my questions is the use of poles good or bad.

As often is the case, the answer is "it depends"...

They can certainly be useful, especially on a long and tough day, but
there are numerous occasions when they just get in the way. I'd be
inclined not to worry about them unless you're experiencing some sort of
problem that they address, such as aching or painful knees/legs or
balance problems. If you do have problems, or at least the inklings of
them, then that's the time to start worrying, but poles aren't a
no-brainer that every walker should be using.

I use them on long, hard days as if I don't my knees start protesting
and it reduces m enjoyment a fair bit. By long and hard I'm thinking of
10 hours or so on big hills. For something a fair bit shorter I won't
bother as I prefer to have my hands free, and my knees don't mind. Of
course, different people have different ideas of "long and hard"!

It's worth noting that for taking weight off your legs the great
majority of folk I see with them aren't using them in a way that does
anything beyond the psychological. It is important to develop good
technique to get the most out of them, and some tips on that are at
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm
Most people just wave them at the ground which is ineffectual at best.
I think a lot of people have bought them because they've decided they're
Really Useful, but without technique they're just a way of spending
money to fill your hands with something that doesn't help. They can be
a very useful fix, but if the thing they fix ain't broke then I'd save
your money rather than fix it...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Chris" <proteus1@gmxDOTnet> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Andy said:

So my questions is the use of poles good or bad.

I couldn't do without them...

and I think that is the essence of why they can be both bad and good. Good
because they offer knee support and help you to walk upright but bad in the
sense that you become more and more reliant on them. I personally never
dont use them now but I often wonder whether this is good for me. I think
it is preferable if you are carrying a backpack but otherwise(and
particularly if scrambling) they get in the way.

rob

Peter Clinch said:

Andy said:

So my questions is the use of poles good or bad.

As often is the case, the answer is "it depends"...

They can certainly be useful, especially on a long and tough day, but
there are numerous occasions when they just get in the way.

I normally use poles but this weekend I was without due to having left
them in the boot of the car when I took it to the garage. So
Saturday's urw epic was done without. I only missed them on the long
steady ascent to the hole in the wall - it always seems to take me
ages to get my legs going - and on the long descent on the path past
Dove Crag. The more open descent from Dollywagon Pike to Grisedale
Tarn was less of a problem because I ignored the path and made wide
zig-zags.

The next day they would have been useful when making the boulder
hopping crossing of the ford across Borrowdale Beck on the track just
downstream of the bridge that carries the A6. My light boots have a
hole and I couldn't splash across in wild abandon as I usually do in
my uber-boots and gaiters.

PS I forgot that the poles also help to keep my "puffy hands" under
control, I resorted to a fiddling stick on Saturday.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Thanks for the replies. Guess I might try and borrow a set and try them out
for myself.