Re: Walking poles - seeking advice

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I need to get myself a couple of walking poles and am trying to work out
which ones to get

Why do you say you "need" them? Lots of people get on fine
without. There are good reasons to use them, but also the case that
they are /not/ a no-brainer essential. I have a pair, but actually
/don't/ use them on more walks than when I do.

Perhaps start off at
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm and review uses
and technique etc. first.

Quoted message said:

the poles are made of, whether they have anti-shock, what the handle is
made of and whether it's positive angle or not etc.

Most poles are made of aluminium, and that's fine. Titanium or carbon
ones are lighter, but we're not talking tonne weights with vanilla
ones.

Anti-shock is, to my mind, a complete waste of time for most people as
it's solving a problem you needn't have. By a little work on
technique there shouldn't be any shock to absorb, so you're paying
extra money for something you don't need, and adding a moving part
into the bargain.

Fancy grip materials and "positive angle" grips are, likewise, pretty
pointless to my mind in a walking pole. The strap is the important
bit taking your weight, and it's vital that that is comfortable, but
with your weight on the strap there's little need to hold onto the
grip most of the time except a loose hold for guidance. And that
doesn't benefit from angles or expensive material.

I'm a sad gear junkie and I've got the money for fancy poles. But I
still don't use them as I find a vanilla pair will do everything I
need. I once got given 3 pairs doing a review, including an anti-shock
Leki pair. Gave them away to a friend, so it isn't as if I'm just
poo-pooing something I haven't tried.

fully agree with Peter. I've just done a 700 mile trip with poles
(http://www.trailjournals.com/ole/). the poles I used were fixed
length, no anti-shock but with very good Nordic skiing style straps.

I wouldn't have done the walk without the poles. they're brilliant
when you have a heavy pack. helps balance, more upright posture, makes
walking on snow fields easier, priceless for crossing rivers.

there is a technique to using poles though. a lot of people just
dangle them about. helpful for balance perhaps, but if you want any
speed gain you need to walk as if you're cross country skiing. hard
work. :-)

unless one of the following conditions are true I wouldn't use poles
on a normal walk in the British hills:

- heavy pack
- knee ache
- want more exercise, i.e Nordic walking

/ot

Bitstring <[email hidden]>, from the wonderful person
Ole Troan <[email hidden]> said
<snip>

Quoted message said:

unless one of the following conditions are true I wouldn't use poles
on a normal walk in the British hills:

- heavy pack
- knee ache
- want more exercise, i.e Nordic walking

Me neither, although I find that ONE (Brasher .. which can be used as a
normal walking stick, given the handle design) is helpful on really
rough ground, as a sort of third leg, and for (gasp!) hacking nettles
and things out of the way. Stopped me falling over more than once. Can
also be used to lever barbed wire under the top fence strand (wind it
round 180 degrees) for climbing over. 8>.

Of course I don't usually get into the sort of terrain where 4 legs and
all wheel drive is essential., and I usually have the other hand holding
GPS &/or map.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.

GSV Three Minds in a Can said:

and I usually have the other hand holding
GPS &/or map.

That's my problem. I need to have the map and compass/gps to hand
(because I can't remember the way for more than two minutes) and I
find the poles just get in the way.

Judith

Judith said:

That's my problem. I need to have the map and compass/gps to hand
(because I can't remember the way for more than two minutes) and I
find the poles just get in the way.

Even if you /can/ remember the way for more than two minutes then map in
hand is a good way to work it. If you hold it so your thumb is roughly
on your present position and you update every time you look on the map
then you can instantly see where you are, which helps keep track of
where you're going. A trick I learned from Mountain Marathons, and a
very good one.
Keeping a map to hand is one reason why I prefer not to use poles if all
else is equal. But sometimes it isn't, and a big, steep downhill is one
of the places it isn't, and my knees like to remind me of the fact :-(

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/

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Judith said:

That's my problem. I need to have the map and compass/gps to hand
(because I can't remember the way for more than two minutes) and I
find the poles just get in the way.

Even if you /can/ remember the way for more than two minutes then map in
hand is a good way to work it. If you hold it so your thumb is roughly
on your present position and you update every time you look on the map
then you can instantly see where you are, which helps keep track of
where you're going. A trick I learned from Mountain Marathons, and a
very good one.
Keeping a map to hand is one reason why I prefer not to use poles if all
else is equal. But sometimes it isn't, and a big, steep downhill is one
of the places it isn't, and my knees like to remind me of the fact :-(

Unlike most people here it seems, I use mine a great deal and having
laughed at them until I tried them, I now wouldn't be without them for a
number of reasons:

1) I move far faster with them while taking a load of my legs. I tend
to use them more to give a horizontal push than as a balancing aid,
especially on level ground. Does mean that the upper body gets a good
work out though, and often find my arms/shoulders ache more than my legs
the next day

2) they help take the weight on descents (extend them fully), esp when
carrying a heavy pack

3) they are great to help stability and spread the load when on scree
and shale, especially if contouring. Without them I tend to find the
ground collapsing under my feet but with them spreading the load this is
not a problem. (OK, a diet would probably have a similar effect!)

They do pose a few problem: holding map/gps/compass; they can get in the
way scrambling even if on my 'sac; and I like to have my hands free on
ascents. Would never leave them in the car though!

--
Darren

In article <[email hidden]>, proteus1
@gmxDOTnet says...

Quoted message said:

Darren G said:

Unlike most people here it seems, I use mine a great deal and having
laughed at them until I tried them, I now wouldn't be without them for a
number of reasons:

<snip>
As with much walking gear, it comes down to a matter of personal
preference, rather than absolute values.

Agree entirely. That's why I thought I throw in my 2p worth - just so
the people considering using them realised, as in most things, different
things work for different people.

Quoted message said:

I wonder whether the occasional negative
attitude towards them is connected with the fact that most people I
see don't use them effectively? ;->

Suspect this may be at least partially the case. Funnily, on a recent
long distance charity walk I got called "a lost x-country skier" and
"high heeled runner" (while on tarmac). I think they were meant as
friendly 'jibes' and I got some very strange looks when I took them as
compliments! It's like all tools - you only get most benefits when they
are used correctly.

--
Darren

Chris <proteus1@gmxDOTnet.?> wrote

Quoted message said:

Darren G said:

Unlike most people here it seems, I use mine a great deal and having
laughed at them until I tried them, I now wouldn't be without them for a
number of reasons:

<snip>
As with much walking gear, it comes down to a matter of personal
preference, rather than absolute values. My original reason for using
poles was a defective hip, but having got used to using them, I find
them beneficial in so many other ways. I would use them now even if my
hips were once again perfect. Although I don't think this implies
everyone ought to use them, I wonder whether the occasional negative
attitude towards them is connected with the fact that most people I
see don't use them effectively? ;->

I don't really feel the need to use two poles in the way I have
occasionally seen a walker use them. I like my hands free as far as
possible, and am not interested in using them to cover the ground
faster, and don't have any real knee problems (yet). Sometimes a
single pole, to correct my tendency to wobble off balance, is useful,
but I do have a different agenda due to my age and the modest walks we
can now manage. The most ridiculous sight is a group of walkers
pottering through a village, all equipped with poles!

A 10 miler last Sunday (on a very hot day), left myself and my companion
pretty much knackered for about 4 days this week, so I don't need the
additional workout of flailing arms and poles. :-)

I note that there is a wide variety of ability in the group, and knees
seem to be the 'Achilles heels' of a number of otherwise very fit
people, so poles are undoubtedly an advantage for them.

(Sorry about the awful pun/metaphor).......
--
Gordon

"Chris" <proteus1@gmxDOTnet> wrote

Quoted message said:

I wonder whether the occasional negative
attitude towards them is connected with the fact that most people I
see don't use them effectively? ;->

My negative attitude towards them is that they're nasty horrible noise
polluting clicky things. I have been woken up by them clicking up the road
at night at Morvich campsite and twice I can remember their approaching
sound scaring off the wildlife I was watching. Once when I'd come across
the wildlife in question on my mountain bike which was quite funny
considering the number of letters you get in the local paper thereabouts
claiming cyclists are disturbing the deer and the woods should be left to
walkers.

Surely rubber tips would give better grip and shock absorbance anyway.
My gran didn't like a metal tipped walking stick she got once because it
didn't give the secure grip she needed so I put a rubber tip on it for her
and she was much happier.

AndyP <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

My negative attitude towards them is that they're nasty horrible noise
polluting clicky things. I have been woken up by them clicking up the road
at night at Morvich campsite and twice I can remember their approaching
sound scaring off the wildlife I was watching. Once when I'd come across
the wildlife in question on my mountain bike which was quite funny
considering the number of letters you get in the local paper thereabouts
claiming cyclists are disturbing the deer and the woods should be left to
walkers.

Surely rubber tips would give better grip and shock absorbance anyway.
My gran didn't like a metal tipped walking stick she got once because it
didn't give the secure grip she needed so I put a rubber tip on it for her
and she was much happier.

I bought a few rubber ferrules for mine. They are less irritating than
the tungsten tips, but the tips would give a more secure plant in dire
circumstances. :-)
--
Gordon

The message <[email hidden]>
from Gordon <[email hidden]> contains these words:

Quoted message said:

A 10 miler last Sunday (on a very hot day), left myself and my companion
pretty much knackered for about 4 days this week, so I don't need the
additional workout of flailing arms and poles. :-)

I set what was probably a little too fast a pace when I was out on
Wednesday (at least for my current level of fitness) and found myself
very short of energy in the latter part of the day. As I grew weaker I
did what I usually do in the circumstances, hooked my thumbs through my
rucksack straps to avoid wasting energy swinging my arms. Despite the
slowdown at the far point of the walk and a slow descent due this time
not to a dodgy knee but to tortured big toes I still ended the day
comfortably ahead of Naismith.

Quoted message said:

I note that there is a wide variety of ability in the group, and knees
seem to be the 'Achilles heels' of a number of otherwise very fit
people, so poles are undoubtedly an advantage for them.

I usually carry a pole for emergency use (not this last time because I
was using too small a sack) but I just don't have the arm strength to
get any sustained use out of it.

I doubt very much whether the average pole user gets anything more than
morale assistance from their poles given the way they wave them around
in the breeze without actually imparting any driving force. They won't
take any load off their legs without transferring it to the poles

--
Roger Chapman so far this year 47 summits
New - 25 (Marilyns 8, Sweats 5, Outlying Fells 14)
Repeats - 22( Marilyns 7, Sweats 16, Wainwrights 16)

Gordon <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snipped>

Quoted message said:

don't really feel the need to use two poles in the way I have
occasionally seen a walker use them. I like my hands free as far as
possible, and am not interested in using them to cover the ground
faster,

Well, yes, the loss of hands is a disadvantage, especially when you
get to stiles, need to do a bit of scrambling, or look at a map. Being
older I sometimes have difficulty keeping up with the younger walkers,
so the use of poles to address my infirmity is very useful. 😉

Quoted message said:

The most ridiculous sight is a group of walkers
pottering through a village, all equipped with poles!

Well, most of us walkers look ridiculous anyway to non-walkers, so why
not go the whole hog? If we worried about looking absurd, we surely
wouldn't venture out of the town centre. ;->

"AndyP" <[email hidden]> wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

My negative attitude towards them is that they're nasty horrible noise
polluting clicky things. I have been woken up by them clicking up the road
at night at Morvich campsite and twice I can remember their approaching
sound scaring off the wildlife I was watching.

I agree entirely. When I get to road sections I silence them with
rubber tips. Most people I walk with don't do this, but then they tend
to carry the poles when on flat or level hard surfaces. But yes, what
you describe is annoying.

In article <[email hidden]>, Gordon
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I bought a few rubber ferrules for mine. They are less irritating than
the tungsten tips, but the tips would give a more secure plant in dire
circumstances. :-)

A bit of rubber over the end is usually safer :-)
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Gordon
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I bought a few rubber ferrules for mine. They are less irritating than
the tungsten tips, but the tips would give a more secure plant in dire
circumstances. :-)

A bit of rubber over the end is usually safer :-)

That's true, and good advice. But Gordon was talking about walking poles, you
dirty minded thread drifting man!

PS :-)
--
Mark South, Super Genius: World Citizen, Net Denizen

W. D. Grey <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Gordon
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

I bought a few rubber ferrules for mine. They are less irritating than
the tungsten tips, but the tips would give a more secure plant in dire
circumstances. :-)

A bit of rubber over the end is usually safer :-)

You know what they say though Bill - using walking poles with rubber
over the end is like wa*king with boxing gloves on. :-)
--
Gordon

In article <[email hidden]>, Mark South
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

That's true, and good advice. But Gordon was talking about walking poles, you
dirty minded thread drifting man!

Honi soit qui mal y pense - as we say in these parts :-)_
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Mark South
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

That's true, and good advice. But Gordon was talking about walking poles,

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

dirty minded thread drifting man!

Honi soit qui mal y pense - as we say in these parts :-)_

Actually, if I said that to someone in these parts (Suisse Romande), chances are
they'd actually understand it :-)

BTW, How come there's a french motto when the country speaks English and has a
german monarch?
--
"If I ever lose an eye, I'm going to get a glass eye with a big spring
behind it. That way, when I die and Nicko comes to steal my eyes,
when he touches the special one it'll go "SPROINGGGG!!!" and hit him
in the face, or if I'm really lucky, he'll inhale it." - Kibo in ARK

Mark South said:

BTW, How come there's a french motto when the country speaks English and has a
german monarch?

<history> because it dates back to the time of Edward III (I think), a
Norman king who thus probably had a lot of French going on around the
place. It was, so the story goes, the phrase embroidered on a lady's
garter that fell off, rather to her embarrassment, and the king decided
to spare her blushes (apparently, can't see it myself...) by gallantly
picking it up and fastening it on his own leg. Also the original source
of the garter that there are knights of.

IIRC the actual motto on the Royal Arms, as opposed to the phrase on the
garter that is part of those arms, is Dieu et Mon Droit.
</history>

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/

In article <[email hidden]>, Mark South
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Mark South
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

That's true, and good advice. But Gordon was talking about walking poles,

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

dirty minded thread drifting man!

Honi soit qui mal y pense - as we say in these parts :-)_

Actually, if I said that to someone in these parts (Suisse Romande),
chances are
they'd actually understand it :-)

BTW, How come there's a french motto when the country speaks English and has a
german monarch?

What have the Normans ever done for us? ;-)

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/