Hey. I was wondering how many of you out there use a staff or hiking poles when you are in the trails.
If so, what do you use?
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Hey. I was wondering how many of you out there use a staff or hiking poles when you are in the trails.
If so, what do you use?
"Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."
I am not a regular distance hiker but sometimes I wonder if at least a staff would be beneficial for me to have as an extra tool when going over some of the rougher spots or like you said as a poker. Not sure if I should go for the one staff or a pair of poles.
"Keep on reaching for the stars. You may find that someday you can pull yourself out of the gutter."
I have a nice hiking pole which collapses (convenient for travel and storage). My son gave me this as a gift (Mother's Day, I think). It has a metal pick on the tip which I use year round. It's just remembering to take it with me. Dave (bgrffdave) has also shown me how to use two poles walking down a mountain......I just can't get the rhythm right....not yet......and I don't have 2 poles (yet).
We both have a set of hiking poles and they are awesome for saving the knees on a downhill hike. 100% recomended. We have a "good" set and an "inexpensive" set. They are both functional so save yourself some money.
If you want to try cross country skiing, start with a small country
i got one at walmart and it worked great till one of my kids got it now i got to buy a new one. so if you buy one make sure you get one for the kids to use.
seen on bumper sticker: visualize--whirled peas
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.~~Albert Einstein~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Many wise words are spoken in jest, but they don't compare with the number of stupid words spoken in earnest. - Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980)
Recently I saw a beautiful one in use on a trail in the White Mountains. It was crafted of wood and was embellished with lavender goatskin, brass tacks, and an amethyst colored faceted gem. However, the collapsible type are currently available at Mardens. (Approximately $8). They have both a metal point and a rubber crutch tip.
I think I would prefer the former, however, I can't seem to get around to making one. I guess I'm just too busy caching.
I use a staff that Joey made for me at school. It is a 5 1/2 foot length of bamboo. He put a copper tip on one end and a leather loop at the other end. He then woodburned all kinds of geocaching symbols and words on it. He put some coordinates on the staff that look good, but are actually somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean (he may be trying to tell me something LOL). Its great when you need to balance yourself. It was really handy recently traversing the water hazard at the Yorktowne series.
I use a single collapsable one. I have some nice wooden ones as well but generally use the collapsable one because I can strap it to my backpack if necessary. It has a nice grip, a rubber tip to go over the metal one depending on hiking surface, and even a camera attachment to stabilize my camera. I've had it a while but I think I paid somewhere in the $40 range. I had a pair of cheaper ones but one bent and I no longer trusted the other.