A walk on an inclined surface compromises your Centre of gravity, which directly affects your stability and balance. While many hikers have come up with the solution of bulkier boots as a remedial feature, trekking poles are a much lighter and more comfortable alternative.
Trekking poles are designed to create a wider surface area to accommodate a stable centre of gravity. They support your weight and provide balance no matter the terrain you are trekking.
Related: Hiking Vs Trekking: What is The Difference
Trekking poles enhance your outdoor performance by taking tension off your ankles and legs and helping you plunge forward with every step you take.
What are Trekking Poles?
As the name suggests, trekking poles or hiking poles accessorize your hike while you ascend or descend. Designed like staffs, they help to absorb the shock every footfall exerts on your ankles and joints.
Mostly used in a pair, the trekking poles help your arms and shoulders to be part of the hiking exercise and utilize their power to support your weight through an inclined surface.
Benefits of Hiking with Trekking Poles
Trekking Poles are the one hiking accessory that you can use in most outdoor excursions. Their ergonomic design assists in a long-distance hike as they can be used as tent poles, as a yardstick or even as a communicator.
Protect Knees and Ankles
Trekking Poles are known for their distinct quality of supporting a hiker’s weight on a rough, inclined terrain. They brace your knees and ankles against strike shock, protecting them against injuries and dislocations.
With the help of trekking poles, the pressure to regulate energy while maintaining an elevation is eased off on your hips, knees and ankles.
Related: Best Knee Brace For Hiking
Most trekking poles sport a built-in spring mechanism, which not only cushions your hike but releases the absorbed energy to help you plunge forward.
Poles Keep You Balanced
Calibrating your centre of gravity according to the change in elevation of your trekking trail is extremely important. The physics of it all comes into play while you side-slope, traverse a narrow ridgeline or come across a steep inclination.
If your centre of gravity falls out of your support base (your feet), you trip over or fall. While widening your step is an antidote to falls, it is quite impossible to achieve that while you hike. That’s where trekking poles come into play.
To put it simply, it is better to walk on four legs than two! Trekking poles keep you balanced by widening the surface area for your centre of gravity.
While you trek rugged ends and jutted terrains, the tips of these poles secure the ground for you, propelling you forward and keeping your centre of gravity concentrated within your step.
Regulate Your Pace
Setting camp is solely dependent on your time management. Be it a group hike or a solo trek, getting to safe ground before sundown is imperative. While unforeseeable circumstances can halt your progress, a controlled variable can be your pace.
Trekking poles regulate your pace and give it a rhythmic consistency. The pole-to-step motion might be deliberate in the beginning, but once you gain momentum, it almost becomes an involuntary action.
Trekking poles enhance your power performance once the emphasis is off your joints and on the poles. The energy conserved is then released in building a synchronized tempo to tear the trekking trail.
Multifunction
When you camp, you have to carry your home on your back. What better way to pack light than carrying trekking poles? Trekking poles have adjustable lengths and can easily replace tent poles.
Their aluminium build makes them a sturdy support against the weight of the tent canvas. That’s a couple of pounds off your back.
To add to their utility, the trekking poles are an excellent accessory to protect yourself from animals. Just a wave of this magical wand is enough to buy you enough time to escape an animal attack.
Last but not least, trekking poles can be utilized as yarding sticks. You can measure the depth of snow, slush, mud or a water stream before crossing them and risking a slip and a fall.
Cons of Hiking with Trekking Poles
Trekking Poles have shortcomings that can not be overlooked. Here are a few to keep in mind before purchasing them.
Can be impractical
Trekking poles are designed to stabilize you while you trek uphill or downhill. However, on evened out trails and walks, these poles have little to no use. You will be exerting yourself a lot more while trying to adjust your grip relative to the elbow angle (90 degrees on an inclined surface).
If you decide to trek a trail that has little to no inclination, you will only be spending your time packing and unpacking your trekking poles.
Not only is that an extra weight to carry on your back, but it also consumes time and energy on repetitively adjusting the length and fixing the clasp for them to give out later on.
Their Design can Cause Injury
Trekking Poles have a design flaw that can upset you about your purchase. The wrist strap of the poles is advised to be worn from the bottom as you move your hand up to grab the grip.
This technique might secure the poles to your arms, but in rope-assistance, it proves hazardous. Not only are you at risk of getting stuck but taking your arm out takes an extra precious minute, which could mean a lot in the longer run.
In the same way, the grips often do not wick away sweat and moisture, causing your hand to slip and slide and resulting in blisters and sores that could entirely halt your progress.
LNT Might be a Thing of the Past
The hiking community follows the golden rule of LNT (Leave no trace behind). You are supposed to observe, explore and leave the wilderness as you found it. Trekking Poles throw caution to this approach entirely.
The tips of the trekking poles penetrate the ground enough to cause damage to roots, in turn damaging the flora of the trail. If you are traversing a rock formation, the very tips will scrape and scratch the rock, leaving eternal engravings.
To add to this environmental vandalization, the tips also leave ruts that might loosen the ground of narrow, edging trails, making it dangerous for other hikers.
How to Choose Trekking Poles
So, you have decided to buy a pair of trekking poles, but the variety is confusing you. The few things that you should keep in mind are material, traction and practicality.
Aluminium or Carbon Fiber
There might not be a visible appearance in different types of trekking poles, but the material with which they are made holds the secret to a successful experience with them.
If you are a lightweight backpacker, you must consider carbon fibre trekking poles to keep them within your weight limit. A pair weighs only a pound, and you can easily stash them atop your back.
Since they are a composite of plastic and carbon, they aren’t as reliable as the aluminium poles. They can splinter, snap or break into two when a fault occurs.
A sturdier option is an aluminium shaft, which absorbs the pressure exerted and manages to retain its shape. Since it’s 20% heavier than carbon fibre, it provides more traction and only bends instead of entirely giving way under pressure.
Customization of length
Be it aluminium or carbon fibre, the distinguishing quality of any trekking pole is its foldability. Many prefer a fixed shaft, which is helpful while trekking uphill but fails to provide the same flow while travelling downhill.
Trekking poles come in three forms of foldability criteria.
- Telescoping: The shaft of these poles is divided into two or three parts, which collapse into each other, allowing you to adjust the length as and when required. These poles tend to be a bit stocky, but that’s where their strength lies.
- Trifold: This category is a minimalist’s dream. It is compact and has three separate segments which can be taken apart and stowed away without adding an encumbering amount of weight.
The customization of the length of the trekking poles depends on the terrain you are about to trace. If your trail requires an uphill exertion, you need to adjust the length a few inches shorter than the maximum length of the shaft.
This trick makes the poles work as pegs to pull you up against gravity. The opposite can be said for a declination, where the maximum length of the pole can be utilized to support your weight and work with gravity to build a momentum that will not let you fall forward.
However, these folding features only work with super-strength locking systems, which is our next point.
Locking Systems that Withstand the Terrain
If you have decided on a folding shaft for your trekking poles, the feature that matters the most in this scenario is the locking system. The joints of foldable shafts are the weakest and propagate a failure from within. Thus, you need to understand which sort of locks would suit the difficulty level of your trek.
Twist locks that turn and seals prove to be durable for uphill hikes. They are the oldest and most used form of locking systems.
On the contrary, systems such as lever locks and push-button locks are great to use while you are on a cold trek and don’t want to risk frostbite while twisting and turning a lock.
Some trekking poles use a combination of locking systems, such as a lever latch on one segment of the shaft and a twist lock on the other. These systems make adjustability easier as you can customize different sections of the poles to your desire.
Grip and Basket
These odds and bits might not seem much to consider, but these keep you connected to the ground. Before you decide on a pair of trekking poles, keep the weather conditions in mind.
The grip of the trekking pole gets thin with wear and tear as you hold it. It can be made of foam, cork or rubber.
However, many hikers prefer cork for its lightweight and ability to wick away moisture. Foam absorbs water molecules and withers away quickly, while rubber burns can cause your hands to blister.
On the other hand, some poles might choose one or two tips/ baskets, but you can get custom-built baskets for specific terrains. Wider baskets provide traction on snow-covered alpines, while sharp and long tips can help you trek a solid, well-worn ground.
How to Use Trekking Poles
The use of trekking poles doesn’t require extraordinary strength or increased focus. Once you have decided on a trekking pole, get ready to use it.
Your hand needs to be secured around the grip and the best way to do that, is by making it go through the wrist strap. Slide your hand from the bottom of the wrist strap to grab the grip. At this point, the strap should work as a bracelet.
Most grips have multiple resting moulds for your hand. Make sure you find the one that doesn’t cramp up your fingers. The grip should fit into your fist without sliding, which can cause blisters and sores.
When trekking, your elbow should be at a 90-degree angle to the length of your pole. This provides an optimum distance between you and the pole to allow for rhythmic footwork.
Obtaining synchronized footwork according to the placement of your poles needs a bit of voluntary thought.
However, to maintain a flow, always take a step opposite to the pole you put forward. For every pole placement taken on the right-hand side, you should lift your left foot and vice versa. This opposing action builds up your pace while you trek an even or slightly inclined plane.
On steeper places, ‘double planting’ works best to push you forward. As you place both your poles down, you automatically take two steps ahead. This technique is quite beneficial for an uphill journey as your poles work like an extra pair of arms, pulling you up.
Our Verdict: Do You Really Need Trekking Poles for Hiking?
Trekking poles really help in enhancing your performance by decreasing fatigue and over-exertion. The stress taken off from your joints can regulate your energy levels and help you stick to your time and goals.
If you are a thru-hiker, we suggest you keep a pair of aluminium trekking poles with you on long-distance, rugged terrain. They are sturdy and their shafts can multifunction in a variety of ways. However, a pair of carbon composite poles will take you a long way on an easy landscape where your step needs a little boost to pull forward.
FAQs
What is the difference between trekking poles and hiking poles?
They are made of the same material and sport the same qualities. However, trekking poles are used in a pair on rugged terrain that requires an enhanced power performance. On the contrary, hiking poles are usually singular staffs that can be used on walks, even surfaced hikes and easy landscapes.
What is the best length for a trekking pole?
Trekking Poles are usually foldable and have the added feature of adjusting their length. However, if you have chosen a fixed-length pole, then you must follow a standardized chart for height-to-pole length ratio.
If you are 6 feet tall, your pole should at least be 51 inches. If you are less than 6ft, you can easily adjust the upper and lowermost foldable section of your pole to adjust its length on the run. A person who is around 5.1ft or shorter should sport a 39-inch pole easily.
Do hiking poles help?
Hiking poles really help to take pressure off your ankle, knee and hip joints during a trek. They support your weight on inclinations and work together with your footwear to absorb strike shock. Hiking poles can help you maintain your pace and, in several cases, even help you speed up.
What is a good weight for a trekking pole?
Trekking poles vary in their weight according to the material with which they are made. While a carbon and plastic composite only weighs around a pound, an aluminium pole would be 20% heavier. However, a weight between 450-550 grams is average and would suit best for the hike.
Can you bring a trekking pole on the plane?
Many airlines do not allow trekking poles to be hand-carried. You have to check them in separately with your luggage. If you have to catch a flight to your base camp or to your trail, you will have to pay extra to have your poles checked in. However, a trifold trekking pole can easily be taken apart and fit right into your travel bag.
Can you use a trekking pole for skiing?
Trekking and skiing poles might structurally look the same, but their functions are entirely different from each other. Most trekking poles peg the ground you trek and require a gentle nudge for the next placement. Trekking poles aren’t sturdy enough to bear the brunt of speed navigation and would probably snap under the pressure.
Do Hiking Poles Really Save Your Knees?
Hiking poles are designed to provide you a wider step, putting less pressure on your knees to gain balance. On steep treks, hiking poles share the brunt of the strike shock and absorb it, preventing major stress to knees.
Do I need 1 or 2 trekking poles?
If you are tearing through a rough terrain that is indented with inclined surfaces, you will require two poles. Two poles will grant you optimized support to push you forward and keep you stable on edges and ridges. However, a flat, even surfaced topography can easily be traversed with a single pole.