Trekking Poles

A few years ago I wouldn't be seen dead using a walking/trekking pole.  I never needed one.  However, after reading about the benefits of them, in 2014 I decided to buy a couple of really cheap ones.  I carted them to England and one of them jammed early in the holiday and wouldn't extend, so I binned it.  Then on the Mendip Way I left the other in the boot of a rambler's car (he had given me a lift to where I was staying).

My sister gave me a second pair as a gift - they were the same model as the ones I had gotten myself, and suffered from the same jamming issue, being the type that had to be unscrewed in 3 places to extend fully.  I remember using them in England (I can't recall if it was 2018, or 2019, or both) when I had a mild injury, and they assisted me in walking without, or with little, pain.  Again, they jammed to a point where I couldn't get them extended.  I gave one to a co-worker on the kiwifruit orchards at the beginning of this year.  I was going to give him both, but only found the one (again, I likely binned the other).

I found a different model on a one-day-sale that had a clip feature to allow the extensions (and only needed 2 releases on each, instead of the 3 on the previous type I had), so they couldn't jam.  They also came with a carry bag, some clips (to clip the 2 poles together) and a variety of "feet" to be used depending on the terrain underfoot, although I can't image lugging them all on a walk, let alone stopping to change them every time the terrain changed.  I used these poles on my Ngā Tapuwae o Toi walk last week as I am a bit out of shape (and my knees have felt a bit of winter chill, so they ache sometimes) and these poles held up well.  I would certainly recommend these type over the screw joint ones I had previously.

While I was on that recent walk, I saw this container at the beginning of a loop track and, even though it was obvious that someone had stolen the poles in question, thought it was a generous, and good, idea.

I have heard contrasting opinions on whether to use the straps on trekking poles.  Some people say the correct way to use the straps is to thread your hand up from below, then grasp the top of the strap against the handle of the pole, thereby forcing you to push down on the strap and to reduce the strength needed to grip - it seems an effective technique for reducing the effort you need to exert to use them correctly.  However, during the navigation and safety courses I've taken in the Yorkshire Dales the instructor said to never use them because if you slip and fall, the pole will keep your arm up, or off, at an angle, and potentially wrenching it.  I've even read on one blog about a walker that broke her wrist in this manner.  Personally, I have often had the pole wrenched from my hand when the tip of it became stuck in between some rocks as I barrelled on forward - had I had my wrists through the straps on those occasions I believe I would have been pulled off my feet and had a very sore arm/wrist.