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[pct-l] Superer Secrets - Hiking Poles
Monty Tam wrote:
> Hey Switchback
>
> Thanks for your posts. I hear you're time to the Kick Off with a tips and
> tricks and weigh the gear table. Looking forward to that one.
>
>
> I've never seen proper use of trekking poles listed before. I'm a little
> dissapointed in myself to find out I've been using mine the wrong way :).
>
> I use the REI UL made by Komperdell (11.2 oz per pair before adjustment)
> http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=400000
> 08000&productId=47873584&parent_category_rn=4500699. Near Snoqualomine
> this year I noticed Billy Goat used the same poles without the REI name on
> them and minor variations. He had REMOVED the straps.
> "Only in the way" he said. Wow. They are!
i would agree with switchback that most folks i see on the trail are
using their trekking poles in a way *other* than how they were designed
to be used, especially as regards the straps. usually people have their
hands inserted thru the *top* of the straps, where actually you're
supposed to put them up thru the *bottom*. this way, the pressure is
transferred to your wrists and your lower arms, and not to your fingers
(as is the case when you put your hands thru the top of the straps or
are using no straps at all).
sure, you need your hands to grab things, etc, but with your hands
inserted into the straps properly, you will find it's very easy to
simply release the grip and let the pole dangle from your wrist by the
strap while your hand becomes free to grab whatever you need. i tend to
go for miles and miles without ever removing the poles from my wrists,
because i don't need to. sure, you'll want them out of the way on
extended breaks, or when you're pumping water or something, but for just
grabbing your water bottle, a map, or some snacks, there's no need to
ditch them.
anyway, when using the straps the way they were designed, the locomotive
benefits of trekking poles become much more obvious and apparent. this
is the other area where i've noticed most people aren't using their
poles the way they were designed to be used- ie, most people are really
only using them for help with balance. this is fine, as that's partially
what they're supposed to be used for, but many people aren't effectively
incorporating their poles into their *locomotion* system- again, as
their designed for.
without poles, your legs are doing all your locomotion work, and are
carrying all the weight. trekking poles are designed to shift some of
that work/weight to your arms, which otherwise would be doing little
more than providing balance. why not put your arm muscles to work?
"devolving" into a quadruped in this way is very beneficial when you've
got a pack on your back.
there are tutorials on the web about this (see links below), but simply
put, you develop a rhythm with planting your poles, basically planting
each pole in synchrony with the opposite foot. this way you have two
opposite "feet" touching the ground at all times. when you plant your
poles, do it agressively so that your arms help to bear weight and not
just provide balance. once you get the hang of this, it's like riding a
bike- you do it without thinking about it at all.
on flat terrain, your poles help with your forward momentum, helping to
"launch" you down the trail with every step. on uphill, think of them
like portable handrails- use your arms to provide extra lift to push you
upwards. on downhill, trekking poles really prove their worth,
especially for folks like me with somewhat weak knees. here the poles
are your braking system, relieving your knees from the constant pounding
they normally would get. this is when i transfer the most pressure off
my legs/knees and onto my arms.
in all cases, the important point is that you're actively transferring
pressure to your arms by agressively planting the poles. when you use
the straps wrong or don't use straps at all, it very quickly becomes
painful and uncomfortable to do this, because all that pressure is being
disproportionally placed on your *fingers* (which, you'll notice, will
be gripping the poles very tightly!). your fingers/knuckles will very
quickly become very sore, causing you to put less and less pressure into
your pole plants. but with your hands inserted thru the *bottom* of the
straps, the pressure stays off your fingers and is effectively
transferred to your wrists and arms. your fingers are left free to
loosely grip the poles, and actually you'll find that you may not have
to actively grip them at all, but merely use your fingers to lightly
guide the top of the grip so the pole gets planted where you want it.
ok, sorry for the rambling post, and again- i know, hyoh, do what works
best for you, and all that stuff, but i'm only trying to point out how
modern trekking poles were designed by the manufacturers to be used. if
this doesn't work for you personally- great! use them in whatever way
works best for you. but if you've never tried to use them the way i've
outlined, i suggest you at least give it a try (a little practice is
required before you get the hang of it) and see for yourself whether you
get any increased benefit from your poles. my guess is that it will be
something of a revelation to you. for me personally, it was a *major*
revelation.
here's a couple websites with more info:
http://www.backpacking.net/trekpole.html
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm
girlscout