[pct-l] Superer Secrets - Hiking Poles

[phix at optigan.com (Pea Hicks)]

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