Thoughts on hiking poles?

>>985387
>hiking Poles
They're usually good people but they don't talk much.

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>>985387
You may as well use a wheelchair.

I guess if you're actually using them for hiking and not strolling on a city street IDGAF

>>985396
very impressive webm, feels good people make stuff to help the handicapped. but that thing might profit from a big (if any ) adjust able gear ratio.

>>985387
i don't use them for flat areas, mostly i take for them for alpine environments / approaches. i use them to the dampen the impacts while descending but i don't like the extra weight but since i do day trips most of the time it does not matter much. not sure if i will take them trekking this summer.

>>985387
inb4 stabilizing muscles backcountry parkour ninja guy
unless this >>985396 is already him

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All the places I choose to camp at using a tarp have enough trees not to necessitate use of a hiking pole, but on the off chance I ever needed to I've always liked the idea of using one as the support to a tarp shelter.

They're good? That's like asking what our opinion on knives are.

Poles and staves are great for keeping your balance on rough terrain, and taking a small amount of the load off your knees.

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>>985439
lol. good to see the crutch apologist brigade is already here. enjoy being useless on any terrain rougher than a bocce court without your sissy sticks.

Never used them, even when I am doing long walks or climbing around on rocks never used them. Used a walking stick once and to be honest, it was annoying. Got in the way alot.

>>985504
Are you angry that you can't afford them or are you angry that you can't comprehend?

>>985387
My wife and I make fun of people using them whenever we see some but to be honest, I've been in some places where they would have been useful. My pride would never permit me to use them though.

>>985537
> My wife and I make fun of people using them whenever we see some

You two sound insufferable.

For me, I use them with heavy loads or steep trails. Day hikes are basically runs for me. They're essential on snow though.

>>985539
We probably are but at least we're insufferable together and find enjoyment in it. At least I admitted to instances of their usefulness. I was a ground pounder in the army so with a 40-80lb ruck and rifle, poles were not an option.

>>985387
Stream crossings, heavy loads on boulder fields and snow they have their uses. I don't bring them on most day hikes though.

People making fun of others for using them are insecure niggers imo. I know plenty of people use them on easy hikes because of knee issues.

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>>985387
Aside from keeping my 40 year old knees happy, I like the extra stability and safety crossing glacial streams. And they are a part of my sleeping tarp.

if you get lightweight, collapsible ones they don't take up hardly any room and can be used for a variety of tasks

>>985577
>40 years old and browsing 4chan

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>>985680
>50
You're here forever, son

I use one pole as a walking stick, even on easy hikes it feels good just to have it in my hand.

>>985531
lol, why would i be angry? i'm not the one being called out for being a little bitch because i can't walk over some bumpy widdle wocks without a cane like a feeble old man.

>>985569
>boulder fields
that's one of the places they sound the worst to me. i like to keep moving over talus instead of having to try to find places to plant 2 more appendages.

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>>985680
>was 29 when finding 4chan
>am now 42

>>985730
Why would you be angry? Only you know

>>985730
>talus
Over talus, I collapse my pole and lash it to my pack

Yes, one pole
Poles were sold as singles til sometime in the late 90s

Was once hiking down a mountainside and the recently thawed snow fall from the night before had left just enough muddy leaves behind that on the steeper sections of path, or on sections that were mainly comprised of wide sloping rocks, the pole I carried with me helped my clumsy ass not headbutt the ground. The collapsible ones are great cus when I don't need em no more I can just condense them to about a foot and hang em from my belt or jacket.

My knees get very angry with me going downhill, poles have made my knees so much happier. Also takes some of the strain off your legs going uphill, which is always nice. I would never backpack without poles.

Poles are good for more than just during the hike. If you're backpacking, you can use the poles to set up a rainfly for your gear. It'll look like a pup tent and the only other things you need are rope/string and stakes.

>>985387

I think they're decent if you are walking down/uphill hill with a heavy pack. Other than that don't bother. Waste of weight

>>985687
>one day I'll be calling my son a faggot from across the house on 4chan
War never changes.

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I use a telescopic hiking staff. It is more robust than a pole, I can support my full weight on it, can use it to cross rough terrain like boulder fields and rivers, also helps a lot downhill.
Extra benefit, it makes the perfect pole for my mld duomid.

Can't you just make your own from chopping two big sticks up?

Any notable difference ?

>>985537
R I P your knees senpai. I sacrifice dignity for functional knees in my fifties

>>985730
Talus and boulder fields are not the same thing. They are useful in BOULDER fields with a heavy pack. Lrn2read

>>986135
I use both a hiking pole and a hiking stick and I'd have to say that for the sole purpose of hiking they are identical. But a hiking pole can be collapsed for easy storage, can weigh less, and be comfier (imo).

>>986172
same thing where i live, numbnuts

>>985389
hahaha

>>985396
>>985387
i don't get all the retarded hate here against hiking poles. They would have served me quite well when I was hiking in new mexico on a cliffside that was covered in snow. Instead I improvised with a stick I found, and it helped a ton.

What's bad about hiking poles? Do they impede your hike at all? No. They only help, and they can have other functions too for camping etc.

Quit being dickheads.

>>985730
>talus only exists in localized areas
>not collapsing your poles and strapping to pack
>being such a faggot to sneer at other people's equipment choices
>being such a faggot that you don't understand physics
>being such a faggot to keep starting these threads just so you can argue yourself

>>986290
Sorry i didnt know you live in some retarded place that can't differentiate between small loose rocks and huge boulders.

I just did a 4 day trek to Machu Picchu a few days ago and poles saved my goddamn life. We hiked over 3 mountain passes, ranging from 3,000 - 4,000 meters in altitude, and they were at a very steep incline. Most of the trails had stone steps as well, and trekking poles were not optional. My legs wouldn't have carried me over those passes without poles, and my knees would be gone if I had gone down them without poles. They are like a second pair of legs on a steep incline

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>>986333
>being so triggered you think i start these threads
>mfw
>>986340
small loose rocks=scree
big rocks=talus

>>986138
Then just stop walking completely

>>986439
An astute observation actually.

>>986439
>being so triggered you post on every hiking pole thread just for the contrarian lulz

>>985389
kek

>>985387
I use an old pair of ski poles with no baskets. They make a good prop for bad knees, great for flipping snakes off trails and excellent for beating dogs that attack you.

>>985680
I'm 61 and I hike, bike, motorcycle and browse 4chin.

>>986508

Newfag

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>>985549
tanks 4 ur cervix :^)

>>985387
They grow in the wild for free.

>>985387
My knees prefer poles on the way down and I'm much faster on the way up. They also make you more efficient on loose ground like mud, snow or scree. What's not to like? I even use them on long runs, provided the terrain is not too technical.

They're also useful for classical mountaineering, necessary for ski touring, and have almost completely replaced my ice axe for glacier travel. (I still carry one strapped to my pack).

>>985387
>dat pic
>literally pointing at the sky
LOOK! CAN YOU SEE IT? IT'S THE SKY! OMFG

Factory made hiking poles are fucking retarded and people that use them deserve to break their fucking legs.
Just pick up a fucking stick. And set it down when you get tired of it.

>>990678
Found the child

I prefer running Serbs

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>>985680
37 here.
What, you think this is a game? 4chins 4 life, nigga

Just use a hiking stick?

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>>985387
>dat heavy green polo shirt
lol. stock photos are great

>>990706
You're the child you fucking retarded moron

>>990678
Not many sticks on a glacier.

>>990940
Lmao you just ooze uneducated bottom dwelling Hick. Stay poor bud.

>>991412
How many do you need?

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>>985464
This is the only reason i considered looking into this thread.

>>991443
There are zero sticks on glaciers. More than zero.

Ever poke a stick into snow? It plunges right in. How is that any good?

>>986301
Because when you needed it you found a stick for free.

>>991868
thats like berating an old person for getting a nice cane, or an injured person for using crutches.

Or should they be finding sticks too?


Why does buying things make you so mad?

>>991875
Because the cripple needed it the whole time he was crippled and crutches didnt grow where he lived.

Some people need hiking sticks. They should buy them. The guy i responded to said he literally needed it once and used a stick. Then still wondered why 150$ hiking poles are retarded.

BECAUSE YOU USED A FREE STICK.

>>991886
Cripples don't need crutches all the time. Sometimes they are seated or sleeping. Other times they could use sticks or shopping carts

>>985680
>egotistical child and browsing 4chan

you didn't discover 4chan, son.

>>991868
>t. someone who doesn't know what 'above the treeline' signifies

>>992391
If you are doing ridgeline hikes you may need trekking poles. I am not saying no one needz trekking poles. But the guy i replied to said he needed them exactly once. And he found a stick. And now he wants to buy them and is convinced they are useful.

He doesn't need them since he needed a pole once and found a stick. And most idiots on /out/ are probably the same.

>>991818
This of course is a common problem on /out/.

Most people here seemingly stay below the tree line, hence all of these knife, tarp, poncho, sticks for poles ideas.

They may be valid ideas in forest but completely useless in the alpine.

>>985387
I wish I had taken better ones on my last walk. Maybe my knees wouldn't have forced me to stop walking!

>>985387
I used to hate them, still kinda do, but on technical alpine routes they are a necessity.

>>993100
Sticks are standard when snowshoeing/crossing a glacier, just as they are when skiing. You add a little thing on the bottom to increase surface area so they won't plunge in.

Only retards would attempt technical routes without a 3rd point of balance.

>>994000
No they literally aren't you cancerous faggot

>>994014
>you add a little thing on the bottom
Get out.

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>>994000
>technical alpine routes they are a necessity.
>>994014
>Only retards would attempt technical routes without a 3rd point of balance.
>trekking poles
>useful on technical routes
>not ice axes or ice tools
someday you might actually get on a technical route and find out what you really need. until then you should probably shut the fuck up.