When I walk, I carry a heavy oak octagonal cane. It’s a marvel of multifunctionality. Because it has some substantial weight I can use it to give my upper body a little exercise as I walk. Because it is a cane, I can use it to take some of the strain off my lower body when my knees, especially the left one, begin to complain. Because it is made from sturdy oak and has an octagonal cross section, it is a superb impact weapon and very well suited to driving off unruly dogs or teenagers. If somebody else prefers two aluminum poles, more power to hir.
With lift area skiing, poles are really useful at whacking the shrimp that try to cut the line. The more expense carbon fibre poles do not bend as easily as the aluminium poles.
Let’s pit all people who use assistive devices! Need hearing aids? Glasses or contacts? Support stockings? Orthotics? Baseball caps? You all just look like idiots!! You’re pathetic and weak, and should all be euthanized. With a hiking pole!!
Seriously, hiking poles are what enable my wife and I to still do 6 mile, 3K foot elevation change hikes in the mountains. She’s got one knee that’s bone on bone but not ready for a knee replacement, and I’ve got a torn ACL. Hiking poles unload the burden on the joint and the quadriceps muscle and spare us both a lot of pain. It also improves safety too, as there’s nothing worse than a knee suddenly giving out when navigating a tricky step or three.
And the poles spare the Mrs. a lot of pain the next day if she’s walking further than a mile or so on level ground, too.
So bugger the OP and the horse he rode in on. Horses are assistive devices too.
My wife and I were hiking once and I had a bit of a limp because I’d twisted my knee. An older woman suggested I try her walking pole (probably thinking that I had a permanent problem with my leg). To humor her I did try it and it really does make moving with an injury a lot easier. I imagine if you have a lasting problem or are older it would allow you to be much more active than without them.
So, not a fan of this pit. Shit, even Gandalf had a walking pole.
I hike a lot. Walking poles are a fantastic idea in bad conditions, if you’re doing a lot of distance, or carrying a pack. They’re also much loved by the elderly, anyone with balance problems, or anyone recovering from a lower body or back injury.
I’m really not sure where the OP is coming from on this one. The use of walking sticks is hardly a new thing, it’s just that tech now means you can get poles light enough to have one in each hand for a cheap cost. Where’s the issue?
At a guess, they’re doing it for a reason. The only people I’ve seen out on city streets with walking poles are the elderly and people with injuries. I can’t imagine you’re seeing many others?
I think I’m going to go on Shark Tank with my new idea:
Shoulder Spoilers
These functional yet stylish wings will come in 3 different sizes and many pleasing colors. While reducing drag and increasing air flow efficiency for the casual and serious walker alike, these must have walking accessories will blend in well with most walking attire.
Sharks, I am seeking $150,000 for a 20% stake in my company, Shoulder Spoilers Industries International Incorporated (SSIII, or “sigh”).
Time to come out of the closet on this. I am part of a group of people that own dozens of poles. We stick them in the snow, and then go skiing, using the poles to tell us when to turn, which is utterly silly given that we all know that no one needs to told when to turn when skiing.
It’s a sword cane or nothing. And a Velo-Dog.
For me, it is poles that join to make a staff. (Adjustable length ski poles – short for climbing, long for descending – that join to form a single very long avalanche probe. My neighbour has been using them for nordic walking over the summer.)
Two years ago they were wearing 5 finger shoes and talking up the benefits of minimalist footwear. Two years from now they will be wearing elastic suits or some other fad. In the end, all this crap just costs money and ends up barely used, filling up the garage.
These are popular with people who ride recumbant bikes and wear toe-shoes.
OK, maybe I’m confused.
The whole walking pole thing has been going on in Europe for 10+ years. I thought it was reasonably ubiquitous as I’ve hiked with people from America, South America and Asia who use them. The idea that a light, cheap device that allows hikers to have more grip and distribute their weight more evenly is a fad that will pass suggests a terrible ignorance of hiking.
But your post suggest that walking poles are a new thing in the US. Is that correct?
It not so much that walking poles are a new thing, but rather that walking is a new thing.
You’ll get my toe shoes when you pry them off of my cold, dead feet. Most comfortable shoe I’ve ever worn. I bought them for kayaking and ended up wearing them everywhere.
Brain fart – sorry! Should read long for climbing, short for descenting.
My daughter recently started using a walking pole during her city bus commute. She’s in her mid-20s, with no mobility issues. Why does she need it?
TMJ.
Seriously, she has severe temporal-mandibular joint degeneration. In addition to making it difficult to chew, it affects her inner ear, making her balance iffy.
So, yeah, she isn’t 85, she isn’t crippled, she isn’t blind, but she needs a stick. Don’t like it? Too bad.
I hike for a living. I don’t know of any professional who works in the woods that uses walking poles.
What do you do with the poles when you have to go up or down a short cliff? What if it’s brushy or you have to go through a berry patch? What do you do with the poles going over logs, or under logs? What do you do if you fall down and you have two long metal poles attached to your wrists?
If you want more grip, get a pair of caulk boots.
It’s a fad
Really? Cause I’ve hiked over half the AT (section hiker), usually doing 6-7 day segments. If I don’t use my hiking poles, my knees know the difference. Course maybe you’re not within a few years of fifty as I am.
I think the OP should be pitting people who use hiking poles when they aren’t really, you know, hiking.
Buy, yeah, they are obviously a fad, what with being around since at least 1900 and all.
Man, that’s a tough call, but I think I’d probably have just let them bite me.