What are walking poles?

Walking poles are long lightweight poles created to help walkers. They are usually in several sections and extend from a packed size of around 60cm up to around 140cm depending on the pole. Many people use a pair of walking poles in an action similar to a cross-country skier. Normal walking poles are used by walkers all over the countryside from gentle country rambles to high mountain adventures.

Why use walking poles?

For many people, walking poles make a long walk easier. Some people find that walking poles ease pressure on their knees, especially when descending hills. As a general rule, walking poles transfer some of your load from your legs to your arms and mean that the work in a walk is carried by your whole body, not just your legs.
People carrying a heavy rucksack use walking poles both as a way of redistributing the weight and also as a way to help with balance on tricky sections.
Balance is a reason for many people to use walking poles. Tricky or muddy path sections, low angled snow or even river crossings can be made a lot easier if you have your trusty poles to rely on.

Disadvantages to walking poles

It’s not all good news with poles. Transferring load through the poles to your arms means that you will have tired arms and shoulders at the end of a long walk, not just tired legs. Some people get sore wrists with walking poles, though this can often be overcome with correct use of the wrist straps. In deep undergrowth such as heather or long grass, poles can become snagged. Some walkers rely on their poles well above the snow line when it would be safer if they were carrying an ice axe, hence they become a safety liability. On heavily worn trails like the Inca Trail in Peru, poles are required to have a rubber foot put on them to stop erosion.

Types of walking poles

Walking poles are generally two or three section with a twist or lever locking mechanism to make it easy to extend or reduce the length of them when on the move. They have a ski-pole type handle and a strap that your wrist goes through. At the base is often a snow or trekking basket to stop the pole going too deep in mud or snow. Below this is a hardwearing steel or tungsten tip for maximum grip on a variety of surfaces. Some poles have detachable rubber feet that can be used on slippy surfaces.
There are also longer poles that are specialist poles for Nordic Walking.

Using walking poles

The use of walking poles is fairly self explanatory but there are a few extra tips that might make using your poles easier. One goes in each hand and place each pole in front of you in time with the opposite foot, or as necessary. Everyone develops their own rhythm with them. When going uphill you tend to shorten your poles so that you are not having to reach too high up to plant them, rendering you off-balance. On downhill sections extend your poles longer than usual so that you can reach forward a couple of feet below you to take some of the strain off your knees and legs.

Correct use of the walking pole strap can make a difference to your experience of walking poles. With the pole upright, hold the strap out at right angles to the pole and towards you. Pass your hand through the loop in the strap from below then open your hand and bring it down on the strap and round the pole grip in one movement. Much of the weight will then pass through the strap and into your arm above your wrist, reducing wrist fatigue when using your poles.