30 Jan 2022
Everything you need to know about walking poles.
A guide for dummies
Practical advice on hiking poles:
The following questions about hiking poles/folding poles are answered in this blog post:
- Why hiking poles?
- When are trekking poles
useful at all? - How long should hiking poles be?
- Which walking poles for which
body size?
- How long should Nordic walking poles
be? - How to walk correctly with walking poles?
- The most common mistakes
- Walking technique: how to do it right - Attaching folding poles to your rucksack
- Fastening tips for trekking poles - How do I transport hiking poles on the
plane? - Conclusion: What are good walking poles?
Have all the stick vibrations been coming towards you recently or are you already vibrating yourself but don't really know why? Then I recommend that you continue reading here. This blog post covers the most frequently asked questions about walking poles and will help you in practice.
1. why hiking poles?
You've probably often asked yourself "When are trekking poles useful?" There can be very different reasons why someone uses trekking poles. In principle, hiking poles have many positive properties:
Support for the joints
Hiking poles relieve pressure on the feet, legs, knees and back. The knees are under a lot of strain, especially when walking downhill. You save energy, your concentration does not wane so quickly and you are safer when going downhill.
The joints are put under a lot of strain, especially when walking downhill.
Balance
Most accidents while hiking are caused by slipping or stumbling. If you are also tired and your concentration wanes, the risk of falling is even greater. Hiking poles are like extensions of your arms that support you and give you a better grip. This gives you additional stability.
Posture and breathing
You can improve your posture by using hiking poles. If you are carrying a heavy rucksack on your back, the poles support your upright posture. Hiking poles encourage you to walk in an upright position. It is almost impossible not to walk upright with walking poles. Your shoulders cannot 'collapse' at the front. In addition, the upright posture promotes breathing. You can breathe more easily. Conscious breathing is essential for endurance sports so that you can concentrate for longer, you don't tire so quickly and therefore remain accident-free.
It makes a difference whether you are moving upwards
or downwards. The hiking poles should
be adapted to the terrain and your height.
Safety
As you can see from the previous points, hiking poles help you in many ways. You stay accident-free for longer by supporting your joints, improving your balance, not putting additional strain on your posture, but promoting a healthy posture. In general, this walking aid has a positive effect on your energy levels, so you can really enjoy hiking or running.
Nordic walking
The energetic movement of Nordic walking works the heart and circulation, stimulates the metabolism, strengthens muscles and bones and helps to shed excess pounds. Those who diligently swing their poles back and forth also strengthen their arms, shoulders and back.
2. how long should walking poles be?
The hiking poles should be adapted to the terrain. The poles should be set slightly longer for descents and slightly shorter for ascents. As a rule, however, the poles should be set long enough so that the hand can easily grip the handle while the arm is at a right angle to the ground. The forearm is parallel to the ground and bent at the elbow.
Which walking poles for which body size?
Many companies offer guidelines for the right length for your body size. However, how a pole is adjusted can be very individual. As described above, it is important that the basic setting is at a right angle.
The upper and lower arm should be at a right angle to the ground.
How long should Nordic walking poles be?
As this question often arises specifically for Nordic walking poles, we will deal with this question separately here. The distance between pole and body should be around half an arm's length. If your arm is bent at a 90 degree angle, the poles should end at your forearms. The 90 degree principle is therefore exactly the same as for conventional "trekking poles" There is also a method for calculating the length. To do this, multiply your height in centimetres by 0.7. The result is the pole length.
3. how to walk correctly with walking poles?
The most common mistakes:
- The trekking poles are set too long
.
- The poles are used too imprecisely.
- The poles are carried too far away from the
body.
- The elbows are bent too much.
- The poles are hardly used at all.
- The pole loops are used incorrectly.
Walking technique: How to do it right
The size
First of all, adjust your walking poles to the correct size. See point number 2.
The grip
A common mistake is the wrong grip, where the loop is often simply threaded in from above. The correct way is to grip through the loop from below so that you can exert pressure on the pole even with an open or loose hand. This allows you to open your hands during the outstroke without sacrificing relief. Tip: To prevent your hands from cramping up, make sure you keep your grip loose during the lunge.
Important: The loop should only be used on relatively flat terrain. If you fall and are caught, you cannot grab the handle or support yourself. This increases the risk of injury considerably.
Posture
To achieve the best possible effect, it is advisable to always hold the poles close to your body. On flat terrain, the poles are diagonal to the legs and are used alternately according to the natural movement pattern.
Steep terrain
On steep terrain, double poles are the variant you should use. The poles are usually placed every second step and you push yourself upwards with both arms. This ensures stability and relief.
Downhill
The double pole technique is also the best choice downhill. You should not dig into the terrain, but grip or hold the handle in such a way that you can perform a clean technique. This will prevent you from slipping and avoid falls.
Crossings
Poles do not necessarily have to be set differently for crossings. It is sufficient if you hold the pole on the uphill side below the grip and grasp the grip on the downhill side like a pommel from above.
Very steep terrain and traverses
You should pass very steep terrain and traverses unhindered. The pole should 'only' be used as a support here. It is also possible to hold a pole with both hands. "This is an old method, like the mountaineers used to do back then. Says Wolfgang Loacker, an experienced mountain and ski guide in the Montafon." In principle, however, you should only tackle steep terrain if you are fit enough and have experience, or if you have an expert with you.
The poles should always be held close to the body.
4. attach folding poles to the rucksack
Fastening tips for trekking poles
The poles in your rucksack
Countless rucksack companies now offer a wide range of options for attaching hiking poles. However, this does not automatically mean that hiking poles attached to the outside are the ideal solution. Ideally, you should plan your rucksack so that you don't have to attach any equipment to the outside. Outdoor equipment that is attached to the outside can have considerable disadvantages. "It is safer to keep trekking poles in your rucksack. For one thing, they can easily get lost and if you fall, the risk of injury is higher", says Wolfang Loacker - Austrian mountain and ski guide. In addition, the weight distribution is suboptimal when hiking poles are attached to the outside. Weight pulls backwards and downwards. On the one hand, hiking becomes more strenuous and you can start to sway on tricky passages.
The tip on the backpack
The fastening option depends very much on your backpack. Trekking and hiking rucksacks usually have loops and hooks that allow you to insert and thread the poles. With loops (the tip) is inserted at the bottom. The small loop is used for poles without plates and the large loop for poles with plates. The plates usually prevent slipping. Otherwise, you can also turn down the pole plates in a few simple steps.
This is where the poles are threaded into the rucksack and tightened.
Important: Wide loops are not necessarily intended for attaching hiking poles. Especially on ski and climbing backpacks, wide loops are intended for attaching ice tools and ropes.
Compression straps
Compression straps are loops, usually attached to the right or left of the rucksack, which can be tightened. The hiking poles are enclosed and tightened, so to speak. This means that your poles do not swing back and forth and sit firmly and securely on your rucksack.
Velcro and cable ties
An alternative is to use external Velcro fasteners and cable ties to attach hiking poles to your rucksack. These methods assume that you already have an existing system on your rucksack to which you can attach your external Velcro or cable ties. The Velcro method in particular is only suitable for transportation.
Examples of the practical use of cable ties on rucksacks:
On public transport such as buses or trains. If your rucksack is stowed on the roof of a car, for example, you have no direct view and cannot readjust it in an emergency. Tightly fastened cable ties will keep your trekking poles firmly attached to your rucksack. Especially on backpacking tours, you are often traveling with different means of transport. It can be useful to additionally secure the poles with cable ties.
5 How do I transport walking poles on an airplane?
Hiking or trekking poles are not permitted in hand baggage. This also applies to telescopic poles that can be pushed together. The reason for this is that hiking or trekking poles are classified as dangerous items at the security checkpoint because they can potentially be used as weapons. Hiking poles can only be carried in checked baggage. Folding or telescopic hiking poles are an advantage here. These can simply be stowed in the suitcase or rucksack. No additional fee has to be paid and the suitcase can be packed to save space. An additional fee must be paid for non-foldable poles, as this is bulky baggage and these types of poles do not fit in the suitcase, with the only exception to hand baggage being walking aids such as crutches or walking sticks if these are necessary for medical reasons.
6 Conclusion: What are good walking poles?
Your own needs come first. This is the first clue as to how you should choose your poles so that it is a "good" pole for you. Your height and weight will help you in this regard. For good hiking poles, the price-performance ratio should always come second. Comparisons and experience reports can help here. If you are not sure what you will be using the poles for, it is advisable not to buy too specifically. Instead, buy a pair of poles that can be used for several applications. Otherwise, poles should be selected according to their intended use. If you mainly need the poles for relaxed hikes on flat terrain, aluminum telescopic poles should be perfectly adequate. However, if you also want to go on multi-day tours or into the mountains, then foldable aluminum or carbon poles are recommended. There is no clear answer as to what makes a good walking pole and what does not. If used and handled incorrectly, the most expensive and lightest carbon pole will be of no use to you. It is much more important to get to grips with the material and know your own needs in order to choose a suitable pole.
What are your needs? This is one of the most important points of reference when choosing your
walking poles/folding poles.
End
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