How does PrepHole feel about hiking poles? I'm getting older and not as sure-footed, so I was looking into them for steeper walks.
Should I get hiking poles? Post hiking pole opinions
How does PrepHole feel about hiking poles? I'm getting older and not as sure-footed, so I was looking into them for steeper walks.
They definitely help with stability and climbing, taking load off knees when descending. Plus very useful for pitching tarps and tents.
And beating the shit out of littered or anyone with a Bluetooth speaker.
>Plus very useful for pitching tarps and tents.
I've been wanting to try this setup but still kinda unsure about its durability. How well does it fare in high winds and rain?
No problem for rain, winds can get to be a problem after a certain point, the main weak point is the grommets that are used to tie and stake the tarp down, so nothing to do with the hiking stick.
You must know what you are doing, but if you do your setup right, it can be as durable as a tent. Few months ago I tried a pole and tarp setup for the first time and it went perfectly through a storm all night, woke up dry
dunno, i'm in two minds about them. while knee support is massively huge, i tend to use those compression kneepad things so as to stabilize my knees but keep my hands free. but i've also had to search for appropriate walking sticks a lot of times, which is obviously worse than having a set of real trekking poles
ya man, the real redpill is when you descend a mountain with no knee protection at all. doing it a couple times forced me to CVS to buy some knee compression, it really makes you consider the long-term health of your knees
I'm partial towards the old fashion big wooden stick, but old people like their walkers.
I use the MSR DynaLock Explore. I've never used poles before and it is the best thing to happen to my hiking experience.
The PrepHole that actually goes outside thinks they are reasonable for those situations.
The malignant day dreamers on the other hand get very upset by them for some reason.
Amusingly so.
This has been the conclusion since this thread first appeared in 2013.
Exactly. Tools are for gays. Why would you ever need tools when there are rocks and sticks and all kinds of plant fiber for ropes etc.
Extremely useful on steep terrain or trails with unsteady footing.
I always thought they were too expensive, and if I really needed one I would cut down a small tree or branch. That was till I found $13 Aluminum walking poles at Kmart.
Sounds like a resounding yes. I'll give a cheap pair a run like this anon suggested before looking into others.
i normally dont think theyre that beneficial for the types hiking I do. However I did a summit last week where the last couple miles to the peak were completely covered in knee-high snow. The poles made trudging through it way easier. I probably shouldve had snowshoes though but whatever, now I know
You should not have gone above the snow line without a transceiver, shovel and prob. And without being roped into at least two other more experienced mountaineers. You should have have at least a level 1 formal avalanche qualification and preferably one of the group should have been a qualified guide. You should have also had crampons and ice axes and an emergency shelter.
I cannot condone this recklessness in avalanche terrain, I cannot fathom the resources it would have taken to rescue you and the trauma it may have inflicted on your rescuers. Deer god, DID YOU EVEN DIG A SNOW PIT?
Sorry I should mention it was a casual 11K butte, YDS class 1 ordinarily. Hardly any snow pack either, just drifts covering the trail, practically zero risk of avalanche. Not exactly an alpinist expedition.
Unless youre being sarcastic in which case you successfully baited me, congrats.
Avalanche risk is only a concern in the most hardcore terrain that's steep enough for large amounts of snow to slide. I doubt the OP needs to worry about that since he mentioned his activity as being a "walk"
>utter turbo homosexualry
Your best friend on the trail, someone to lean on.
Anyone who actually hikes will have picked up a stick. Carbon fiber sticks are for posers.
>Andrew Skurka is a poser
>Jack "Quadzilla" Jones is a poser
I’m usually the first one to post about these two. Glad to see there are others who aren’t functionally moronic.
The retort is always “they hike on trails,” which is factually incorrect. Skurka has done a few long distance hiking firsts with thousands of miles off-trail. His guided trips are mostly off-trail as well.
Skurka also uses them while hunting, but his hunting g trips aren’t just a few hundred feet from an ATV.
Poles often come in handy off-trail hiking (ex: creekwalking and going down ravines to explore).
If I don't bring my poles with me and think I could use some for part of my hike, I'll look for a stick on the ground to use.
Whether I choose to bring my trekking poles depends on my research of the area or my recollections of hiking there in the past.
The only time that I find poles to be a liability is for some climbs and scrambles that require three or four points of contact.
~70 miles through the Pinto Basin, off trail, connecting the Grand Canyon to the PCT. He’s carrying ~40lbs of water.
>better wear long sleeves, sunglasses and a safari hat to protect myself from the harsh desert sun
>frick my legs, though
>let 'em burn
I've never had problems with my legs burning.
>if I never experienced something then it's impossible for anyone else to experience it
Dumb PrepHole logic which is also prevalent in the boots vs. trailrunners thread
i think you may have misinterpreted anon's post and seethed about it
Nope. Read again.
You shouldn't have said nope when your interpretation wasn't necessarily correct. He could easily have been suggesting that it's possible that burns aren't an issue for that person (given his personal experience), rather than asserting that burns definitely weren't an issue. In fact, the person making fun of the sleeves/shorts combo was the one necessarily making the leap.
I think anon may be suggesting that the other man may perhaps have the same book. I don't think he was trying to say that everyone is invulnerable to leg burns.
same boon*
Maybe it’s not about sunburn but about regulating heat.
>be somewhere with no sticks
>terrain getting steep
What do?
scramble? God gave you hands, anon
Done it for most of my life. Age dude.
>I'm too old and frail to use my hands
To the Home of the Useless with you
Yeah, yeah. But seriously anon, at some point it's just about the long term. See this anon's post.
are you like 70 or something, gramps? if so why are you still asking old strangers for advice on the internet?
if you descend while landing on your toes your calves absorb the shock instead of your knees.
>I've never gone farther PrepHole than well-manicured suburban park trails
yeah, we can tell.
I wouldn't be caught dead with them. It's basically a concession that you're so out-of-shape and weak that you need support. For river crossings, I grab a manmade stick like a real man would. Besides that, I don't need em.
>inb4 "you don't go on serious enough hikes so it doesn't matter for you"
Frick off, I probably do more strenuous hikes than anyone on this board and I do em all hands-free
I occasionally go on hikes with my fat brother and his equally fat wife. Both of them have those walking sticks that are designed for fatsos and oldies. What I find a bit curious is that they don't ALWAYS bring them. They bring them for some hikes but not others. Hmmmmm. If they were really confident in their magical abilities or whatever, they would use them every single time, no? I think it's just for show because that's what social media "influencers" and REI say you should do.
Like says they're for posers.
I meant to say grab a natural stick obviously. Manmade sticks are for b***hes.
>there’s always a nice sturdy stick by creek crossings
Ok
>posers
I don’t think you know what that word means.
I always find a good natural stick for crossings nearby. They're not hard to find, so quit larping like you actually know what you're talking about.
>everyone lives where I live
I hike all over the world and have never felt like I've needed one anywhere. If anything they're a liability if you do actual climbing and scrambling
>I hike allover the world
Walking around big cities isn't hiking.
>Liability
You moronic larpers are amazing, truly amazing.
the people shitting on trekking poles are pubescent teens that have nothing better to do than shit up PrepHole because they lack the wit to troll on /misc/ and they're banned from Reddlt for spamming 80iq nonsense.
You don't know anything about me or where I've hiked. Typical PrepHole making dumb assumptions about me and my experience. No different than the idiots in another recent thread who practically called me genetic trash when my hiking resume mogs the vast majority of this board to the Moon and beyond.
>No different than the idiots in another recent thread
Uh oh, moron taking shit talking personally again.
I know you don't know shit about hiking and you talk like a tween.
>mogs
yeah, youre like 15.
It's a kid trying to be edgy.
>I always find a good natural stick for crossings nearby.
Amazing.
>I hike all over the world
Sure you do, just not deserts, right?
>Sure you do, just not deserts, right?
That was my first thought. I spend most of my PrepHole time in the desert. Sticks are mostly brittle and laden with thorns. If I'm lucky, I'll find a saguaro rib.
I literally hiked in Arizona last year
>I wouldn't be caught dead with them
Spoken like a teenage girl with no life experience.
I'm glad that you're so open with your moronation--it's very amusing how little you know and how vocal you are about it.
You mean a stick?
If you hike on popular trails like OP you shouldn't need them. It would be more pressing to learn how to walk properly.
>heavy pack
>overgrown wet trails
>off trail
yes
>learn how to walk properly
I've never injured myself PrepHole because of a fall, but I finally came close the other day. Getting older will get you one day too.
always find it amusing seeing boomers all kitted out like this as if they're on an expedition deep into the backcountry despite only walking around the local park. Like obviously they're elderly so the use of trekking poles is totally justified in their case, but the excessive amount of other gear suggests that they would likely still be carrying the poles like the dorks they are even if they had the fitness of a 30 year old
I just walk on my dick and sprained ankles.
I just use a big staff. Multiuse.
>I just use a big staff
That's what your mom told me
That explains why she turned you down.
Not terribly viable when you're on a very rocky mountain with 40 degree slopes.
wow almost like you just put them away when they arent useful
>put them away for forever
Or just don't buy them in the first place
>trekking poles are never useful
You’ve never hiked.
he sometimes walks on a paved trail in a suburban park near his parents' house, often while swinging a stick he found.
Just as good!
Ultra useful actually, you become a mountain goat with 4 legs. Alright i'm convinced nobody here backpacks.
>Alright i'm convinced nobody here backpacks
You're not allowed to say that here anymore.
Bought them and never regretted it. Without them my out adventures would be so much harder. Dodgy terrain and bogs no longer intimidate me as much as before.
Make climbing noticably easier and help to not destroy your knees on the way down. I wouldn't go on a mountain without.
Just stretch your ankles you fricking corporate queer.
When one becomes too old to support themselves they should be pushed out to sea on an iceberg
Did the Ocean to Lake trail 60 miles. Would have totally fricked myself if I didn't have my poles
If you see me with poles i'm section hiking gone for weeks. I guess you dayhike normie homosexuals wouldn't need them much. But real hikers never go without them. They also set my tent up, which I survived a widow maker impact in because it's too sturdy
>be me
>go out hiking today
>2c ambient + whatever windchill from about 12-15mph wind
>about 3 days since last snow
>it's not between slush and melting ice patches
>on limestone
>I have no crampons
Poles are the only reason I stayed upright throughout and made it down literally iced up descents. I skidded about 2m and nearly over the side of the trail and into the river but stuck a pole into a patch of soft ground I saw and stopped myself. Shit's useful.
is that WA ? that trail looks familiar
OP here. Went out this weekend and followed the advice of the anon that said to try the cheap Walmart poles. Definitely worth it, especially on the way down, as some said, but very energy efficient on the way up too. My knees weren't wobbling by the bottom like they have been lately. Quite nice.
My trails look like this a lot, poles are indispensable for dodging the worst of it.
Good for stability and downhill but it's very funny to watch young people use them on 5km day walks over flat dry ground.
Just buy a pair with rubber ends and decent shock absorption. Also, if you're too old to hike, pelase don't, my entire NZ trip was ruined by a group of 4 homosexuals than needed to stop every 5 minuted and had to have their bags carried by the guide
Tell me more about your suffering, it sounds delectable
I'm not that old. Just old enough to start thinking about long term joint health and a little extra stability. The day I can't carry my own pack just fricking bury me.
They are very useful in uneven terrain, especially when you carry a heavy backpack.
To me they only really make sense if you're either elderly, weak or on ice without crampons.
Never found an use for them that couldn't be achieved with wooden sticks.
Also they make you look like an absolute fricking poser.
see
To mean just look at this guys chicken legs! Total toothpicks, hoky shit. Probably can’t squat squat.
>Never found an use for them that couldn't be achieved with wooden sticks.
>I prefer the least effective tool
>if you didn't spend a bunch of money on your stick it isn't effective
>lightweight
>adjustable
>perfect grips
>built in shock absorbers
>changeable tips for varied conditions
>why use a screwdriver when you can just turn the screw with a stick
lol
>why use a normal hammer to drive in a nail when you can spend five times as much on this extendable hammer with LEDs, stock market monitoring software and an astroglide dispenser
>anyone using a hammer is a gay with week hands because you can just find a big rock in the woods
>gotta put these tent stakes in
>use a rock? Are you moronic? I never set foot outside my Amazon pod without my GAIFEGG™ thru-hiking trek camp outdoors survival with most secret underground swimming pool utility hammer tool© that I got for 3900 dollars on a payment plan through Aftrgay™, because my favorite influencer told me if I try to enjoy the outdoors without it I'm Basically Hitler©
Dude the cheapest hiking poles are $20. Using a tool doesn't make someone a geargay.
The cheapest stick is 100% cheaper than that
That does not defeat my point so I'll repeat myself. Using a tool is not gearhomosexualry.
Justifying consoomer spending by saying "it's better than the free thing" over and over is absolutely gearhomosexualry and calling it a tool won't change that
Walking is not as good as just driving your car to the lookout point. Better ditch all your shit and buy a SUV for 40K
frick off dork. why are you so assravaged by people using something that has utility? other than feebly attempting to seem superior on an anonymous message board?
>Walking is not as good as just driving your car to the lookout point. Better ditch all your shit and buy a SUV for 40K
I do indeed have a useful tool to visit PrepHole locations farther than I can walk.
It was already shown that it’s not as good, and $20 is less than I spent on lunch today.
But you'll need a 500 dollah knife to carve any random branch into a usable walking stick.
Exaggerated, but good point. Anon had better be flint knapping to make any sharp edges he needs.
I took it to be making fun of consoomers
Then it is incidental but still a good point? Why doesn't anon flint knap instead of buying a knife? Is a knife perhaps a better cutting tool than sharp rock?
>still a good point?
Don't end statements with question marks anon, it makes people think there's women on here
Typo. Got ahead of myself because my next sentence was going to be a question.
tbfair Skurka uses black diamond carbon poles, so that's really the bare minimum as far as I'm concerned
https://andrewskurka.com/costco-trekking-poles/
>not knowing the difference between poles Skurka actually seriously uses and ones he mentions so poors can feel included
I mean, he said they were good enough. Maybe you’ll need the ones he’s using if you do the stuff he does. But you’re doing Costco-level hikes.
>But you’re doing Costco-level hikes
How would you know what another anon is doing? Probably my biggest pet peeve on this board.
>he said they were good enough
So that you can feel included.
>on ice without crampons
You have never been "on ice" or on any trail with significant positive gain.
This board is so tiresome.
>This board is so tiresome
Nobody's forcing you to respond to trolls.
NTA, but I’m infused. I live in the Deep South so I’ve never hiked in frozen conditions. Why is his statement about crampons wrong?
If you're on ice without crampons an extra point of contact or two isn't going to keep your other points of contact, your feet, from sliding around.
gimmick
They objectively increase efficiency, so I always use them, even on flats. Yeah obviously you don't "need" them but why would you pass up the ability to cover more distance, faster, and using less energy?
more like sissy sticks
Interesting thread. What I can gather is that they're a useful tool, and like all tools situational, that many mountaineers use but said mountaineers are weak sissy posers so I shouldn't use them.
Do I have that right?
last summer i walked wiht out sleep or shoos 20h so i win case closed.
I scaled K2 buck naked. Tools are for gays. I double win.
When I was 20, I thought they were fricking stupid. I'm 35 now, and my knees give me trouble. I bought a pair for pretty cheap at Sierra Trading Post, I need to remember to use them more, they help a lot going downhill.
They're still stupid. You should just stay inside if you're already broken.
stop making excuses and go outside my morbidly obese friend.