Thread: Hunting with Trekking Poles

If pole shopping, things to consider.
Weight
Adjustability. I extend mine out a bit for down hill.
Sound, some really make a lot of noise if you hit something when off track, rifle barrel, hard dry stick, stone etc.
Shock absorbing. My First set had this and I miss it in my new Leki carbon fancy all bells and whistles.
An angled hand grip can make them easyier on your wrists.
Rounded top so when going down hill the palm of your hand is over the top of the pole so you can reach forward and down over steps.
Never use the hand loops. (well almost never.) one day you will slip and need to put a hand out to land on. Cant do this if your pole is in the ground and your hand is in the loop.

My old carbon Fairydown poles had Cork handles, built in shock absorbers, steel tips worn down and the heavy carbon body was quiet.
My new leki pols are very light, the angled hand grip is nicer and the adjustment system is much better and more secure, get replaceable tungsten tips. Down side is they are noisier and the top of the pole is smaller and harder so less comfortable on downhills.

I have a dodgy hip one side and the knee on the other side is getting piss-off with having to do extra work over the last number of years. Surgeon wants me to hang off replacements for a while if I can to avoid having to come back off a third replacement which they may not be able to do. Hence I work my sticks hard particularly on down hills.
Z

Originally Posted by ZQLewis

If pole shopping, things to consider.
Weight
Adjustability. I extend mine out a bit for down hill.
Sound, some really make a lot of noise if you hit something when off track, rifle barrel, hard dry stick, stone etc.
Shock absorbing. My First set had this and I miss it in my new Leki carbon fancy all bells and whistles.
An angled hand grip can make them easyier on your wrists.
Rounded top so when going down hill the palm of your hand is over the top of the pole so you can reach forward and down over steps.
Never use the hand loops. (well almost never.) one day you will slip and need to put a hand out to land on. Cant do this if your pole is in the ground and your hand is in the loop.

My old carbon Fairydown poles had Cork handles, built in shock absorbers, steel tips worn down and the heavy carbon body was quiet.
My new leki pols are very light, the angled hand grip is nicer and the adjustment system is much better and more secure, get replaceable tungsten tips. Down side is they are noisier and the top of the pole is smaller and harder so less comfortable on downhills.

I have a dodgy hip one side and the knee on the other side is getting piss-off with having to do extra work over the last number of years. Surgeon wants me to hang off replacements for a while if I can to avoid having to come back off a third replacement which they may not be able to do. Hence I work my sticks hard particularly on down hills.
Z

Interesting you don't use the hand loops? They take a huge amount of strain off your hands and wrists. The trick is to put your hands through the loop from the bottom and then hold the strap against the handle (if that makes sense). That way the loop is quite loose if you let the pole go but when using them they still support your wrist. I think Leki have some instructions somewhere.

Originally Posted by Shearer

Interesting you don't use the hand loops? They take a huge amount of strain off your hands and wrists. The trick is to put your hands through the loop from the bottom and then hold the strap against the handle (if that makes sense). That way the loop is quite loose if you let the pole go but when using them they still support your wrist. I think Leki have some instructions somewhere.

Agree! It's by far the best way to use the loops. All load is taken off hands and is spread around wrist. Black Diamond and some other brand instruction tags say to do this.

I use the Z poles style poles as there's no clamps to slide or fail. Have seen far too many clamp or twist style pole joints slip or completely fail.
Z style is really quick to deploy and fold again when not wanted. Worst case with Z is the centre cord fails on hillside but that's solveable with tape around the joint and get back 100% strength then replace cord when home.