Trekking poles can be like crutches?

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

I feel obligated to update my thinking about using trekking poles.

I still recommend trekking poles for use on trail. They've kept this old man from falling about 40 times now, and have flushed out wild animals in the grass a couple of times so far.

But after my last "adventure," I started thinking about whether training with trekking poles could make one reliant on them, like becoming used to crutches or like needing training wheels to ride a bike.

So for the past few weeks I've been training mostly without using them.

(I carry them in hand. But only deploy them for steep uphills/downhills, or slippery ground.)

Albeit anecdotal evidence, but it seems to me that my balance has improved, my ankles have become stronger, and I can stride out more on flat ground. (Perhaps move a little faster too, since I'm not swinging/timing poles with each step.) Might be more efficient/use less calories too, since I'm not using my arm, shoulder & chest muscles as much.

Counter-intuitively, I don't seem to stumble as much as I did when using the poles continuously.

I could make a scientific argument that when you constantly use trekking poles during training, your sense of balance can diminish, since it doesn't have to be as good with three points of contact compared to two points.

Same argument about "twitch" muscles, which probably atrophy a bit when constantly using trekking poles because those small muscles aren't needed/in use as much when relying on poles.

Still anecdotal: At first it was a little difficult/awkward to train without using the poles. But after a few weeks now, it seems that I've toned up all around. I'm not using them as much for the steep uphills as I used to.

So my new recommendation: Train mostly without trekking poles when safe. Use them on trail almost continuously. (Wide, clear, level road walks (where you can any snakes) excepted.)

[Jim]

I never used poles and thought of them as hiking crutches 18 years ago. I see them either as a fad for non-hikers, or for the very weak or injured. I don't wear a back brace when I hike and I don't use poles. What other people do is their business.

[rcorfman]

When I hiked the PCT, I forgot my poles, so I hiked the first 700 miles without them. My wife sent them to me with my bear can and some other gear when I entered the Sierra Nevada. I didn't miss them. In the Sierra, they were nice to have on the steep climbs and creek crossings. I also used one like an ice axe a few times crossing some snow fields. They were also convenient to have for pitching my tarp. I mostly didn't use them and just carried them in one hand or stowed on my pack. Shortly after White Pass in Washington, I slipped and gouged my left hand between my thumb and forefinger. I couldn't comfortably use a pole for the next couple weeks.

I never train with hiking sticks. People say they save them from falling, etc. but I agree with you, if you use them, they turn into a crutch. I stumble frequently, but rarely fall. I doubt a pole would make a difference for me at this point in my life. Now I carry them just for the convenience for setting up my tarp if I know there may be wet weather. Sometimes I'll actually use them for walking, especially up steeper climbs, but usually I just carry them. I've never figured out how they can be helpful going downhill.

[RedRoxx44]

I use them pretty much on any hike I do. Not for hood walks on the pavement or out in the desert by my house. Plus-- use to hold back thorny brush, pry cholla off my boots, snake stick, weak pry bar, stability on unstable surfaces. Bad-- get jammed in between rocks, stuck in brush, bend my wrist weird ways if I am crawling thru some brush. I can fall with or without them and usually do on some hikes. I am too lazy to stow them on off trail scrambles so they usually just trail along.
Oh and I forgot -- cattle prod! I used to encounter a bull on the Powers Hill trail when that was open pretty consistently. It's an old wagon trail so not very wide. I'd thump him on his backside; only one time did he put his head down then he got the pointy end. He wasn't serious tho or the pole would not have stopped him.

[toddak]

I see them either as a fad for non-hikers, or for the very weak or injured.

Gotta disagree, I started poling in my early 40's and they have been essential hiking equipment ever since. On uphills they engage the arms and shoulders and increase overall efficiency (I consider them roughly analagous to cross-country skiing) and on the downhills they reduce shock loading on the knees. For me the balance/falling prevention issue is secondary but no doubt they assist with that too on rough / off-trail. And when backpacking they substitute for tent poles. I'm still using my original Black Diamond distance carbon Z folding poles, they weigh barely more than half a pound and the carbide tips last thousands of miles. NOT crutches, more like turbochargers.

[xsproutx]

Plus-- use to hold back thorny brush, pry cholla off my boots, snake stick, weak pry bar, stability on unstable surfaces.

I find the ability for them to reduce the amount of blood I leave on trail in AZ to be the biggest pro ever.
With that said, when I did the AT, I had a hammock and didn't start with trekking poles. I definitely bought some by time I got to Virginia, though, and have been a pole guy ever since. Certainly wasn't weak/injured/new hiker. When I did the PCT, I took them and the extra benefit was being dual purpose: comfort + tent poles. That was 20ish years ago, probably not a fad

[chumley]

While I use them in some circumstances where they make sense for me, I still appreciate that former hiker and haz pot-stirrer @tough_boots referred to them as "shame sticks".

[CannondaleKid]

I don't wear a back brace when I hike and I don't use poles

Huh??
That's not even an apples & oranges argument... more like apples & watermelon.

Yesterday we met a guy who has to wear leg braces due to a lifetime with bow-legs and he's doing a thru hike of the AZT, so just because I don't wear a back brace or leg braces I won't hold it against anyone who actually has the need to.

As for trekking poles, for years I didn't see the need for them, now I would never hike without them. Now that I'm well into my 8th decade of life, let's face it, with aging there are some facts-of-life we simply cannot avoid, among them balance issues, joint mobility, arthritic hips, knees, ankles, numbness in feet, all of which can be aided with poles, and in my case they are a great help.

I've never figured out how they can be helpful going downhill.

Another huh??
If you had lower back, hip and/or knee issues I'm sure would understand. As for me, whenever I'm going down steeper slopes I extend the poles about 2" and use them judiciously to 1. Slow me down 2. Aid traction on loose surfaces 3. Ease the waves of pain from hips and knees 4. Actually build my arm strength which I make us of when I shorten the poles 2" and use them to help pull me up steep slopes.

@TooOld2Hike_EP
At my age I guess 'training' is an alien subject... if I'm not going to climb Everest what do I need to train for?
I just keep doing daily activities that help keep this old body moving and somewhat limber... stuff like hiking, mountain biking and use my "GR8FLEX Hi Performance Gym' machine.

Oh, and if one feels the need to train for some activity or event, why would you train differently than what you would do during the event?
In other words, why would you train WiTHOUT poles for something you'd use them constantly for?
I'm so used to using poles now that I hardly know where I'm placing them, as though my brain is on cruise-control, subconsciously making a decision with each step.

In the end, how about stop obsessing so much about everything.
Frankly, I sure as heck don't waste any mental energy on something as mundane as timing my footsteps to coincide with trekking pole 'steps' for instance.

Just get out and enjoy a hike or whatever activity brings you joy.
If nothing brings you joy, sorry, I can't help you there.

[Tough_Boots]

@chumley

Failure poles

[Pivo]

Other than snowshoeing, I don't use them. I do wear gloves to protect my hands if/when I fall. The cycling ones with padding on the palm area works nicely.

[chumley]

@Pivo do you wear gloves all the time for training, or just while on actual hikes?

[Pivo]

@chumley
Just for hiking on trails. They're helpful for scrapes too.

[Jim]

People have opinions! Like I said, what other people do is their business.

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@Tough_Boots
What up Kyle the Heartless?

[PatrickL]

#teamshamesticks