Trekking Poles

I hike nowhere without my two trekking poles, which:

• Reduce the stress on my knees by about 25 percent;
• Provide extra traction on slippery terrain (e.g. mud, snow, sand, loose gravel);
• Offer additional stability on technical terrain (e.g. rocky and rooty);
• Can be used in lieu of tent poles, helping to save me weight; and,
• Can be used to fend off aggressive dogs, boars, and bulls.

I prefer non-collapsible, non-anti-shock trekking poles. Gee, that sounds like a ski pole -- and tey essentially are, but with the addition of the carbide tip found on all trekking poles. Compared to collapsible and anti-shock poles, fixed-length poles generally are:

• Stronger
• Lighter
• Less expensive
• Quieter (no rattling or squeaking)
• Simpler -- no joints that become over tightened or loosened

I remove the baskets and straps from my poles. I remove the baskets because of its effect on the swing weight of the pole -- having even a half-ounce less at the bottom of the pole makes a huge difference in the effort required to swing it. I remove the straps because strap-less poles are:

• Simpler
• Lighter
• More glove/mitt-friendly
• Less likely to break if it gets wedged because I can easily let go of the pole -- with straps, my momentum might carry be too far forward and cause the pole to break.