Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting trekking pole info

You may have a point there...

JK, you seem to manage just fine.

I used a pair of twist locks from Cabelas for years in aluminum. They made some noise. Finally gave up the ghost and I cached them for the last time waaayy off road in a place I hope no one's dumb enough to go again.

I put more weight more times on those aluminum sticks than I care to admit, and they held.

Then I took the wife's carbon Costco pair out. Really missed the shock absorbers.

Carbon ones make noise also, and are not much better than aluminum in that department. But neither one makes much considering you're there as well, floundering about on rough trail.

Noise not a factor to me.

After watching "How to Use Trekking Poles for Mountain Hunting by Randy Newberg " I decided I would try them this year and take a load off my 62 year old knees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Ux_MKKihw

As you get older, balance get worse. I'll be 68 in a couple weeks and I know my balance isn't what it was just 5 years ago. Poles really help with that.
My Costco carbon poles do make some noise. The lower section will rattle inside the middle section even when the lock is very tight. My cure was to run the top section as high as it will go then extend the bottom section just enough to fit me which is only 3 or 4".

Old Willys, thanks for posting that link. Always good to watch/listen to Randy.

Trekking poles have been on my radar for a while...

Got a pair with some snowshoes I bought on Craigslist. I'll be breaking them out this fall for sure!

I use carbon Komperdell poles with flip locks. I've owned aluminum Lekis which are OK but I hate Leki's twist locks. Eventually they all fail.

No suspension shocks for me. Way to noisy and annoying.

Looking back, I've posted more about trekking poles than other gear items. It's because they are such a game-changer.

When you need to go up steep hills, they yield 4WD in a 2WD world. And where they really excel is rough, uneven or rock-strewn ground. The first time you start to loose it, which is when many injuries happen, and the trekking pole takes you from ass-bust to instant stability, a believer is made.

The older you are, or the heavier the pack, the better trekking poles are. And I like suspension shocks. Noisy and annoying? No more than I already am. Every ounce of shock they absorb would have been born by my joints otherwise. Take a long ride behind a quad in a simple axle-to-bed trailer for a painful illustration.

And for stream crossings ....

+1 Except that I prefer no shock absorption. I like to have a firm, positive feel of what's under the pole when I place it down. Similar to a car without power steering- you get a much more sensitive feel of the road.

+2
I definitely prefer the solid feel with no shock absorption although my brother prefers shocks. I really want to feel if the rocks beneath the pole start to move. You'd have to try both to know...

Personally, I can't stand trekking poles. I don't like both hands filled, and I don't like having my arms elevated to pole height.

I'm a cane user, set at a tall ice-axe height. Komperdell makes a good one... also, no shock-absorber.

Black Diamond Flick Locks here too. Used them extensively on a couple hunts including a solid Goat Hunt.

They rock.

black diamond 2-pc aluminum ski poles with flicklock. I figure less is more when it comes to joints on poles.

another plug for the flip locks
I have saved my arse more that once going down steep or side hill on loose or wet rocks with a heavy pack.

Same when climbing over dead falls

I don't go in the field without them

Big plus when you get older and they help your knees when descending

For hiking I am undecided on trekking poles. I have a set of the Gossimer gear LT-3 poles I use from time to time, they are a fixed pole made from carbon fiber and very light.

The two places I find poles required is when freighting a load, the more irregular the terrain the more I need them. The other instance is when using showshoes. For these I use some old lekki's

Poles don't have to be expensive to help balance a very heavy unruly load.

These deadfall pine poles helped me beyond measures

I use hiking and ski poles a lot - maybe 250 days of the year. I both hunt and backcountry ski here on Kodiak Island, Alaska. Anyway, I consider hiking/ski poles essential, and don't leave the road without them! I own numerous pairs.

For hunting purposes (and most purposes) I actually like light weight carbon fiber fixed length poles with hiking baskets. For skiing I put on bigger baskets. Light weight, high end carbon fiber poles have a fast swing weight which means the pole is there to plant quickly. I generally like a 115 cm length pole and don't change it much even if I have variable length poles.

However, I do like the variable length poles for use when setting up tarp shelters. A big bonus of hiking poles is that you do not need to bring along a heavier traditional style tent - you can bring a tarp tent and use the hiking poles in lieu of tent poles. This is HUGE.

And for this reason I actually own a pair of Black Diamond flint lock extendable carbon fiber poles. Set at 115 cm pretty much all the time except when setting up the tent.

And I too have never had a pair of twist locks ever last more than a season.

Patrick

I've had twists locks freeze so I couldn't adjust them until they thawed out.

Because of this thread, I ordered Black Diamond flip locks last week and could not be happier with these poles. As I get older, 68 now, I was having more trouble staying off mt butt while on snowy trails in CO. This weekend I went to a Moderate trail close to the house, (Cumberland Trail 9.7 Miles) and was shocked at how much easier it was to walk on a rocky trail. Especially downhill. Thank all of you for the information on this thread. Can't wait for 3rd season to get here.