Looking at getting Dad one of these for Christmas. Doesn't get around as good as he did and like him to have something to use in the woods or yard. I've found this one on Brazos Walking Sticks:
http://www.brazos-walking-sticks.com/leather-safari-exotic-walking-stick/

What are some other places to look? The one linked is about on the high end of what I can spend.

Appreciate the help.

Cold Steel Shillelagh.





Dave

Carbon Fiber hiking poles, with a strap.

These are very light weight, he can choose the base to match the conditions, and they are not expensive.

I use a pair to hunt and hike with, plus you can use them as shooting sticks.

I got my dad a pair. They are very hard to beat.





https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EJP43FA?ref=emc_b_5_i


They sell a similar pair at costco.

I got a pair of carbon trekking poles at Costco for about $35 last year. I use one when hunting. They weigh almost nothing and fold up to about 15" long which really helps when getting in a car. If he's typical of an older person, you'd want the ones with a flip lever adjustment instead of a twist type. The twist ones can be pretty stiff for old hands.

If he has a sense of humor, you can get him a cane made from a bull's penis. They have a steel rod inside for strength. They're somewhat more expensive than synthetic poles, though.

I got the same pair for my wife and they have been used a lot for the past year w/ out a problem. They weigh and cost about 1/2 of my Black Diamond poles.


mike r

Heeler,

Fwiw, most of our Texas Master Naturalists have/use a walking stick in rough country. - A piece of HICKORY or OSAGE ORANGE (BOIS d' ARC) about 5' long & about 1.25-1.5" diameter, cut yourself, seems to make the strongest ones.
(One of our TMN has used the same walking stick, made of a length of OSAGE ORANGE, for over 20 years. = His only "out of pocket cost" is occasionally replacing the rubber crutch tip. = Tom's walking stick is carved with his name, TMN class number, PO Box & phone number.)

My guess is that your Dad would be quite PLEASED to receive one as a gift, that you made especially for him.

yours, satx

Heeler: That is one beautiful walking stick!
I say wow to it and maybe you should go for that model - you probably will only be buying one (the price IS a factor).
Around here I have two friends who make custom walking sticks and they use the kind of rare Diamond Willow wood for their offerings - $30.00 to $40.00 price range.
The handles on the local models are much less fancy than the ones you linked to.
Best of luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Also, take a look at Irish Blackthorn, makes a good rugged looking stick. I have one from this guy: https://mccaffreycrafts.com

There is a man that makes walking sticks that have a " survival kit"built in. I can't remember the name.
Goggle it and or utube.

Found it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0vd8cZmo5s

Look for Osage Orange walking stick/staff on Ebay. Wife bought me one for $9 and I love it

Something like the Komperdell Walker, offer a multi-use design grip.

https://mec.imgix.net/medias/sys_ma...=format&q=40&fit=fill&bg=FFF

as do Leki
https://www.leki.com/uk/product-area/trekking/poles/2876/city-sen-vario/

Another vote for trekking poles. Another vote for the flip lock adjustments like the Black Diamond poles. If he will be using them outside during the winter, cork grips are "less cold" than the rubber grips.

This guy makes a mean buffalo penis cane

http://rtoproducts.com/bull-canes.php

Dang, those look exceptional and you can feel the Irish seeping out of them.

Makes me want to order one, if only to crack an Englishman upside the head.

Another vote for diamond willow.

They are cheaper and if you know what willows look like you can make your own.

I like the look of diamond willow.

Osage orange, or hedge as we call it, is definitely not a problem around here. However, like most folks, don't have the time or tools to hand make one. Probably going to stick with wood and thanks for the suggestions.

Made this one for helping me make offhand shots with my bad shoulder. Piece of Ashe juniper aka mountain cedar.

Well over 40 years ago I found a stout piece of wood that had interesting worm cuts on it while chaperoning a group in the NorCal woods. I fashioned it into a 70" "Little John" staff/walking stick with a carved handle. Used it a lot in the old days out in the woods. Still have it and still have no clue as to what kind of wood it is.

Also have a great B-Square #A2000 monopod that must be over 20 years old now. The aluminum shaft telescopes with twist locks and has interchangeable round wooden hikers knob, a forked shaped rifle cradle rest, and a camera 1/4x20 stud mount. The bottom pad twists to expose a spike if needed out and about. For a hunter these types of staffs are da bomb.

I grew older and first picked up a Komperdell Walker which served me well. Still have it but it has been replaced by beautiful wooden Fritz handled canes from http://www.walkingcaneco.com/. (My favorite is a custom bubinga Fritz with a tiger maple inlaid shaft section.) Before I developed a need for canes I picked up a pair of Gabel Schratt 1803 telescoping 7075-T61 aluminum trekking poles. Used them successfully at places like Arches National Park over a decade ago.

I second the notion, as a septuagenarian, of latch vice twist lock if you opt for carbon fiber or aircraft aluminum trekking poles for your aging dad. As for a wooden tall walking stick, they are great but unwieldy for transport.

I carry a Leki Wanderfreund Black Carbon Staff.

It doesn't have the "soul" of a wooden one, but comes in handy and doubles as a nice shooting stick. Most importantly, in the early season, I can hit every dead yucca plant within reach in case a rattler is hiding in there.


Leki Wanderfreund Black Carbon Staff

Before I pay that kind of $$$$$$$ I'll find me a piss elm club and use that!

Diamond willow makes a nice looking stick!

about 25 years ago I made a 5 foot staff out of seasoned Ash. It has been all over, mountains, swamps, beaches and urban. It has never failed me. I don't go afield without it

For about half them dollars I will go out in my yard & cut a stick & send it to ya.
Let me know


Mike

My free bamboo stick is wood.

Anyone who would actually pay that kinda money for a walking stick is a flaming yuppie pusay!

It's alright, little buddy. I know, you're right, life just isn't fair. There was a time in my life too that I couldn't afford a quality walking stick.

Take a look at the walking sticks at Sportsmen's Warehouse. Pretty reasonable and attractive.

I'd go with just about any ski-mountaineering poles, carbon fiber with good locking adjustments and changeable tips. They have extended my Dad's life of adventure several years and counting; and any time I've got some rough ground to cover, I bring mine, which I think are Leki's -- bought them at least a decade ago for skiing, use them year round.
They really rock if you have any kind of a pack and expect some downhill.
Never mind that all our "hiking" poles are set up to become bipods with a two-ounce weight penalty for the Velcro and straps. Varmints fear us more.

Nice thread.

I collected a wild yucca pole from alongside the road in Arizona and cleaned it up to make a hiking stick for my wife. Very lightweight and very strong. She uses it whenever she goes hiking.



Yucca Hiking Sticks

But you know for practical hiking poles I use the trekking poles that I bought at Costco, which several guys have already mentioned.

KC

Some very nice walking sticks.

I use them while fishing when crossing small creeks and rivers here in N. Id.

I cut them on site, when finished with them, I lean them up against a tree.

Some I have been using for years, others go missing (probably used by other fishermen) and I just cut another.

I might look into one of those light weight folder type..........

Someone has opined that the worm tracked wood of my 70" walking staff pictured in my post above is Pacific Madrone. Anyone have other ideas?

I've got a walking stick that I cut from a small Madrone tree here on my property in western Oregon.

It's about 5-1/2 feet long, and about 1/12" around on the big end. It's dried well over the years and is light but stout.

It has red colored bark. Been using it for my morning walk for several years.

My driveway gains 300 feel elevation in 1/2 mile, and this pole helps me keep my balance.

Plus it would make a great club if I had to whack something!

Virgil B.

Heeler,

FWIW, I bought an adjustable carbon-fiber/fiberglass hiking staff made by ACE CAMP OUTDOORS PRODUCTS off ebay.com for 13.50 delivered. - It weighs less than 6 ounces & is STRONG.
(You might go look there for "a deal", if you don't want to make him a staff.)

yours, satx

Timely thread. My dog was attacked again today by a dog running wild on our walk. Good and tired of this happening. Must have been 10 or more times in as many years. Went down to Sportsmans WH and got one of the 60" hickory ones about 1 1/2" thick. Next time...

River Cane,.......river cane makes the best walking sticks. (I'm trying to create a market for river cane)

I have telescopic trekking poles in carbon and also alloy, If i didn't need tele. for compact travel, I would be using
a sturdy one piece ski pole.

Scott Riot 22, is a beefy oversize 22mm dia.(strongest commercially available 7075 aircraft-grade aluminium)
with decent length grip.
https://www.amazon.com/Scott-Riot-Ski-Poles-2017/dp/B01GY1VQLA

Rossingnol Fat Pro SOV, is also 22mm but uses a lesser but still very good 5086 alloy.
http://www.rossignol.com/US/US/fat-pro--pov--2017--RDG3030--product--home-alpine.html?b=94327

Irish blackthorn shillelagh from Hammacher Schlemmer @ $70 ?
(36" to 39" long)

All of mine are Hickory or Cedar.

I made one out of maple same length as I am tall or my arms are outstretched. I use it when my knees are acting up and I'm hunting. If I'm hiking in the mountains with a back pack I use two ski poles that I cut down a couple of inches. If my knees aren't bothering me I don't use either.

KC:

Are you certain your stalks are from a yucca? Arizona's sotol stalks usually provide the best, lightest and strongest sticks, and they only get better as the years go by. We call them "Moses Sticks" down here in southern Arizona.

I have one I've used for at least 40 years. I padded the top with a piece of foam and covered it and 18 inches or so of the heavy end of the stalk with elkskin. A rubber crutch-tip on the slim end completes the stick.

It makes a dandy monopod in addition helping steady me when I'm on steep slopes. I like to cut the stalk so that it is the height of my eyes from the ground, so that I can steady my binoculars on it when standing up and glassing for deer and javelinas.

Bill Quimby

Bill:

No I'm not sure it was a yucca. That was a long time ago (maybe 3 or 4 decades). But she still has it and still uses it.

KC

I'm 81 years old and not as steady as I use to be so I've been using a walking stick and cane for a couple years now.

I've made many walking/shooting mono-sticks out of birch. I look for a piece that is relatively straight with a fork in it, cut it to my height, peel it, pad the shooting fork, and have at it. Often I need to slender the lower end to wind up with a stick of relatively same diameter, top to bottom - usually 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches. I don't make 'em pretty, just leave them rough carved- usually with a machete. I do use 60 grit sandpaper to smooth off rough or sharp edges. Cheap and quick! A good feature, as I have a bunch of them scattered around the country....

The same-body height allows it to be used well both up-hill and down, walking or shooting, as well as on the level.

I've also recently been using my BOG-POD tripod as a walking stick when needed. Again, double duty.

Can't afford ammo?

Great gift. Nice wood working.