warloc66

One more thing before I shut my mouth. With trekking poles it is very important to adjust the wrist straps properly. They are not just there to keep you from dropping the poles - they are an intergral part of the poles benefits. The straps are designed to take a majority of the weight applied to the pole - you should hardly be holding the grip at all. With the straps set properly, they will distribute the weight around your hand and wrist evenly and allow you to swing the the pole with your stride. A great site for proper pole use can be found here - http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/poles.htm Hope this helps!!

I used to use any 'ol stick I could find, but last year my wife gave me a pait of EMS Alpinist trekking poles. Now I can't imagine hiking without them. Regular sticks are very helpful, but a nice cork handle that is shaped for the hand is very nice, and more importantly, the wrist straps are the best. When properly adjusted, they take all the strain off the hands and I just don't get as fatigued as without them. Slippery downhills are no problem, and long uphills are much easier. Hauling a good size pack in a breeze with the extra support, and uneven terrain in much easier to traverse with the extra balance added by the poles. I suggest to everyone who is interested in hiking to get a good pair of trekking poles - you won't be sorry (and your knees will love you for it )

I used to use any 'ol stick I could find, but last year my wife gave me a pait of EMS Alpinist trekking poles. Now I can't imagine hiking without them. Regular sticks are very helpful, but a nice cork handle that is shaped for the hand is very nice, and more importantly, the wrist straps are the best. When properly adjusted, they take all the strain off the hands and I just don't get as fatigued as without them. Slippery downhills are no problem, and long uphills are much easier. Hauling a good size pack in a breeze with the extra support, and uneven terrain in much easier to traverse with the extra balance added by the poles. I suggest to everyone who is interested in hiking to get a good pair of trekking poles - you won't be sorry (and your knees will love you for it )