Guest BigJim Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 I am thinking about getting a hiking stick. Does anyone have a recommendation? I know nothing about them -- not sure there is much to know about them. If anyone uses a stick and likes theirs, please respond. Quote Link to comment
Guest c.mathis Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 quote:Originally posted by BigJim:I am thinking about getting a hiking stick. Does anyone have a recommendation? I know nothing about them -- not sure there is much to know about them. If anyone uses a stick and likes theirs, please respond. A straight piece of tree branch (already dead, of course) about shoulder height is great. No need to use synthetic materials or pay someone for what nature provides. Quote Link to comment
Guest bunkerdave Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 Depending on where you hike, good sticks can be difficult to find. I got mine for $10 at Wal-Mart. Not particularly romantic, but it is a great piece of wood. Quote Link to comment
Guest Linda Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 Try this thread. Quote Link to comment
Guest CACHED-AWAY Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 I have used a branch works great also and old ski pole will work too.They work great for 'Snake checks' Quote Link to comment
Guest gnbrotz Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 I made my own very inexpensive model: 1" x 48" poplar dowel rod. Fashioned a dull point on the bottom and inserted a short piece of 1/4" thread in the top (for mounting camera, etc.). Total cost $3.50 plus about 30 minutes work. ------------------ Greg N39°54.705' W077°33.137' Quote Link to comment
Guest PharoaH Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 I have the trunk of a small crape myrtle that we removed from our landscape last year. It is very sturdy and didn't cost a dime! I have enjoyed many evenings sanding it down into a conversation piece when I couldn't be out caching. I did hear a few jokes about it at the Georgia Geocachers Association (GGA) meeting though! They said it was more like a baseball bat. Quote Link to comment
Guest jc364 Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 It's like American Express......don't leave home without it!! Quote Link to comment
Guest Pete Holden Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 quote:Originally posted by BigJim:I am thinking about getting a hiking stick. Does anyone have a recommendation? I know nothing about them -- not sure there is much to know about them. If anyone uses a stick and likes theirs, please respond. Forget the commercial, adjustable ones for $50-100 unless you just enjoy spending money. Get a pair cheapie aluminum ski poles when they're on sale. Pull off the rubber grip and cut it to length with a hacksaw so that your forearm is horizontal with the ground. Knock off the plastic thing on the bottom. I hiked over two hundred miles with mine before the aluminum tip started to show signs of wear. Then I drilled a hole through the center of the tip and epoxyed in a carbide masonary drill bit. I've gone several hundred miles since (really). You ought to be able to find a pair on sale for under $20.... Pete Quote Link to comment
Guest geomapper Posted August 12, 2001 Share Posted August 12, 2001 " dia. length to suit yourself, let it dry (or use it while it drys) and you will have a stick as strong and durable as anything you will purchase Quote Link to comment
Guest c_oflynn Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 Okay, I admit to buying a hiking stick Just got back from Alberta/BC, great trails out there. I bought one of thoese telescopng sticks, so it would fit in my bag nicely, as I don't like luggin around a long piece of wood all the time! -Colin Quote Link to comment
Guest c_oflynn Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 Okay, I admit to buying a hiking stick Just got back from Alberta/BC, great trails out there. I bought one of thoese telescopng sticks, so it would fit in my bag nicely, as I don't like luggin around a long piece of wood all the time! -Colin Quote Link to comment
Guest Gossamyrrh Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 I broke down and bought one from REI. $52 bux, but it telescopes and converts into a camera monopod. It also has a carbide tip on one end and a hard little knob on the other, should you need to "get your point across" so someone/thing that you encounter in the wild. I've also slipped a few times...and it's the first thing I drop on my way to the ground. Quote Link to comment
Guest Gossamyrrh Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 I broke down and bought one from REI. $52 bux, but it telescopes and converts into a camera monopod. It also has a carbide tip on one end and a hard little knob on the other, should you need to "get your point across" so someone/thing that you encounter in the wild. I've also slipped a few times...and it's the first thing I drop on my way to the ground. Quote Link to comment
Guest k Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 Last month REI had a pair of trekking poles on sale for about $60. One for me and one for son "K." We really used them on our trip to Montana this summer. Telescoping feature was great for packing and you can shorten them for "uphill" and lengthen for "downhill." Marcy Quote Link to comment
Guest BigFig Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 BigJim - what, you decided you needed a hiking stick after tackling "slick willie"? I vote for a dogwood sapling. Them fancy sticks really don't have much over a plain old stick - except if you lose them it hurts. Lose a dogwood stick - just go cut another. Quote Link to comment
Guest Ron Bopp Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 I hace a piece of sassafrass(sp) that I take with me on every cache hunt. You can peel the bark off with little to no effort, it is light but strong. Quote Link to comment
Guest Ttepee Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 My son bought himself the cheapy $10 job at Walmart too. He went on a two day hike on the appalachian trail with his camp group and it was a must have the night before for him. I thought it was a waste of money and that he'd toss it after the first few miles when he got tired of carrying it with a 30 lb pack on his back. In his eyes the sticks he'd picked up in the woods previously just weren't good enough and there was no way he was tossing this one. To my surprise his counselor said it was the hit of the hike. Anytime Tom got tired of lugging it around another child was always eager to take it over for him. I'm not keen on using them but maybe I just need to hike more to understand their usefulness. Quote Link to comment
Guest BigJim Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 quote:Originally posted by BigFig:BigJim - what, you decided you needed a hiking stick after tackling "slick willie"? BigFig - After tackling slick willie, what a I really needed was a bottle of oxygen and shot of tequila! But you are correct, ol' slick willie prompted the question for sure! Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Quote Link to comment
Guest BigJim Posted August 13, 2001 Share Posted August 13, 2001 quote:Originally posted by BigFig:BigJim - what, you decided you needed a hiking stick after tackling "slick willie"? BigFig - After tackling slick willie, what a I really needed was a bottle of oxygen and shot of tequila! But you are correct, ol' slick willie prompted the question for sure! Thanks everyone for their suggestions. Quote Link to comment
Guest James and Khanh Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Home Depot $5 buy a replacement handle for a broom/rake/shovel. Large selection -some more heavy duty than others and light. Quote Link to comment
Guest kymike Posted August 21, 2001 Share Posted August 21, 2001 Hey Jim, check out the kywalkingstick.com website. They have some nice stick. By the way I just live up the road in Walton and have been meaning to hit your caches but haven't yet. kymike Quote Link to comment
Guest wizmedic Posted August 21, 2001 Share Posted August 21, 2001 $40 for a stick? I think I should sell some online also. There is alot of walking sticks around here in Utah. Hmm.....how about on eBay? :-) J/K Quote Link to comment
Guest Chris Juricich Posted August 22, 2001 Share Posted August 22, 2001 I agree with the guy who said to use a skipole. I was walking the dog a few days ago and saw some in a garbage pile. Took one and threw it in the back of my van. It's aluminum with red plastic bits and looks gaudy, but it ought to serve for elevated hiking trails. Quote Link to comment
Guest tnunnery Posted August 22, 2001 Share Posted August 22, 2001 Sierratradingpost.com had a number of good ones for cheap - about $50 for a pair. The collapsible models have worked well for me. See also: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum11/HTML/000010.html Quote Link to comment
Guest LoCache Posted August 22, 2001 Share Posted August 22, 2001 PharoaH, the guy with the baseball bat hiking stick mentioned above, was kind enough to give me a similar piece of wood as well as a nice pine stick. The pine has been sanded down, and drilled for a strap...I just need to coat it and put the strap on it and it will be done. It is very nice looking...though it is a little thin for my wieght. I have also founnd some great beaver sticks....they're practically pre-made by our friends, the beavers! Making my own has turned in to a new hobby for me. It's rewarding to use your own hand made stick! Geo PS - A little sandpaper, and a dremel tool and you are in business! Mouse sander helps! Quote Link to comment
+BASSETSLAVE Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 I use a oak shepards hook. Its great for walking. Hooking around things to help get you up those long steep hills. BASSETSLAVE ----------- If you have the nose of a basset there is no cache that you can not find and you are never lost. Quote Link to comment
Cache Canucks Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Although frugal minimalists appear to be in the majority here (and there's nothing wrong with being a frugal minimalist), my son and I each carry one of these: They've proven to be both dependable and robust. That their length can be adjusted is more than just frivolous window dressing ...it makes for superior support when climbing very steep inclines (when you want the pole shorter) or for descending (when you want the pole longer). As mentioned in an earlier post, collapsability also makes for easy storage when not in use. If you don't mind the cost (about $40CAD/$25USea), check'em out... Quote Link to comment
+ict X ckr Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 I really like the sticks this place has....distinctive and reasonable. http://www.exotic-walking-sticks.com/ Hard to find straight sticks where the wind blows.. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 Very good prices for hiking sticks/trekking poles at Sierra Trading Post "You can only protect your liberties in this world, by protecting the other man's freedom. "You can only be free if I am" -Clarence Darrow Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 I recommend mine www.geo-hikingstick.com I even have a spring special going on now. El Diablo Everything you do in life...will impact someone,for better or for worse. Quote Link to comment
+evergreenhiker! Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 I've hiked for years with hiking sticks. I prefer a one piece one over ones that collapse. I feel that one piece ones are stronger and last longer. Mine is a cured hickory stick...very, very strong. I don't know exactly where it was bought as it was a gift from my 82-yr old grandfather when he was in Minnesota for a few days. Quote Link to comment
+HartClimbs Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 I have a pair of collapsible hiking poles, but more often than not - I use a cut off hockey stick. It's sturdy, strong, and free-of-charge (I had a bunch of old sticks in the garage). Koho walking sticks! Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Helen Keller (1880 - 1968), The Open Door (1957) Quote Link to comment
flat_lander Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Pete Holden:Forget the commercial, adjustable ones for $50-100 unless you just enjoy spending money. Get a pair cheapie aluminum ski poles when they're on sale. Pull off the rubber grip and cut it to length with a hacksaw so that your forearm is horizontal with the ground... Actually a properly sized ski pole should put your arm in this position, no hacksaw required. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 quote: Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature.... Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.Helen Keller (1880 - 1968) Hart's, how dare you steal my old signature quote! You didn't even ask permission! "You can only protect your liberties in this world, by protecting the other man's freedom. "You can only be free if I am" -Clarence Darrow Quote Link to comment
+HartClimbs Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 quote:Hart's, how dare you steal my old signature quote!You didn't even ask permission! I didn't steal it. I found it in a cache. I traded two state quarters for it. Guess we come from similar perspectives?!? (how's that for scarey). When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983) [This message was edited by HartClimbs on April 08, 2003 at 10:50 AM.] Quote Link to comment
+Matt1344 Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 I will echo the broomstick recommendation. I got one for $4 at Lowe's. I added a leather shoelace as a strap and a crutch tip on one end. I also carved some decorative grooves in the upper portion which improved the grip. I really like using it. My knees aren't what they used to be and the stick seems to ease the climbs. It's also great for a steadier footing when negotiating creek beds and the like. A stick is also really useful for checking hiding spots. You can poke around in the ground cover or into hollow logs without sticking your digits in unknown territory. It's just me but my walking stick is rapidly becoming essential caching gear. Quote Link to comment
Ruprex Posted April 8, 2003 Share Posted April 8, 2003 I did a lot of research on the subject of trek poles. I use a pair rather then just one. it takes the load off my knees (which I need) and keeps me moving long after the normal hiker. But then again, I am a hiker. Not out for a sunday stroll, but out for a good long hike. Here's how to use them Trekpoles.com has a good overview of things. -Lets play global Thermonuclear war- Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.