Hikers' helpers:  Trekking poles enhance balance, help distribute weight -- and are becoming a trail essential

By Allen Pierleoni - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 21, 2007  Story appeared in SCENE section, Page E1

Sales of metal trekking poles are steadily growing as hikers, backpackers and people with ambulatory issues discover that the poles offer increased stability wherever they're used. Prices range from $50 to $150 a pair, depending on the materials used in their manufacture. /Robert F. Bukaty

Each spring, summer and fall, my hiking partners and I see a few people on Sierra trails who motor along on what look like short ski poles. Of course, it's not wise to go into the woods without a staff of some kind, but ski poles? In our ignorance, we long wondered if those hikers had ambulatory issues or other limitations that required more assistance than a solo hiking stick could offer.

If so, what were they doing at 10,000 feet? Did they know something we didn't? Curious, we asked around and discovered a whole new side of walking through nature.  "Trekking poles are the best-kept secret in hiking and backpacking," said Bruce Ferris. "I've used them for 12 years." Ferris is a veteran backpacker and sales specialist at the REI store in Roseville.

"I don't know anybody climbing Mount Everest who doesn't use trekking poles," said Jayah Faye Paley. "Look at the top hikers in the world -- they all use them."

Through her company, Adventure Buddies (www.adventurebuddies.net), Paley holds seminars that "teach people how to use poles optimally for hiking, walking, mobility and balance." Her award-winning DVD -- "Poles for Hiking, Trekking & Walking" -- should be required viewing for those about to embark on a trek with poles for the first time.

So, what are trekking poles, and what advantages do they offer over a solo wood hiking stick or a metal walking staff?  Essentially, they're collapsible ski pole-type shafts with handles, straps, tips and baskets designed for hiking and snowshoeing. Each pole is composed of three telescoping segments that can be twist-locked to be made shorter (for uphill) or longer (for downhill). They collapse enough to fit into small storage areas such as a backpack.

Like all products made for outdoor recreation, the price goes up as amenities are added and as the materials to make the gear get lighter and more exotic. Generally, trekking poles range from around $50 to $150 a pair. Some outdoors stores rent them.  They have rubber, foam or cork pistol-grip handles, adjustable wrist straps and rubber baskets to prevent "postholing," where the pole sinks into mud or snow. Some of the handles are canted to varying degrees to be more ergonomically friendly to the wrists. Many trekkers wear fingerless gloves during their hikes for better grip and to prevent chafing.

A good percentage of poles feature internal on-off shock- absorbing mechanisms, which can reduce vibrations to the wrist and arm when the pole tips strike stone. Poles are made of aluminum, titanium-aluminum alloy or carbon fiber. The pole tips are sharpened carbide steel, a super-hard metal that bites into rock and earth to assure a non-slip grip. Rubber tips are sold to fit over the carbide tips for walking on sidewalks or asphalt paths.

Popular brands include Black Diamond, Leki, Komperdell, REI, Gossamer, Northern Lights and Masters.  Sales of trekking poles have steadily risen as word-of-mouth has spread among recreationists and those in need of assisted walking, and as the sport of Nordic walking has immigrated from Europe to the United States.

In particular, the Salt Lake City-based Black Diamond is making inroads with the patented technology it continues to bring to trekking poles. For example, instead of the industry standard twist-lock length- adjustment system, its poles feature the binary "Flicklock" system.

"It's a non-slip mechanical lever you flick open and closed, like an on-off switch," said Thomas Laasko, the company's ski line category manager. "There's no arbitrary in-between (regarding length). Our trekking-pole sales have grown 600 percent in four years."

While it's easy to wield a hiking stick or walking staff on the trail, there's some technique to master before taking off on trekking poles.

"People think that if they can walk, they can use poles," noted Paley of Adventure Buddies. "Well, they weren't born knowing how to walk.

"You never want to start any new skill doing it wrong and ending up with a problem you didn't have before. Optimal technique is so incredibly important to getting all the benefits of (using poles).

" The rule is: Get good gear and learn how to use it."

"The single most important thing is using the straps and the grips correctly," said Ferris of REI. "That's what so many people don't understand. With a solo pole, you have to hold it in what we call a 'death grip' to propel yourself uphill. With trekking poles, you can put your weight on the straps."  OK, what else justifies trekking poles' expense and learning curve?

"Suddenly it's not embarrassing to have trekking poles in your hands, because they'll help save your knees, especially if you're carrying a heavy backpack," said Laasko. "They're also performance appendages. Hikers know they can cover more terrain faster and with more stability by using poles."

"No matter what hikers are capable of doing, they can do it better with trekking poles. They offer tremendous stability," said Paley. "The goal is to use the core muscles in your upper body to preserve your joints. Let's say you go on a hike and you don't know what the terrain is. Rather than get in over your head, you've got two extra legs to help you."

In addition to teaching hikers how to use trekking poles, Paley presents seminars at retirement communities and senior centers. She offers free lessons for mobility-challenged groups, such as those with Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis.  "When people lose their balance and mobility and you put poles in their hands, they give a sigh of relief that they now have bilateral stability," she said.

"We have a percentage of clientele (for poles) who are elderly people with joint problems and age-related illnesses," said Erin Harrington, an outreach specialist for REI, who was making plans for her next trek around the Tahoe Rim Trail.  "That being said, I use trekking poles when I'm backpacking because they help my knees, and my feet don't hurt as much after a pounding going downhill. They've enhanced my backpacking experience, no doubt."

Ferris, who has an engineering background, said he got tuned in to trekking poles after reading the results of a study conducted in Germany in 1985. In it, a man wearing a heavy backpack and using poles was outfitted with devices that monitored how much weight he put on the poles as he walked uphill and downhill.  "At the end of the day," Ferris said, "20 percent of the force that pushed him uphill came off his upper body muscles, with his legs doing 80 percent of the work. Coming downhill, 17 to 20 pounds of weight were put on the poles every time they touched the ground. The result was that tons of weight per hour were being put on the poles instead of his knees. I said, 'I'm going to try these poles' and I've never looked back."

"Trekking poles take stress off the legs and get your cardiovascular system going," said Manny Bernal, the department head of Sport Chalet's Mountain Shop. He conducts fishing and other outdoors clinics for the sporting-goods chain. "You actually increase your stamina so you can walk faster and for longer distances."  Bernal added that the conditioning sport of Nordic walking has swept Europe in recent years and has spread to the United States. It's a form of rhythmic speed-walking using trekking poles. Its roots are in Finland, where cross-country skiers developed it for summer training.  "It's catching on here," he said.

Amid all this joint-saving, muscle-working, speed-walking technology, let's not forget that trekking poles are the descendants of the good ol' wooden hiking stick.  One of the largest manufacturers and distributors of hiking sticks is Brazos Oaks in Waco, Texas, with a presence in "at least 1,500 retail stores in the U.S.," said Jim Aisenstein, national sales manager. Brazos' handcrafted sticks are made from such woods as sassafras, oak, sweet gum, iron bamboo, ironwood, cedar and hickory, and cost from $19 to $130.

"We have a much broader appeal in some ways than trekking poles," he said. "We're in resort areas, gift shops, car washes, shoe stores, hardware stores -- places that don't sell trekking poles. We cater mostly to casual hikers, but also have tremendous appeal to older people who just want to walk in their neighborhoods. They want something for balance and protection, and the walking sticks work better than canes."

One outlet for Brazos sticks is the Lighthouse garden and gift store on Main Street in Placerville, co-owned by Steve Pace.  "They're a quality product," he said. "Some of the sticks have compasses or thermometers inset into the handles. We probably sell $3,000 to $4,000 worth of them a year."

About the writer:  The Bee's Allen Pierleoni can be reached at (916) 321-1128 or apierleoni@sacbee.com.