I carried hiking poles for 6000 miles. I rarely used them. I carried them across my back with my hands hanging over them like it was my aluminum/titanium cross to bear. It just seemed liked a lot of extra work to swing poles around.
I carried them because my tent was the Nomad Light and it required hiking poles. When I got my Lunar Solo, I ordered the carbon fiber pole with it so that I could leave the hiking poles at home.
What freedom to not have to carry poles. My arms are free to swing by my side. They can reach back and grab my water bottle. I can eat snacks on the go. I can get out my navigational data. I can mess with my MP3/radio. The minute I started hiking without poles, I knew it was an improvement.
Good for you. Let freedom reign.
Though I’ve always said: “Hiking poles are great for the elderly and infirm.”
Crow, I wish I could get rid of my hiking poles, but I can’t. They’ve saved me so many times from nasty falls–my balance sucks. I do miss those days of swinging my arms as I hike, though.
Carolyn H.
Yeah, the only time I kind of missed them are at stream crossings and crossings on logs.
One time I was hiking behind a guy using Pacer Poles He could cross logs much faster than me. He urged me to try them out; they were kind of nice. If I ever go back to hiking poles I may try those.
Maybe when I’m elderly and infirm. 😉
Dual poles are a newfangled invention which I think ridiculous, but the single stick as the mark of the wanderer is as old as humanity itself. Mainly as a weapon, though it also has other uses (shaking the grass for snakes, clearing spider webs and briars out of the way, tarp support, crossing streams). Until you’ve been mobbed by 150lb sheep dogs (designed to scare off brown bears, which are the European version of our Grizzly), you can’t appreciate the necessity of carrying a stick in many parts of the world, such as Greece. I like the LuxuryLite Survival Stick because of the enclosed knife (useful for 2 legged beasts), but any stick that can be rammed down an animals throat or pocked into its face without fear of breaking the stick will be effective.
BTW before someone accuses of me of being an animal hater, I have only had to use my stick on a dog once (a huge pitbull in France, whose teeth I knocked out when he jumped for my throat, the owners were drinking beer on their porch and laughing the whole time) and I don’t really want to hurt dogs. Sheep dogs are intelligent enough to back off when they sense I am prepared for a fight. But dogs have an uncanny ability to sense fear, so if you are NOT really confident in the ability of your stick to protect you, they will detect your lack of confidence. So make sure that any stick you carry for defense is, in fact, a sturdy one.
Where you carrying the Luxury Lite Survival stick when you knocked the teeth out of a pit bull?
No. I was carrying the LekiSport (a Leki knockoff) from Campmor, item 37774. Weighs 8 oz and has a carbide tip. I like it because of the wooden knob at the top. The problem is that the cam adjusters tend to jam or slip after a while (say 200 days of hiking). And once (I’ve run thru 3 of these Lekisport sticks) the wooden handle came unglued (I glued it back with shoegoo). That’s why I’m switching to the Luxurylite. That hidden knife feature is just too tempting, even though I can see that it might get me into trouble with the police someday.
Anyway, what happened with that dog was that it leaped at me from the side without even a warning bark. I was on a well-defined trail and not trespassing or threatening any of the livestock. I had just enough time to turn, point my stick at the dog’s mouth and brace myself for the impact. There was a loud crack when it hit the stick and I was knocked back a few inches myself but didn’t fall over. i guess the dog weighed 100 lbs and I weigh almost 200 including my pack and 3 liters of water. I hate to think what would have happened to a smaller person without a stick. The dog staggered off shaking its head as if groggy and whining a bit while the owners back at the farmhouse practically fell over themselves laughing. There was blood on the tip of the stick. That fact, combined with the loud crack, is why I think I knocked the dogs teeth out. I don’t feel good about hurting the dog. It’s the owners who really deserve to get punished for not training and controlling their dog properly. Sheep dogs would never do something like that, as long as you make it clear you intend to back away from their sheep. I talked to a local later and he said that I should have reported the incident to the police because letting vicious dogs run free is illegal in France. But I can see what a hassle that would have entailed, given what I know anything about French bureaucracy.
that’s total freedom! congratulations!
and oooh! nice illustration you got there!
I carry a telescoping monopod (one legged tripod) for my camera. I use it as a hiking stick, monopod, and tent pole. Never had to fend off a dog with it, but it would work for that, too.
My only complaint is that I can’t leave the camera on it while using it as a hiking stick — too much jarring.