ByMichael Lanza
Ifyou’ve opened this story, you probably already recognize this truth: Forbackpackers, dayhikers, climbers, mountain runners, and others, trekking polesnoticeably reduce strain, fatigue, and impact on leg muscles and joints, feet,back—and really on your entire body. And that’s true no matter how much weightyou’re carrying, whether a daypack, an ultralight backpack, or a woefully heavybackpack.
Butif you’ve opened this story, you also probably already have a sense of thisoften-overlooked truth: How you use poles matters. If you use them correctly,you’re gaining their benefits on virtually every step of your hike; if not,they become dead weight. This story provides 10 highly effective tips on usingpoles, from basics like adjusting pole length, gripping the strap, and moving uphilland downhill on trails, to managing steep terrain, fording streams, advancedtips for aiding balance, and more.
The tips below are based on my experience of many thousands of trail miles and more than three decades of backpacking, dayhiking, climbing, trail running, and taking ultra-hikes and ultra-runs—plus a quarter-century of testing and reviewing gear as a past field editor for Backpacker magazine and for many years running this blog. I believe this story will give you expert tips on hiking with trekking poles that you will not find anywhere else.
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With practice, using trekking poles can become so second-nature that you don’t have to think about what you’re doing—your body works on muscle memory, and your pole plants and movement become more efficient and effective. Mountain runners can even get skilled at rapidly swinging poles to assist with balance and braking when running trails downhill.
See my picks for “The Best Trekking Poles” and my story “How to Choose Trekking Poles.”
Tell me what you think of my tips, ask any questions, or share your own tips in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments. And click on any photo to learn about that trip.
Ready for new poles? See my picks for “The Best Trekking Poles.”
#1Set the Pole Length
For hiking on well-graded, flat to moderatelysteep trails, adjust the pole length so that your elbow is at a 90-degree anglewhen holding the pole upright, its tip planted on the ground, right in front ofyou. On many well-graded (not terribly steep) trails, you may not feel the needto adjust this length setting.
But on steeper terrain or trails, your polesmay feel too long when going up or too short when going down. If so, shortenthe pole by 5-10cm for hiking uphill and lengthen it a similar amount forhiking downhill. With a little practice, you will quickly learn your preferredlength in different terrain.
The adjustable sections of poles typicallyemploy one of two different mechanisms. Here’s how to set each of themcorrectly:
- Twist-lockcams tighten and loosen, of course, by twisting them. Don’t over-tighten them: Turnthe mechanism until you feel the cam tightening, then secure it with justanother quarter-turn. If you’re applying much effort to twist it, you’reover-tightening it.
- Lockinglevers have a small screw for adjusting the lever’s tension, so that it’s not soloose that the sections collapse easily, or too tight to open and close thelever. That screw will only require slight adjustment, and depending on the design,you might be able to do it with your fingers, or it will require a tool like aPhillips screwdriver (the size found on many multi-tools and Swiss Army knives)or an Allen key. Take note of whether your poles have shafts whose diameter variesslightly from end to end, so that you find the lever tension setting that’s nottoo tight or loose with the poles either extended or collapsed.
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#2 How to Grip the Pole Strap
To use poles properly, slide your hand throughthe strap before grabbing the pole grip, and wrap your thumb over the strap;that enables you to pull down on the strap—and lean onto the pole—withoutover-gripping and fatiguing your hands.
Pole straps are generally easily adjustable. Set them so that the strap wraps your hands comfortably when holding the strap as described above. Adjust straps if needed for wearing gloves (which is usually only necessary for thick, warm gloves).
A tip: Sometimes when hiking down steep, rocky terrain—when the risk of falling is elevated—I remove the straps from my wrists to avoid the poles getting in my way and somehow worsening injuries if I trip and fall. My concern is tripping over the pole or having the pole cause a severe twist of my arm or shoulder because my wrist is in the strap when I’m falling. Plus, when descending, we primarily lean on the poles and use them for balance and supporting our weight rather than to help propel us forward, so the straps are less important, anyway.
At just about all other times when hiking, without the wrist straps, you lose the major benefit of having poles: their ability to help you move forward and conserve energy
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#3Use Poles to Propel Yourself Forward
Whenhiking relatively level terrain or gentle uphills, take a cue fromcross-country skiers: Use poles to help propel yourself forward by planting thepole behind your back foot—which is the foot on the same side as the poleyou’re planting when you swing your arms in a normal walking gait—and pushingoff.
Thiswill not, of course, feel or look quite the same as Nordic skiers who aresliding rapidly on skis over snow. The effort shouldn’t, for instance, causeserious fatigue in your arms and particularly your triceps muscles. Butthousands of slight push-offs over the course of several miles translates to asignificant, cumulative amount of weight taken off your leg and back muscles.Hikers using this technique will notice the energy efficiency gained.
Plus,if your goal is exercise, as with Nordic skiing, this technique will give youmore of a full-body workout than just walking.
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#4Using Poles on Steep Ascents
Onsteep ascents, plant poles alternately in front of you, swinging your arms thesame as when walking gentler terrain (right arm forward with the left foot,left arm with the right foot); but plant each pole close enough that your elbowis bent, so that you can lean on the pole strap to gain a bit of upwardleverage. A straight arm doesn’t convey much leverage onto the pole.
Someheavier, more-versatile poles have extended grips on the upper shafts, usefulfor holding the poles below the grips on exceptionally steep uphills withoutyour hand slipping or holding cold metal. This is most useful for climbers andbackcountry skiers.
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#5Using Poles on Steep Descents
Onsteep descents—both on-trail and especially off-trail—use poles for balance andto reduce the impact of constantly stepping down. Employ these two techniques dependingon the steepness (and follow tip #1 for lengthening your poles):
See my picks for “The 10 Best Trekking Poles” and all of my reviews of trekking poles at The Big Outside.
Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned backpacker, you’ll learn new tricks for making all of your trips go better in my “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” “A Practical Guide to Lightweight and Ultralight Backpacking,” and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.” With a paid subscription to The Big Outside, you can read all of those three stories for free; if you don’t have a subscription, you can download the e-guide versions of “How to Plan a Backpacking Trip—12 Expert Tips,” the lightweight and ultralight backpacking guide, and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.”
NOTE:I tested gear for Backpacker Magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, Ireview only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See my Gear Reviews pageat The Big Outside for categorized menus of all of my reviews and my expertbuying tips.
