Thanks Rick & Matthew
Feedback and experience is much appreciated. I'm heading for a local
outdoors store this morning to check some poles out. Leki seems to be
recommended by several people - I'm not sure of their availability
here but I'm not in a rush to purchase. I'd like to have a pair I'm
comfortable with by late June.
The camera support isn't a 'must have' feature - if the best ones
suited to me don't have that feature, that's fine.
Cheers
Brian
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Brian Walters
Western Sydney Australia
http://lyons-ryan.org/southernlight/
Quoting Matthew Hunt <[email protected]>:
I'll chime in too... in the early 2000s, when I was in my mid-20s, I
did a pretty long and rocky hike by myself (Brown Mountain in the
Angeles National Forest). I was in good health and never had any
trouble with my joints. I used a pair of REI anti-shock trekking poles
(made by Leki, I think) which I still have. Shortly after starting the
return back to the car, I lost my footing and twisted my ankle. The
poles absorbed the majority of the shock, but I still had a lot of
difficulty hiking back out, and was sore for days. Without the poles,
I might have been in very bad shape in terms of getting back to the
car. I didn't see anybody else on the trail that day.
That said, my poles do not attach to a camera, and I find them
cumbersome to have around when I'm trying to use a camera or
binoculars. I don't use them that much anymore (the trails I do now
are not quite as rugged). But if you have any concerns about
stability, I think they can be extremely worthwhile.
On Sat, Mar 7, 2015 at 8:28 PM, Rick Womer <[email protected]> wrote:
Brian,
Rather late to the party, but anyway...
If it weren't for hiking poles, I would have had to give up hiking
in the mountains 20 years ago (I'm 62), because going downhill was
becoming too painful for my long-ago-injured left knee. With poles
the knee is fine, and my stamina has become the hike-limiting
variable instead.
I'm a born klutz, and yes, they also help with stability.
My current poles are Lexi Makalus, which weigh 600g (~1 1/4#) for
the pair. They are spring-loaded to absorb the jolts of going
downhill, which I like. I once bought a lighter-weight pair, and
one of them snapped on the first hike.
Since I switched to digital, I haven't once wished that one of them
could be a monopod or tripod.
Cheers,
Rick
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