Hiking Sticks

I've used branches found at the side of the trail. I think, unless you're nursing an old injury, the effect is mainly psychological. Then again, I haven't hiked in years, but I recall what was really important was having a good pair of boots and breaking them in, long before heading onto the trail.

Most probably. But I AM a klutz, and I think that I would do much better with the support. I have used branches on trails, but I could never find one that was right.

Actually, I could kick myself. I was cleaning up under my camphor tree after Frances, and there was a small branch that would have made a perfect pole. But it was too darn hot, and I was tired, so I ended up cutting it up!

Here's one: http://store.clemetparks.com/product59.html

Do you have Walking Stores where you live, Phoenix? I'm sure they'd have them.

Here's another: http://www.walkerswarehouse.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=WW-6040&Category_Code=WCEQ&Store_Code=124

Oh, Rats! I make a real nice maple hiking staff, and would send you one, but no way can I produce one that soon.

Needless to say, I prefer wood, especially at high altitude where an extra lightning rod is unwelcome. Still, I saw someone packing on a very steep, rocky trail with a pair of aluminum poles, designed much like cross country ski poles. I got to borrow them for a stiff 30 or 40 feet uphill, and they were much better than my single 5' staff. The system ties up both hands, of course.

Hiking poles is maybe the best price for quality stuff, if you want to go this route.

Swimpy- Nope...there's not much altitude here, and the nearest thing that you could get to a walking pole round these parts is a cane!

In the meantime, I did order something online. I was not looking to spend a lot of money:

Link to Walking pole.



May come in handy someday! :wink:

Get Trendy...
The "Graphite Perambulation Pole 330X" (available from "The SHOPPER IMAGE" catalog, $199.00) is made of a carbon fiber and polyresin composite.
For an additional fee, the pole can be "personalized" with monogram or name (priced per letter)... or to be on the cutting edge, you can customize the pole in various ways with custom graphics and colors.

One can't be seen wandering about with a mere stick...

Magus - Ohmygawd! I am going to have to hide, in abject shame and embarrassment, if a "real" hiker with a $200- stick comes by!

(I am going to check out that stick that you mentioned, just for the hell of it!)

(Fee... perhaps the lack of a "tongue-in-cheek" emoticon has led you astray... note the spelling of "The SHOPPER IMAGE".)

Oh, I caught that........I simply "translated" in my mind.

I like using walking sticks. Besides being helpful on unlevel ground, they're good for whacking pine cones around when you're bored, or even lifting the occassional rattlesnake off the trail.

You might cut some and try them out for your preferred length before you settle for one on your long hike. I like mine to be a little longer than a cane so I can put my hand on the top. If you grip the stick around the side, you'll find it extremely hard on the wrist, and you will probably throw it away after a short while.

I bought stick from a guy outside a state park in Florida that he cut from a tree—I think he said it was a melaleuca, so they're good for something—that has a side branch for a handle, and it's perfect. I also cut a small cypress tree for reserve sticks. If you do that, bear in mind that, though the stick weighs a lot at first, when it dries out it loses about half the weight.

I made 2 out of pawlonia. Its a very light but tuff wood revered by the Japanese for folk boxes. I turned them so that they have a thicker handle and about an inch and a half stick, and they are just slightly higher than my chest. Whenever I have to trek geophysical equipment into a rough terrain I always have the 3 point of contact that they provide for safety.

You can get some ideas from forestry supply catalogs in which the tree pros use sticks to carry measuring devices and provide a bit more stability.
If your carying gear, walking sticks are almost a must have. Ive been using em for years
Those telescoping Al ones are nice looking but, if you walk alot, they are kind of flimsy and too springy for my taste

I make hiking sticks out of diamond willow.

They look like this....

Mine are considerably more formal, being routed into an 8 sided cross section, usually around 1" thick and 1 1/4 wide at the top. They taper towards the bottom. No pictures, though.

I'm trying to get a checkering technique under control, but a stick needs a coarser pattern than a gunstock, and the coarsest standard checkering pattern is 16 lines per inch, which is a bit rough on the hand after a few miles. There are skip line spacing tools available for the 18 line spacing, but 1/9th inch is too awkward to contemplate. Anyone with suggestions or checkering experience, feel free to jump right in.

My latest project, Roger, involves Celtic knotwork near the top. For example, look at the two canes pictured. The area from the rope to the first knot will be drilled and carved into a serpentining knotwork pattern.

Have you ever seen such a thing?

Or am I revolutinizing the walking stick industry?

gus and rog- My, but you guys are talented. (The pics that you posted, Gus, are gorgeous).

Rog-do use power carving ? or are you a chip carver?

Ive had the same 2 walking sticks for 2 years. I lost my last set when someone at camp burned them as starter . That why I carve hand grips and turn them so they dont get confused with firewood like the more rustic looking ones.

I really like pawlonia, if you live North of New Jersey, it doesnt grow wild like it does down here. Its light as a feather but tough as locust (it does scratch easily though)

Gus, I couldn't even tie a Celtic knot, let alone tie one.

In fact, I don't carve at all. The business end of a checkering tool is a small 60 degree file ranging in length from around 3/16" to 3/8" long.

I'm south of New Jersey, but haven't heard of pawlonia. Sounds like good stuff.