Trekking Poles are an excellent item of equipment for every walker. I appreciate that you may think "walking poles - aren't they for old and infirm people"? In fact, I used to think the same thing, but now I'm a convert. Let me explain why.
When you are walking without walking poles, you are relying on your legs to do lots of things: walking, jumping, climbing, balancing, ascending and descending. Each of these activities put a strain on your leg joints and muscles in different ways. Using trekking poles helps to spread the strain and load of those activities around to other parts of your body, e.g. your arms and shoulders can take the weight when walking down hill. This sensible spreading of the work to other parts of your body makes your walking more efficient and safer and makes your legs less prone to injury.
Interchangeable Lens Compact
Walking poles have many advantages:
They take the strain and impact away from your feet, knees and hips when descending slopes. They relieve the stress and pressure on knee joints and thigh muscles when you are climbing uphill. On flat ground, they relieve tired legs of some of their load by sharing it with the little used (when walking) arm muscles. They enable a faster walking pace to be maintained when walking on flatter ground. They help when crossing burns and are good for prodding suspicious looking boggy ground. You can lean on them if you think you are going to fall. You can get the berries that others haven't been able to pick, rescue frisbees from trees... etc.
When looking for a good walking pole, you need to look for:
A light weight: they are supposed to be taking the weight off of your legs, not adding it to your arms. They need to be adjustable to your own height, to make walking comfortable. They must be made from a strong, durable material. They must be able to fold away, so you can use your hands on rockier terrain. If not, they will be too bulky to use. If you want to walk fast on fairly flat ground, look for the lightest poles you can find. If you are doing a lot of descending hills and slopes, sturdier poles are better. The highest quality poles have an 'antishock' system a bit like a shock absorber. So you get less rebound when using your poles. The poles must have good handles that fit your hand perfectly and make holding the poles a pleasure. They also give you a feeling of security. Some poles have interchangeable tips for different surfaces. They also protect the base of your poles from bending too much.
This combination of lightness and strength; foldaway, yet stay locked; adjustable but sturdy; soft, but long-lasting grips, mean that you need to make the best use of current materials technology to create the most suitable walking pole for you.
The poles I recommended are made by Leki. They are a company based in the Alps, and make ski poles as well as walking poles. They know what's required from the demanding walkers in a most demanding terrain. Their poles are very good for a number of reasons:
Their height is fully adjustable from 62cm to 120cm. They have clever pole-locking technology, so they don't come apart or gradually shrink as you walk. The 'Super lock Adjustment' system makes sure the pole stays at the correct height during use. They are made from three separate high-quality, heat-treated aluminium pieces for lightness and strength. The handles, or 'Multi-med COR-TEC grips' are ergonomically designed to fit your hand perfectly COR-TEC is a material made of real cork and latex which makes them soft and comfortable but also strong and durable. The Soft Antishock System (SAS) provides a perfect combination of spring and elastic, for a quiet ride and less rebound. This reduces stress on your joints, muscles and ligaments, which in turn reduces your chances of injury and makes walking more comfortable They have a carbide Flextip with a rubber tip, which can bend up to 30 degrees without damaging the pole shaft. They have an Interchangeable basket system. The basket is a circle of plastic above the tip that stops the pole sinking into mud or snow. There are different baskets for snow, mud or road walking.
Depending on who you are, or the type of walking that you do, Leki have the pole for you.
You can buy a single pole, to use like a high-tech walking stick, or a pair of poles, like a mountaineer or cross-country skier would have.
For Juniors, they have simpler compact poles
There are cheaper poles, which have simpler locking mechanisms.
There are premium poles, which have all the latest features and the strongest materials.
There are Ultralight poles, which are extremely lightweight poles with all the latest features. For example, carbon fibre sections for maximum weight saving.
There is also an Ultralight Ladies Series. These poles have similar features to the other Ultralight poles, but are made in smaller sizes with more suitable hand grips.
In summary
I think Leki walking poles are the best combination of quality, ease of use and the latest technology and materials.
They certainly aren't the cheapest walking poles around, but I think that the extra comfort and their ability to last a long time makes the extra cost worthwhile.
Enjoy your walking.
Leki Walking Poles - A Review
No comments:
Post a Comment