TREKKING POLES

Trekking Pole Styles and Designs

Poles come in many different styles and designs. They can be as simple as a wood stick picked up at the side of the trail or a highly engineered tool in the hiker’s gear repertoire. Here is a quick tour of the different styles and options of hiking and trekking poles without mentioning brands or models.

• shafts made of wood, aluminum, titanium, fiberglass, carbon fiber or some combination thereof;
• ornate or carved wood walking stick;
• carbon fiber or other substance manufactured to look like wood;
• non-adjustable fixed length, adjustable and collapsible two or three section poles;
• one-click, one-hand adjustment mechanisms for the adjustable poles;
• contoured or straight shafts;
• with or without adjustable wrist straps or security loops;
• quick release wrist straps;
• cane type handle, rounded palm knob or contoured hand grips;
• ergonomically molded rubber, foam, cork or thermoplastic hand grips;
• right and left hand-specific hand grips and wrist straps;
• rigid or pivoting hand grips;
• straight or contoured hand grips;
• with or without anti-shock devices built into the shaft;
• removable and replaceable baskets, tips and tip sections;
• removable rubber tip covers (“paws”) for hard and slippery surfaces;
• pair of poles designed to screw together to make an avalanche probe;
• walking-stick with built-in umbrella;
• removable or built in ice axe or camera tripod head.

As you can see from the above comprehensive list, a wide variety of trekking poles are available and manufacturers are regularly coming up with new designs. Which options work best will depend a lot on how the poles are used, as well as individual preferences.