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Same here. My nearly 50 year old hard maple walking stick has held up quite well, but the rubber cane tip will keep it going even longer, and adds grip.
Walking stick / hiking stick / hiking staff - What do you use?
- Thread starter knarfeng
- Start date
Yeah and if the ground is too wet sometimes you really struggle to find a dry walking stick. Fair point.
But there is an easy solution. Don't throw your stick away too soon. Take it with you. Store it in your car or your garage or something.
The trekking pole does compact down to a smaller size when not in use, and that's nice, but... sticks are always free. They literally grown on trees.
Those just get chewed up and then you have to replace them. You end up having to buy spares. It's not worth it in my opinion, and just creates synthetic waste.
Yep, you can take your stick home and knife it a bunch of times. Maybe scratch it with some gritty paper too. Stain it. Take it to dinner and a movie. Kiss it goodnight... Some people even do that as a hobby and then give their customized sticks away or even sell them.
I like sticks. They're brown and sticky.
I use a walking stick that my son made 14-18 years ago while he was in the Boy Scouts. 1" wood rod with something whittled on it; he then wrapped the handle with parachute cord. Only pic I have of it:
Closeup of the handle. This is the Richar Martin Rails to Trail in north AL (Athens to Veto).
Closeup of the handle. This is the Richar Martin Rails to Trail in north AL (Athens to Veto).
AntDog
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I do the same when Iām going up or down a lot of hills. Iāve brought a few home but most I leave there.
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I have several. A pair of collapsible trekking poles for Nordic walking, two Shakespeare Fiberglass walking sticks. Shakespeare not only made fishing rods, but also made antennas for military vehicles. At some trade shows a few years back they were giving away these walking sticks, and I got two of them. I have a French Army Mountain Walking stick, with a metal tip at the end. I wrapped the metal tip in many layers of 100 MPH tape, until I could put a smaller crutch tip on it. Lastly, the one I keep in my truck is a laminated walking stick, about 20 layers, slightly sculptured that was from Duluth Hardware, I got a s a gift 15+ years ago. John
Forgive my ignorance but I'm at a loss for why that would be helpful.
Yes, it fixes everything. You can even use it as tinder. I think something about the glue makes it burn a bit better and longer than you'd expect it to. You can roll it up into little fire sticks or you can try to shred it into a bird's nest.
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Good point and a fair question, Guy.
More a backpacking thing for me, making sure the poles are in the right position. Itās uncomfortable and not the best grip when they are not in the correct hand and sometimes not easy to switch. Without some marking by me, it is not always easy to tell at first glance.
If I go out for a day hike, I care a little less about what I have on me, and the terrain may be easier. Whereas effective backpacking is about optimizing everything, including comfort. Throw on that big pack and inevitably get into some uncomfortable situations, climbing, ledges, near water, where itās harder to shuffle poles around and it becomes useful to know which is which.
Iām also a crazy person, a lot of people may not enjoy situations I wind up in.
Oh, because the grips are left and right handed.
I was thinking maybe you were using the poles to keep track of your bearings while you're stopped. If you know which is left and which is right when you stuck them in the ground, they'll effectively function as an arrow pointing in the direction that you were traveling. That way you can walk around, do your thing, and not worry about losing track of what direction you're headed.
I came up with this whole theory but it was just some simple thing that I was overlooking.
Yes I was just thinking not more than 20 minutes ago that what I perceive as a lack of insanity is probably holding me back from having a lot of interesting experiences.
Adorable.
Oh and if you look very carefully, you will eventually notice that there's also a cane in this picture.
eveled
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This is one I made in BoyScouts about 40 years ago. 
The entire stick is a ruler, 1/4 inch increments for 3 feet. Then the foot marks go all the way around up to 6 feet.
Oposite side has Morse code alphabet and numbers.
About 12 feet of rope with a fixed blade knife underneath
Braided squid line with gold hooks, compass expertly inlet into the shaft. Lol.
I added the pin when my nephew presented me with it at his Eagle ceremony
topped with a rusty hook
The entire stick is a ruler, 1/4 inch increments for 3 feet. Then the foot marks go all the way around up to 6 feet.
Oposite side has Morse code alphabet and numbers.
About 12 feet of rope with a fixed blade knife underneath
Braided squid line with gold hooks, compass expertly inlet into the shaft. Lol.
I added the pin when my nephew presented me with it at his Eagle ceremony
topped with a rusty hook
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That's awesome. Thanks for sharing.
I actually use a camera monopod both because of it's strength and it's collapsibility.
Once tightened up, I've never had the clamps give out and drop me, but I'm never putting even half my weight on it.
The one I have is heavy aluminum so light enough to carry but hefty enough to knock a curious coyote back.
I hooked up a big neodymium ring magnet to the top which is useful for rock hounding and other things.
(not actual model shown.
I did find this awesome Pacific Madrone branch someone had cut and stashed and forgotten. I'm toying with ideas on what to do with it, but that is it's natural colorand it's a good length, but a little bent. Still makes a decent walking stick though, but it's to pretty to take out in the bush. I use it around town.
Once tightened up, I've never had the clamps give out and drop me, but I'm never putting even half my weight on it.
The one I have is heavy aluminum so light enough to carry but hefty enough to knock a curious coyote back.
I hooked up a big neodymium ring magnet to the top which is useful for rock hounding and other things.
(not actual model shown.
I did find this awesome Pacific Madrone branch someone had cut and stashed and forgotten. I'm toying with ideas on what to do with it, but that is it's natural colorand it's a good length, but a little bent. Still makes a decent walking stick though, but it's to pretty to take out in the bush. I use it around town.
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I use Leki Trekking Poles. They collapse way down so they fit just about anywhere and they are really light.
Mine have little shock absorbers just above the tip. I thought that would be a bit of a gimmick really, but they actually do reduce impact stress. I won't buy another pair without this feature.
There are some really cool walking sticks in this thread though. I'm enjoying the show and tell!
Mine have little shock absorbers just above the tip. I thought that would be a bit of a gimmick really, but they actually do reduce impact stress. I won't buy another pair without this feature.
There are some really cool walking sticks in this thread though. I'm enjoying the show and tell!