If you’re new to the world of trekking, you might find yourself questioning the need for trekking poles.

However, the answer to this seemingly simple query is anything but straightforward. Trekking poles offer a myriad of benefits that go beyond just enhancing your hiking experience.

They play a crucial role in safeguarding your joints and ensuring their longevity, enabling you to continue trekking well into your golden years.

In this concise guide, we will delve into the proper usage of trekking poles, unlocking their full potential and allowing you to harness their safety and support features to the fullest.

So, if you’re ready to embark on your trekking journey with confidence and ease, let’s explore the art of using trekking poles effectively and safely.

We will be covering:

• How to use trekking poles
• How to hold trekking poles
• Beginner mistakes and how to avoid injuries
• Walking uphill and downhill with trekking poles

First off before we dive into anything I want to talk about what a lot of people think when first trying trekking poles. I’ve heard people complain that they don’t really help with anything and they didn’t seem to see much of a difference in walking through rough terrain.

Well, this can be true if you don’t use them how they were intended to be used. You want to use them with as little energy as possible and over the long run, this is going to save you from hurting your joints.

Trekking poles Guide – How to use properly

Start by ripping that cap off. You don’t need it! It kind of just gets in the way and remember the tip of your pole is made from carbon fiber, so it’s very pointless to have the cap on there cause essential it has no point and can get in the way on rougher trekking where you may need a little longer tip – but if the cap is in the way then you won’t have the extra grip.

Using the poles while walking you should make sure that your walking motion and your pole motion are opposite from each other, this will make it a lot easier when going up or downhill. Try to aim for a 70-90 degree angle too, this is the ideal range.

How to hold trekking poles?

The first person I ever talked to about using trekking poles was against them and I asked why. The gentleman told me it was because he had broken his wrist. I was surprised something like this happened and I asked him how he was holding them and me being a skier I knew he wasn’t holding them properly.

With that being said, you should put your hand in underhand, in the loop, and then make your grip on the handle. This is the proper way for flat ground. If you would like to switch up your grip on the handle then you can grab it on the very top for downhill. I call this the death-grip

Trekking uphill and downhill

With everything I’ve gone over you should be able to get the hang of it really quick but just in case I will provide a few more tips and tricks that I personally have done on the trail when trekking so you don’t do them as well!

This is common sense, but for me, I suppose it was indeed not. Always take caution when going uphill with your poles. Don’t just try to swing them ahead of you, make sure to lift them a little higher than you would when trekking on flat ground. By doing this you will avoid tripping or getting your poles caught up on anything. If you are going up a very steep hill, tumbling down it is something you will want to avoid at all costs.

Now for trekking downhill, it’s basically the opposite. This is where I went wrong and tripped and sprained my ankle. Luckily I wasn’t very far from my vehicle and it was a very minor injury compared to say breaking my ankle and having to hop back to my vehicle.

Conclusion:

Well, that covers all the basics of trekking and how to use your poles the in the safest manner as possible.

If you have a love for trekking then you should really think about getting a good set of these so you will be able to do it for the next many years to come! I hope you enjoyed reading this short guide. Until the next post! Cheers.