WyoDoug
Well-known member
I use trekking poles extensively if I am carrying a pack. I have numbness in my left foot and it helps with balance especially on slippery slopes.
Walking Sticks for Hunting?
- Thread starter RugerHawg413
- Start date
jmveverka
Active member
$5 pair of ski poles from the thrift store. It is a pain that they don't collapse, but being a fat guy I fear collapse of telescoping poles - even the higher end stuff.
Fj605
Well-known member
I picked up a pair from Costco and used them for the first time on an October elk hunt. They were great. Between the trekking poles and a rifle scabbard on my pack, I felt like I could hike all day. My hunting partners were less impressed with the extra miles on foot.
MO Betta
Well-known member
Thanks, trying a pricing tracker site out to notify me when they get a price drop.
buffybr
Well-known member
I've lived and hunted in the mountains of Colorado for over 50 years. When I started hunting there were no Trekking poles. Sometimes people would cut a "walking stick", and very rarely you would see someone hiking with ski poles, but that was about it. I resisted using any kind of stick or pole for most of those years, including on a dozen or so bighorn sheep and mountain goat hunts.
Then a few years ago I booked a Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan. Everything that I learned about that hunt stressed that those mountains were very steep. And I found out that they were! The hill behind my house rises up about 400 yards and is too steep to climb with an ATV. I figured it was a good place to help get in shape for my upcoming Tur hunt. After a couple of trips up and down that mountain I decided to try using a pair of old ski poles to help my 70+ year old balance. They helped a lot, especially going downhill.
So I bought a pair of Trekking poles, I think from Costco, and after a few months of practicing with them, I took them to Azerbaijan. After I met my head guide, Asiman, we went through the gear that I brought and he would not let me take the Trekking poles up the mountain. He said that the mountains were so steep that if the locking mechanism of the downhill pole slipped you could tumble literally a thousand feet down the mountain side. What they used instead was a stout wood pole about 2" in diameter x 6' long and with a forged steel point that they also used to cut foot steps in the steepest side hills. They also wanted us to walk with the point of the pole on the uphill side so if you slipped, you would push the point of the pole into the slope to act like an anchor.
Fast forward to this past December when I had a Sitka deer hunt on Kodiak Island, Alaska. The mountains where we hunted were probably as steep as my hill at home, but above the brush line, the ground was frozen and higher up was snow covered. My Trekking poles were a big help to keep from slipping when side hilling across the frozen ground, and added in our stability when we packed our deer down the mountains to the boat.
Then a few years ago I booked a Dagestan Tur hunt in Azerbaijan. Everything that I learned about that hunt stressed that those mountains were very steep. And I found out that they were! The hill behind my house rises up about 400 yards and is too steep to climb with an ATV. I figured it was a good place to help get in shape for my upcoming Tur hunt. After a couple of trips up and down that mountain I decided to try using a pair of old ski poles to help my 70+ year old balance. They helped a lot, especially going downhill.
So I bought a pair of Trekking poles, I think from Costco, and after a few months of practicing with them, I took them to Azerbaijan. After I met my head guide, Asiman, we went through the gear that I brought and he would not let me take the Trekking poles up the mountain. He said that the mountains were so steep that if the locking mechanism of the downhill pole slipped you could tumble literally a thousand feet down the mountain side. What they used instead was a stout wood pole about 2" in diameter x 6' long and with a forged steel point that they also used to cut foot steps in the steepest side hills. They also wanted us to walk with the point of the pole on the uphill side so if you slipped, you would push the point of the pole into the slope to act like an anchor.
Fast forward to this past December when I had a Sitka deer hunt on Kodiak Island, Alaska. The mountains where we hunted were probably as steep as my hill at home, but above the brush line, the ground was frozen and higher up was snow covered. My Trekking poles were a big help to keep from slipping when side hilling across the frozen ground, and added in our stability when we packed our deer down the mountains to the boat.
Another big echo on the flip/cam lock style over twist. I have the twist, which have never failed BTW, but they are harder/slower to adjust and IMO that's important as you'll want different lengths for uphill vs downhill.
mrcowboy
Well-known member
In the past I dismissed trekking poles, but I now use them anytime I am carrying full size packs. The extra (third/fourth) point of contact can make a difference going down a slope and balancing a pack load.
