Hiking Poles...Rainpants? Your thoughts??

[maxwellbest]

As part of my review of kit, seen hiking poles as potentially of interest. Any one use them, benefits, when not to use them? Guessing the main use would be to protect ones knees, I am not getting any younger, plus if they reduce the risk of a knee injury whilst on an extended walk then why not? Any experiences? Plus rainpants- I cant justify the latest eVent or Goretex duds, cant see my self knee deep in snow anytime soon ( I have eVent gaiters though, for scrub bashing, wet environments)-NZ Fiordland trip coming up-hence I am thinking wet, wet, wet...My current pants are Plastic, only really good for standing still, if I wear them walking, sweat, gonna soak anyhow...Is there anything breathable out there for cold, wet days on the track? Which doesnt cost a bomb, ie less than 100 bucks?

Cheers

[forest]

Walking Poles are great.

I'm 30, good knees and healthy.... Still love them. Make them big far hills easier to traverse.
Can be a bit funny in long tussock grass but on the trail's they rule !!

I've some RAB Bergen eVent pants from this tower ridge . com in the UK.

http://www.towerridge.co.uk/index.php?m ... cts_id=152

Works out cheaper as you can deduct the VAT, They might have been about $115 AUD posted ?? Drop them an email.

Very breathable and light for eVent pants with a 3/4 leg zip.
I haven't torn mine in the scrub yet.....

[Bluegum Mic]

Hi Maxwell.

I've used hiking poles for years now. They are good for the knees, great for crossing mossy/faster flowing creeks etc as they allow you to get a good purchase (I've always got to cross ahead of my hiking buddy and chuck them back). I use them to pitch my tent (golite shangri la) and also a tarp. The only time I dont like them is on flat fire trails so ill often fold them away.and stow them on my pack. I have the black diamond trail ergo and can't speak highly enough of them. They've been my favourites by a long shot.

My pants are just the mountain hardwear epic pants and they've been up to the task. I think they were $90.

[andrewa]

I like a pole if where I'm walking has some steep downhills (and there'll be some of those in Fiordland!! It allows me to brace against something. Also like rain pants - my faborites are Gtex packlite from Cabelas. About $100 I recall. Used more when in snow or standing around in rain. If scrub bashing, they'd prob tear, and you normally get so sweaty and wet anyway, that you may as well leave them off.

Fiordland will be fun. You'll need some serious sandfly protection. Make some Lycra socks and wrist gauntlets that come down to your knuckles, or longer. The little *&%$#! can't bite through Lycra. We battle them each year in NW Nelson. Tea tree oil, sunscreen lotion and (1/3 each) also works as a good repellant.

A

[pazzar]

I find walking poles useful sometimes, but I usually don't bother anymore. Most of the walking I do is on lesser defined tracks, and they are too tight to manouvre poles in, but I have used them on tracks that are more open (eg Overland, Arm River, Hartz). They help to spread the load into the arms instead of having all the weight on your hips and shoulders, and on the flat I find I can move a bit quicker with them. I use the Black Diamond Contour Elliptic, which are great for those open tracks.

As for overpants - I'm yet to find a pair that stands up to the terrain I walk in. I just purchased a pair of Mountain Hardwear Pinnacle pants, and have found a hole in them after only 3 walks. It was on the bottom, so I guess it was from sliding down a rock or something like that. My previous pair served me very well - they were Mountain Designs Grampians (rrp $79.95). They lasted almost 12 months, and many rugged scrub trips. Eventually I tore them to shreds, but it was $80 well spent. Because they were dual layered I had more life than the single layer I now have. They were pretty breathable too, much to my surprise. I will be buying these for my next pair for sure.

Jared

[gayet]

I can recommend poles in non-track areas - at least in randomly tagged forest. Lots of steep climbs up and down - they give you something to lean on in the downhills and an extra point of lift on the uphills. They can get caught up in scrub but then its more the way you use them than the pole itself I think.

They are great when crossing slippery rotting logs over creeks - an extra point to maintain balance, when crossing creeks, again an extra point of stability against slippery rocks and fast currents.

Now I have to admit that I didn't take poles with me but borrowed one during the walk as the heavy pack was a killer on the hills and the pole made life MUCH easier. I have now ordered some. I went for the Pacer poles - a pair. The walking style/method/whatever with them is a bit different and as such they seem less likely to get caught up in the scrub.

Wet weaher pants - if you expect it to be wet all day, just wear them, and maybe some LJ's. I have a cheap pair i bought from a camping store several years ago and while they haven't been scoparia bashing they have been through some scrub and keep me dryish in all but the heaviest downpours. Saturated quickly in a half day tropical downpour when I was working out in the open, but then many event and goretex pants might struggle with that.

[maxwellbest]

Those Grampians seem the go, MD has as special on them...marked down.

[pazzar]

Those Grampians seem the go, MD has as special on them...marked down.

Don't expect years of use out of them if you are walking in scrubby terrain - ie Southwest Tassie, but for the price you pay, they aren't bad. Certainly better than plastic, or brands like Rainbird.

[Chris]

1 pole good, 2 poles better, 2 Pacer Poles the ultimate, particularly for hills (up or down). Just stow them for fire trails and duckboard.
I was introduced to poles a couple of years ago by someone who believed that they decreased the apparent weight of a pack by 1/3.

Quite a few references to various poles on this site including http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4924&p=65120&hilit=pacer+poles#p65120 and http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2714&hilit=pacer+poles.

Once you're convinced of the beauty of Pacer Poles, I can recommend buying them from the manufacturers in UK - got some from there for a friend recently with great service and a very good price.

[ULWalkingPhil]

I now always use 2 hiking poles, I am certain they have kept me of my rear end many times. I remember only falling twice in one year since I started using poles. I used to think they looked weird, till I tried them. They probably still look wired.

[Jellybean]

They probably still look wired.

Do they have bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils?

[ULWalkingPhil]

They probably still look wired.

Do they have bloodshot eyes and dilated pupils?

lol. Gotta love the Mac computers, it always changes wording to what it thinks is a better option. It's a problem I always have.

[maxwellbest]

Any reccomend a pair of "entry level" hiking poles? Ie inexpensive?

Cheers

[gayet]

I have just ordered a set of Pacer poles from the UK. The cost to my credit card was $133.75 give or take a few cents. That included postage, so if this is acceptable I would highly recommend them. I would highly recommend them anyway.

http://www.pacerpole.com/

[Gusto]

Today I've just ordered a pair of walking poles from Helinox http://www.helinox.com.au . I got the adjustable poles, however I was very tempted by the fixed length pair. They seem good value online. There customer service is very good, I emailed them a question and they responded very promptly. I was tempted by the Pacerpoles, but they still haven't responded to my email that I sent them 24 hours ago. I am easily swayed by good service.

Cheers

[MartyGwynne]

Hey you will love using the poles, I bought some a year ago from some online mob in Queensland (wildearth -http://www.wildearth.com.au/jacko-prostar-antishock-hikingtrekking-poles-pair-p-191.html?osCsid=08250944b0667eed6e6186350ecab891)
I bought the poles as per the 'link' the Jacko - Prostar $119 plus $17 or $21 postage. I have a dicky back so that takes weight off my back and gives me so much support.
I have even had to buy spare parts Oh yes I lost an end in rocks (they still worked) so now taped the one which came off on (had an incident with diesel spillage in the back of the ute one day in WA and soaked everything in diesel so they are sort of able to withstand a bit of mishandling).
The poles are made of high tensile alloy which is a must as some of the cheaper poles are of poor quality - the sort you see a lot of broken bits of on the track.

Pants - I have some nylon type of ones which are now years old but don't get much use but have served me well in south west cape tassie with lots of rain and deep water. They got sweaty so I just wore underpants underneath (temp range of 2 - 8 C every day), we were on the move all of the time so keeping warm was no problem. I am guessing there are a lot more pants on the market now.
Have walked a bit in NZ but did not need pants as gaiters and long jacket were suitable for me.
Best of luck with our advice.

[pazzar]

Any reccomend a pair of "entry level" hiking poles? Ie inexpensive?

Cheers

You can get Black Diamond Trail or Contour Elliptic Poles pretty cheap. They are good quality too. The Contours retail at $149.95, and the Trail are a bit less. I know Mountain Designs stock them, as well as a few other places. I rate them up against the Pacer poles, they may be slightly heavier though. The thing I like most about them is their 'flick-lock' system. No more twisting poles to lock them in!

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

You can get the Rolls Royce of hiking poles for $150 AUD from biouvac.co.nz

Black Diamond Ultra Distance - a mere 135g each (that's lighter for a pair than for most single poles), and they fold up very compact. Only issue is you need to get you sizing right before you order, because they are not adjustable.

[Dale]

If you want to dip your toe in the water with some cheap poles, Macpac have a pair that are $50 when on sale. These are twist lock and I also prefer the flick lock style. Mine failed after a year and I replaced them with adjustable Helinox poles.

[Gusto]

You can get the Rolls Royce of hiking poles for $150 AUD from biouvac.co.nz

Black Diamond Ultra Distance - a mere 135g each (that's lighter for a pair than for most single poles), and they fold up very compact. Only issue is you need to get you sizing right before you order, because they are not adjustable.

135grams for a pair is amazingly light.

I suspect the non adjustable Helinox poles would be very similar to these, but $30 cheaper including postage. I suspect about twice the weight though.

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

HI Gutso.

Sorry, my words might have been confusing there... they are 135g each - but that's still remarkably light.

I was (rather awkwardly) trying to say you could have a pair of them (270g) and that would still be lighter than a single pole of most types.

I'm still thinking of ordering a pair and selling one for $75 to someone else, as I only use one. It's annoying you can't buy them as singles, although I do understand the manufacturers say you should use two (not one) for best benefit.

[slparker]

Last year I bought some below the knee 'waterproof' bike shorts to wear over gaiters... They do the trick and are lighter cooler and easier to walk in then full length trousers.

[Stibb]

Any reccomend a pair of "entry level" hiking poles? Ie inexpensive?

Cheers

Just be careful with the cheapoes. My husband have a pair of ~$80-90 ones (sorry can't remember the brand, from MD I think and not very cheap in my book either) and he has almost killed himself a couple of times after they collapsed on him. No matter how hard he tighten them they will, when he most need their support, collapse. Other than that he loves the concept of poles...
Time for an upgrade though. Those pacer poles looks good!

[rogo]

You can get the Rolls Royce of hiking poles for $150 AUD from biouvac.co.nz

Black Diamond Ultra Distance - a mere 135g each (that's lighter for a pair than for most single poles), and they fold up very compact. Only issue is you need to get you sizing right before you order, because they are not adjustable.

I was just salivating over these yesterday at Macpac. I also bought a cheap set, just to try out, a couple of years ago. One continually collapse with a bit of force. But I do like walking with poles.

The BD are very nice and fold up to a very stowable size. I also think getting the size is very important. It did take me a while to figure out they were still telescopic at the top. Not too sure if you had a tarp or tent reliant on poles whether these would be good. Does anyone know? I was looking at the 100cm poles as I suffer ducks disability.

Ro

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

Hi Rogo.

I'm looking at getting the 120 or 130cm poles, so my offer of selling one is not extended to you (unless you want to snap it in half and have two )

I'm 181cm, and the sizing chart says I should get 120cm. It also says if you are on the cusp of a size, then go up a size if the poles are for bushwalking or down a size for trail running.

I've walked around the yard with crappy ones adjusted to 120 and 130cm, and I still can't decide. Really should have measured them last time I did a multi-day hike! I mainly use the poles for stabilisation going downhill because my knees get a bit "twangy" on multi-day hikes. For this reason I think the 130cm might be the go, but then I don't know if they will be useable uphill. The Black Diamond do have the extended EVA foam grip so that you can move your hands down on the grip when going uphill.

What do others think about sizing? Does any one else on this forum find they like them longer than the 90 degree elbow recommendation?

[wayno]

twist lock poles are far more prone to failure. and less likely to keep holding their length. cheap poles are usually weaker and more prone to buckling

[rogo]

I'm looking at getting the 120 or 130cm poles, so my offer of selling one is not extended to you (unless you want to snap it in half and have two )

Gee thanks for the offer

[gayet]

Does any one else on this forum find they like them longer than the 90 degree elbow recommendation?

I think that recommendation is for walking on other than steep inclines/declines. For steep rises, shorten the length, likewise steep downhills are better at longer length. It makes sense when you think about it - when does it not though Might be a problem with fixed length poles?

[under10kg]

Have to say I love pacer poles,
They could be lighter but they really save my knees on the up and down.
Really different from a normal pole.

[wayno]

personally i dont know that the type of rainpants matters that much, by the time you're wearing them then it's usually really raining. in those circumstances, it barely matters how expensive your trousers are , they all struggle to keep you dry in heavy rain as they tend to stop breathing once saturated on the outside.
a recent review done on backpackinglight.com showed the latest flashest membranes didnt perform any better than the likes of gore tex, they wer all able to be saturated with sweat just walking uphill in they dry, fabric thickness had more to do with breathability than the type of fabric. although i'd still stick with pants bought at a reputable shop. there are membranes out there touted as breathable that barely breath at all that get sold in various chain stores. gore tex is still an above average performer, pertex wsaterproof membranes are reasonably comparable. pertex is also remarketed as reflex by macpac.