TREKKING POLES

 

My MSR Dynalock Ascent Carbon trekking poles

Mountain Safety Research (MSR) is a company dedicated to the precision engineering of equipment designed to improve the safety of mountaineers and those who spend time outdoors in the mountains. Their equipment is, in my opinion, second to none. 

I chose a pair of their kevlar-reinforced, carbon-fibre trekking poles which have a lockable height adjustment system, comfortable EVA-foam grips and can collapse Z-style down to a 20cm (8") set. I didn't need the broad snow-shoe attachment (shown) but they also come with a smaller attachment which turned out to be ideal for the mud I encountered along the canal trails.

I had practised with these poles extensively in Malta, as this was my first experience of walking with poles. I'll be honest in saying that my first impression was that this was a waste of time, as they made no difference to my hiking and were just another piece of kit to worry about. I was right - and I was also very wrong.  I was right in that my training in Malta, per force, was largely on paved streets, hard packed roads and firm surfaces. Urban contexts mainly. These poles served very little purpose in that context. I persevered however, based on the strongly divergent opinions of the hiking community, as I was determined to reach my own conclusion. I'm glad I did.

In Malta I learned how to walk with the poles in two ways, in a walking mode, where each pole is moved forward in its turn, and in a skiing mode, where the two poles are moved forward together. These may be optional styles, but they serve different purposes, transfer weight differently and are both useful techniques in the right context. When I left Malta, however, I wasn't convinced I needed them.

My first day on a muddy track, with precarious deep puddles all around me quickly changed my perspective. With one pole dropping into the edge of a puddle and the other stretching out into wet grass on the other side, I was able to maintain my balance while keeping up a brisk walking pace. Without them, I estimate my journey would have taken half as long again on those days.

Over the 24 days of the hike, I used my trekking poles whenever I was on the trail. When I was walking along urban streets they looked out of place, attracted the wrong kind of attention and I quickly learned how to stow them. This is where my Osprey pack became an ideal partner to the MSR trekking poles. Osprey offers a "stow-on-the-go" system of reinforced elastic straps in the lower part of the pack and on the left shoulder strap, that allow a walker to quickly affix the poles to the pack, walking hands-free, without having to take off the pack, or even slow the walking pace, to do so.

Osprey's "stow-on-the-go" system for trekking pole handling.

One of the key benefits of using trekking poles is weight transfer. Think of it like this: 

• An Osprey Anti Gravity system pack allows the wearer to transfer much of the weight of the pack from the musculature to the skeletal system, by transferring the load from the shoulders to the hips.

• Below the hips, that weight is transferred to the ground via the legs.

• As bipeds, we have two legs, where as quadrupeds (e.g. horses and donkeys) have four legs - so the total load is divided by the number of legs through which the load is transferred to the ground.

• By using the trekking poles correctly, it is possible to transfer a substantial part of the load from the legs, through the poles, to the ground.

• The correct use of the trekking poles is essential if this benefit is to be achieved, as it won't happen if the poles are just being used to maintain balance or just tapping the ground while walking along.

• The muscles of the arms, which are doing nothing really while hiking, are used to press the poles firmly into the ground, pushing up on the grips while doing so. In short, making the poles work hard (like an extra pair of legs) and not just be ornamental.

• This procedure takes practice and perseverance, as it can seem a little counter-intuitive at first, but the difference in leg fatigue after a few kilometres is noticeable.