Walking poles or none: a fair comparison
Poles help some knees and some crossings. They hinder stiles, quiet wildlife and any path that needs your hands.
A walking pole is either a revelation or a thing you carry in order to be annoyed by it. Both reports are true. The difference is the walk, the joints and the willingness to put the poles away when they stop helping. A fair comparison is more useful than a conversion.
Where a pole earns its place
On a long descent, poles can take some load off the knees by letting the arms share the work. People with a knee that complains on the way down often notice this within a single hill. On rough, tussocky or slippery ground they add a point of balance, which is the difference between a pause and a fall when a foot skates on wet rock. At a shallow stream they probe the bottom and give you a third leg.
Two poles share the work more evenly. One pole is simpler at a stile and still useful if you plant it on the downhill side. Neither arrangement makes you a better navigator. They are a joint and balance tool. The rest of the day still depends on boots that fit and on a pace you can keep.
Where they get in the way
Stiles, kissing gates and any path that needs your hands are the enemy of a pole. You are forever collapsing, passing, snagging a strap or tapping the ankles of the person in front. On a crowded coast path the tips are a hazard at eye height when you turn. In a wood they catch brambles and ring against roots. If the morning is mostly lanes, gates and a village, leave the poles in the car and enjoy having your hands for a map and a bun.
They are also a noise. The tick of a tip and the habit of planting them into the verge are small, and animals notice small things. Habits that scare wildlife include a walker who sounds like a fence being built. On a quiet wildlife morning, a pole-free stroll is the better instrument.
How to use them so they help
Length matters. On the flat, a comfortable bend in the elbow is the usual starting point. Shorten them a little for a climb so you are not reaching up, and lengthen them a little for a steep descent so you can plant them ahead without folding in half. Many people never adjust them and then conclude that poles are useless. Adjust them once on a real hill before you write them off.
Plant the tips on firm ground, not into a vegetated grike or the middle of a wild flower. The point of the tool is your balance, not a hole in the path. Wrist straps, if you use them, should let go if the pole jams somewhere you do not. A jammed pole with a trapped hand is a worse knee than the one you were protecting.
A trial that is actually fair
Borrow or hire a pair for one descent-heavy day before you buy. Use them on the way down, and deliberately stow them for a lane section so you feel the difference rather than the novelty. If your knees are quieter and you did not spend the day fighting gates, you have your answer. If you were slower and crosser, you also have your answer.
Poles are not a treatment for an injury. If a knee or a hip is already complaining in ordinary life, a pharmacist, a physiotherapist or a doctor is a better first call than a shop. Poles may later be part of how you keep walking. They are not a diagnosis.
Packing them so the day stays pleasant
Carry them collapsed on the outside of the sack, tips down and covered if the covers came with them, so they do not spear the person behind you on a stile. On limestone pavement and wet rock, two points of metal plus two feet can help, provided the tips go on bare stone. In a village, collapse them before the tea room. A pole at a cake queue is how strangers form an opinion.
The fair conclusion is dull, which is a good sign. Use poles for the descents, the bogs and the knees that asked for them. Put them away for the lanes, the gates and the wildlife. The hill does not mind either choice.
Frequently asked questions
Are expensive poles safer?
A reliable lock and a comfortable grip matter more than a famous name. A pole that collapses when you lean on it is the expensive kind, whatever it cost.
Can I use one old ski pole?
You can, if the length is bearable and the tip is not a sharp hazard to other people. A purpose-made walking pole is easier to adjust. An unsuitable stick is still a stick.
Do poles stop me slipping?
They reduce the chance and they do not abolish it. Good soles, a shorter step on wet rock, and the willingness to use a hand on a steep bit still do the main work.