To hikers and climbers, walking poles are indispensable items in their luggage due to undeniable advantages they bring along. Perhaps, many of you own a perfect walking pole, yet the matter is that if you know how to use walking poles properly. With a right walking pole, you can retain your physical health for long hiking and trekking. It helps your legs have stable and strong movements in the most severe terrains such as hazardous uphill or steep slopes. In addition, it functions as a smooth cushion, which makes your feet comfortable and get unhurt during long journeys. Do you really have knowledge about this useful item? Because, if you don’t know how to use walking poles properly, they can leave negative results you don’t want to expect. Therefore, our following article shows you methods to use a walking pole accurately.
How To Use Walking Poles Properly
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To Thrust
Many people question about of how to use a walking pole properly to have a nice thrust. First of all, you let your hand through the strap that sticks to the handle. You hold your pole handle with your wrist. Many of you may not know the conveniences of this strap. It looks like a little cute bracelet and it makes sure that you can never lose your hiking pole. In case you have any problems during your climbing and, your figures can slip out of the grip, the miracle strap will stop the walking pole from dropping completely your hand. Thus, you can keep it right away and continue your traveling.
The next step is that you need to adjust the length of your walking poles to fit your height. You can set your walking pole at a 90- degree to the elbow. In flat topography or uphill, it needs to be shortened. In this case, it will help you to reduce your weight and push you up easily. The slopes will make up for the short pole. However, you can adjust it to ensure that you feel the most comfortable.
The most important thing to thrust effectively is that you must alternate both your hand and leg. For instance, if you hold your left pole, your right leg needs to go ahead parallel to your pole. This is the popular and effective method of using a walking pole.
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To Brake
In contrast with flat terrains or uphill, your pole must be shorter than usual. To steep slopes, you have to lengthen your walking pole to be appropriate to the steep level of slopes. This way aims to reduce your speed and prevent you from falling. Besides, it functions as a shock absorption that keeps your knees and ankle unhurt when you step down. To apply this trick, you always place the pole ahead, which is approximately one foot from your feet tip or more than.
If you are actually skillful with a walking pole, you can discover other amazing benefits of its. In this situation, when you are tired or just stop for a while to wait for your hiking members, you can take a quick rest on the walking pole by letting yourself on the pole handle. With this technique, in even slippery or steep terrains, you can be protected somehow rather than taking nothing with you. Now, do you confuse how to use walking poles properly to step down?
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To Coast
Are you imagining how to use walking poles properly for coasting? The third method to use a walking pole properly is to coast. This method allows you to have smooth, strong and balance movements with the least power. To master this technique, you can follow our simple steps.
Firstly, you must keep you both walking poles parallel and contemporaneous ahead of you at a less than 90- degree angle and move ahead. Hold repeating this coasting while hiking. This is a great idea for an easy walk on a flat topography. This method is famous for balancing your whole body firmly. In case, you are exhausted, coasting with a walking pole plays an essential role in supporting your propulsion and retaining your power as well.
Tips And Warnings
Another amazing trick to use a walking pole is that you can use it for passing obstacles. For instance, in case you walk over a big stone, you can put your poles onto the stone and step on it. This method provides you enough propulsion power to pass over the hindrance.
The matter that needs to be noted is the material of a walking pole. Two popular materials on the current market are carbon fiber and aluminum. An aluminum pole is often lighter than the carbon fiber one. Thus using an aluminum one tends to be bent as long as you leave too much power onto it, yet it is difficult to break it right away. The carbon-walking pole is lighter than the aluminum one; hence, you can take an aluminum pole walking for trekking in dangerous terrain.
To apply all methods we mentioned above, it is better that you practice in a flat topography. Using a walking pole for amateurs or new users can be harmful to your health such as hurt hips or knees pain. We hope that after reading this instruction, you can have a general idea of using a walking pole.
