How to walk with hiking poles?

You've chosen your poles, you've set them up correctly, you're ready to go on your first outing but you'd like to be briefed beforehand, to make sure you know how to walk with your hiking poles? That's what we're here for!

The many benefits of walking have convinced you to go for it? The advantages of walking poles do not leave you indifferent? You have finally chosen the poles that are best suited to your practice and are ready to baptise them? In order to enjoy the many benefits of walking poles, it is important to use them correctly, for reasons of comfort and stability (and therefore safety) as well as performance and endurance.

Although walking with poles is not complicated, it is important to adopt the right reflexes from the start! So, when you go out hiking with poles for the first time, it is quite natural to ask yourself if there is a particular technique for walking with hiking poles, if there is a way to use them better than another and if there are mistakes to avoid. Well, yes, there are indeed different techniques and methods depending on the personal comfort of each person, but especially on the different passages to be crossed. Whether it's uphill, downhill, on a slope or on an obstacle, in this article we'll give you some useful tips on how to walk properly with hiking poles wherever you are. 

Walking with poles on flat ground

The first thing you need to do before you set off is to get the size of your poles right. Once you are ready to go, with the pole perpendicular to the ground and your back straight, check that your arm is at a right angle to your elbow. Got it? Then put on your straps and let's go! 

There are different techniques for walking with poles, you can walk with both poles in mirror image, simultaneously or alternately.

Personally, we advise you to use your poles alternately, especially on flat ground. This way you can maintain a good rhythm and it is also the most natural method. You walk with your right arm/left leg, then your left arm/right leg, just as you would normally walk. The sticks become an extension of your arms, and after a while you forget they are there.

In both cases, simultaneous or alternating technique, we prefer to place our poles slightly backwards, so as to gain propulsion. If you really find it more comfortable to place your poles at the front of your body to "pull" you in a way, be careful never to place your poles right in front of you, but on the sides, so that they don't get in the way. Otherwise, you risk bumping into your poles, injuring yourself, or even falling, but above all, you will be hindered and slowed down by them. Which is the exact opposite of what you want to do. 

A valuable aid for walking uphill

If the climb is light, over a short distance, do not touch the length of your poles. If you start adjusting them at every small change in terrain, you haven't arrived. Be aware that you will have to compromise, the height will not always be ideal, and if your arm does not always form a perfect right angle of 90°, it is not a big deal. 

If the climb is steep over a long distance, then it makes sense to adjust the length, by shortening it. 

If the climb is steep, over a short distance, you can leave your straps and grab your poles below the handle, at the level of the sleeves if your poles are equipped with them. Obviously this is not ideal, as you won't have the support of the strap to take the strain off your hand and wrist, but for a short time it is an excellent alternative. 

Again you can choose to use your poles alternately or simultaneously, especially if the climb is steep, to double the push. 

Relieve your knees on the way down

On the way down, the poles are mainly used to hold the hiker back and to give him a better balance. They allow you to move more securely and feel safer, especially if the slope is steep, uneven or littered with obstacles. They are also very effective in reducing the effects of the slope on the joints (especially the knees) and the thigh muscles (quadriceps), which is not negligible.

The first thing to do before going downhill is to take off the straps so that you are not hindered in case of a fall, and therefore risk hurting yourself. Once you have left the straps, change your grip by grasping the handles directly or, better still, by pressing the palm of your hands on the top of the poles.

On the downhill you can also choose whether or not to adjust the height of your poles according to the gradient and the length of the slope, and then decide whether to use your poles one at a time alternately, or two at a time. Also, if the slope is really gentle, over a long distance, and the terrain is not steep, you may as well choose to store your poles in your rucksack or hang them on your belt. 

Walking on slopes

On slopes, as with downhill, you should leave your wrist straps behind to limit the risk of hindrance or injury. You can grip the lower pole at the handle or put your palm on top of the handle (whichever is more comfortable) and grip the higher pole below the handle at the sleeve.

For comfort, if the incline is over a long distance, you can adjust only one of the two sticks, i.e. shorten the higher of the two sticks by a few centimetres. Finally, walk carefully. 

Using walking sticks to overcome an obstacle

Another situation that may arise is when crossing an obstacle: a river, a tree trunk or a large rock, for example. In this case, the poles are very useful to gain balance and they greatly reassure the hiker. They also limit the risk of slipping or falling. There are two ways of overcoming an obstacle: 

You can position your poles over the obstacle and pull yourself over. But as we mentioned earlier, we prefer the pole to be propelling, so it is better to opt for the second option. 

Position your poles at the foot of the obstacle and then go over it. If the obstacle is downhill, you can extend your poles, and in this case, leave your straps and change your grip, exactly as for a downhill.