Hiking│The correct way to use trekking poles
When it comes to outdoor equipment, all kinds of backpacks, tents, jackets, sleeping bags, hiking shoes will immediately appear in the minds of most outdoor sports enthusiasts... People tend to pay special attention to these equipment and are happy to do so. It costs a lot of money, and as for trekking poles, quite a few people ignore its importance, I have even seen this argument "It took millions of years for humans to evolve from four legs to two legs, using double poles It is a retrogression of evolution, we are the strong, so the users of trekking poles are not allowed to participate in the activity”
In fact, a small trekking pole can be of great use. If you really like outdoor sports, if you want to be able to walk healthily, it is very necessary to prepare a pair of reliable lightweight trekking poles and learn to use them correctly. In addition to effectively protecting your knees, it can also help you reduce weight About 30% of the weight, allowing you to walk more easily and more comfortably, and better enjoy the fun of nature.
So, how to use trekking poles correctly? Here I will give you a brief introduction:
Single stick or double stick?
The purpose of the trekking pole is to simulate the limbs of animals, make full use of the strength of various parts of the body, and relieve the burden on the legs.
The use of double sticks solves the lack of upper limb movement in walking fitness exercise, and greatly improves the fitness effect of ordinary walking and bare-handed mountaineering.
When walking, especially when walking on mountain roads (uphill and downhill), it effectively reduces the pressure on the joints of the lower limbs, reduces the wear of the joints, and avoids the damage to the knee joints caused by traditional mountaineering.
And the support of two trekking poles can greatly improve the safety in mountain conditions.
And just like the four limbs of animals, a single stick becomes three feet, which is against the body structure of the creature.
When you use a single cane, when the weight of the body is placed on the cane, the body will tilt subconsciously, and the body will gradually become uncoordinated after a long time.
So in the case of conditions, should try to use double sticks.
When there is no choice but to use a single stick, the hands should be used alternately, avoiding using the same hand for a long time, and at the same time, avoid putting all your weight on the single stick.
The classification of trekking poles
According to the locking method, there are two main types of trekking poles, external lock and internal lock.
The external lock is provided with an elastic buckle at the connection part of the two trekking poles. The length of the trekking pole can be adjusted by opening the fastener, and the trekking pole can be fixed by closing the fastener.
External locking trekking poles are relatively convenient and suitable for users with relatively small hand strength.
The internal locking trekking pole is a locking method that is fixed by holding the two sections of the trekking pole and rotating in different directions, thereby adjusting the friction between the expansion bolt and the inner wall.
This kind of locking is reliable, but it has certain requirements on the user's hand strength. If it is not tightened, it may happen that the trekking pole is retracted during use, so it must be paid attention to.
According to the shape of trekking poles, it is mainly divided into I-shaped straight handle type and T-shaped type.
The T-shape is more inclined to the support of the gentle road section.
The I font is more professional and more applicable.
Choose trekking poles if you are engaged in dedicated outdoor hiking, especially if you are hiking with heavy equipment or climbing and descending high.
It is best to choose a handle with a straight handle, not a T-shaped handle, otherwise it will not work well when used with a wrist strap.
Adjustment of the length of trekking poles
Generally, most of the common outdoor trekking poles on the market are three-section telescopic trekking poles. We will use this trekking pole to explain.
The length of two sections from the tip of the stick can be adjusted.
How to adjust the length of trekking poles? This needs to be adjusted according to the specific terrain.
1. Flat ground: First of all, let's take a look at the length adjustment of walking on flat ground. We stand on the flat ground, hold a trekking pole, and let the arm hang down naturally. With the elbow as the fulcrum, lift the forearm so that the forearm is parallel to the ground and at a right angle of 90° to the upper arm.
At this time, hold the trekking pole in hand, and the length of the vertical contact between the tip of the pole and the ground is the correct length of the trekking pole used on the flat ground. Just lock the sections of the trekking pole, and then compare the other unadjusted trekking pole. The trekking poles with the locked length can be adjusted to the same length.
Walking on flat ground, the human arm will naturally swing back and forth.
Likewise, when using trekking poles on flat ground, the arm swings are the same as when walking empty-handed.
When the arm swings, the wrist strap will drive the trekking pole to gently forward, and after the tip of the stick touches the ground, it will push you forward through the function of the wrist strap, just like rowing a boat.
But remember that the tip of the stick does not go beyond the front of the body.
2. Uphill with a steeper slope: Compared with hiking on flat ground, the length of the trekking poles needs to be shortened a little on the uphill road with a large slope, which depends on the slope.
The arm drives the trekking pole to be placed in front of or above the body, and then uses the wrist strap to support the body to walk up.
This can effectively reduce the weight of the legs. If necessary, you can use two trekking poles to do the climbing action at the same time.
At this time, the palm can firmly grasp the handle to increase the strength.
3. Downhill: Adjust the length of the trekking pole to be slightly longer than the normal length of walking on a flat road, which is also determined according to the actual situation.
Since the impact on the knee joint is great when going downhill, it is necessary to use trekking poles to reduce the load.
When stepping down, insert the trekking pole in front of the body first, and must land on the ground before the front foot to achieve the effect of sharing the force.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that when going downhill, the cane has to bear more weight than usual, so the sections of the cane must be fully fixed and firm to avoid the risk of body imbalance caused by sudden retraction when the weight is put on. .
In addition, based on the same reason, you must pay attention to the place where the cane falls. The arm applies a little pressure when the cane falls to the ground to see if the location is reliable, and do not encounter places that are easy to collapse, such as thin mud, empty floating grass below, very easy Collapsed cliff edge gravel, etc.
The use of wristbands
Many people may have a misunderstanding, that is, they think that the wristband is optional, and think that it is just a tool to put on the hand to avoid loss. When using trekking poles, they are used to holding the handle tightly and applying force.
In fact, the wristband is very important. Whether the wristband can be used correctly is directly related to whether the trekking pole can be used correctly!
The bearing capacity of the trekking pole depends on the wrist strap, which transmits the weight and backpack load to the wrist through the wrist strap, rather than holding the handle of the trekking pole forcefully.
I believe that many people have the experience of using trekking poles by holding the handle hard. If you hike for a long time, your hands will feel very tired, especially when you are walking a long line, sometimes you are so tired that you even want to throw the trekking poles away.
But once you learn to use the wristband properly, your hands won't get tired no matter how long you use it.
So how should you hold it properly?
First, adjust the wristband to the proper length and thread the handle through the wristband loop.
Then press the wristband into our palm. Hold the handle lightly, allowing the weight to support the trekking pole through the wrist strap, rather than holding the handle tightly and applying force.
If the length of the wrist strap is not suitable, adjust it again. The area between the thumb and index gently holds the handle, and the trekking pole can swing back and forth like a pendulum. With a wrist strap as a connection, there is no need to hold it tightly at all.
There is no need to worry about the trekking poles falling off, even if you use the trekking poles for a long time, you will not consider it a burden.
Tips
1. Some friends keep the trekking pole in the same posture when walking and get tired, so they hold the trekking stick in their hands.
This practice is very dangerous because the tip of the stick is very sharp. If the tip of the stick is pointing upwards when walking, once the person walking behind accidentally falls forward, it is likely to be stabbed by the tip of the stick and cause injury.
Therefore, in any case, the tip of the stick can only go down, and it is strictly forbidden to go up.
2. In some sloping places, teammates need to pull each other.In this case, you must not use the trekking pole as a power tool, and let the other party pull the trekking pole to climb.
Even the best trekking poles may fall off, and using the poles as a pulling tool is likely to cause accidents.
3.Usually when we buy trekking poles, we will find that there is a plastic bowl near the tip of the pole. This is called a stick holder, which is divided into mud holder and snow holder according to the different environments of walking.
Many people don't know what this is for, and even feel that this is a hindrance and are used to taking it off.
In fact, the usefulness of the pole support is also very important. It is mainly used to prevent the sharp pole tip from being inserted too deep to cause danger when walking on various terrains.
Just imagine that the ends of our canes are very sharp. If the ground is very soft, when the weight of the body is exerted downward, the tip of the cane will easily fall into the ground.
This will cause the user to work hard to pull out the cane; another example is walking on a rocky sea, if there is no support for the cane, let alone the tip of the cane, even the first section is easy to insert into the stone crevice and cannot be pulled out in time. This can cause the cane to break and even create a risk of imbalance.
Therefore, for safety reasons, please do not remove the rod holder at will.
Conclusion
By the way, the quality of trekking poles is directly related to your safety.
Imagine how terrible it would be if you suddenly unlocked or broke when you put all your weight on the trekking pole in a special area!
Trekking poles are used to reduce pressure on the legs, thereby increasing the overall sustained endurance of the body.
Therefore, although the above method is the most scientific method, it may not be completely suitable for everyone.
As long as you feel that other methods can achieve the same effect, and will not cause any harm to the body, there is no harm in making appropriate changes.
You may feel uncomfortable when you just start using trekking poles.
But once you get the hang of it and get used to it, you will really find that trekking poles are like a part of your body.
You will really noticeably feel that your load will be lighter.
Your knees, your meniscus will be well protected in the long run.
So it is more pleasant to go outdoors and into nature.
