The Top 14 Reasons to Use Trekking Poles
WHY YOU SHOULD USE TREKKING POLES WHILE HIKING AND BACKPACKING
Treeline Review writer Felicia Hermosillo uses trekking poles to go faster on a hike to an alpine lake in Colorado. Photo by John Carr.
Updated March 12th, 2024
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Aren't sure about using hiking poles? Trekking poles may seem like an optional gear item, but they are one of the most multi-purpose gear items you can carry while hiking.
Check out our Best Trekking Poles guide for our recommendations – whether you want ultralight poles for thru-hiking, telescoping poles for scramble-y hikes where you occasionally use your hands or a sturdy pair with a lifetime warranty for hiking in snow and off-trail. If you aren’t sure where to start, see our How to Choose Trekking Poles guide to see how your style of hiking or backpacking and needs can point you towards the right hiking poles for you.
Over our thousands of thru-hiking miles, these are the top reasons we've found for trekking poles. Do you have any to add to the list?
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Treeline writer Felicia Hermosillo descends a steep incline in the Sierra with the help of poles.
why hikers and backpackers use trekking poles
1) Protect Knees and Reduce Injuries
The most common reason people choose to use poles is to protect their knees and reduce injuries. Michael Torry, director of biomechanics research at Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Colorado, found that trekking poles reduce the risk of injury and tendonitis in knees, calves, thighs, and hips.
2) Less impact on joints and the body over time
Steadman’s research also shows that poles can reduce 4.4% of force. That may not seem like much, but it does add up over time. On a thru-hike, that force can add up over the miles and months – especially with the weight of a backpacking backpack.
Another study from Western Illinois University found that "a reduction in the forces, moments, and power around the joint, with the use of poles, will help reduce the loading on the joints of the lower extremity," including knees and ankles.
In addition, there is evidence that using walking poles during nordic walking "led to a significant…pressure reduction of about 50% on the central metatarsals." Anything to reduce foot fatigue while backpacking is a huge win in our book.
3) Trekking poles make your hike easier and faster
You can use your arms to propel you forward, much like Nordic walking poles can help you move faster. A study published by Christopher Knight at the University of Massachusetts found this works by transferring the workload from your lower body muscles and joints to your upper body.
Our friend Justin “Trauma” Lichter, part of the team who was the first to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the winter, shares his tips on using trekking poles for maximum efficiency. Using his skate skiing and striding knowledge, he’s developed tricks for hikers to get the most out of their poles. (Spoiler alert – use the wrist straps!)
PCT hikers use trekking poles in the Sierra for stability in the snow. Photo by John Carr.
4) Measure and assess dangerous situations before you proceed
Before you cross a river, you can use your poles to judge the depth of a river crossing. You can also use poles to judge the strength of a snow bridge – a way to test whether a snow bridge is solid enough to hold your weight before committing. Poles are also a way to judge how deep mud is before stepping into it. See our guide on How to Thru-hike in a Big Snow Year and Risk Assessment and Decision Making for Thru-hikers for more on how trekking poles can help you assess risky conditions.
PCT thru-hikers assess the snowmelt in Wallace Creek using trekking poles. After deciding that the current was not too swift or deep for their skillset, the poles helped with balance.
5) Trekking poles make crossing rivers and creeks easier
Once you've used your pole to judge the depth of a water crossing and feel confident you can do it, those poles will come in handy for balance. When you are trying to move through running water, having an additional point of contact with the ground via your pole helps you secure your balance.
Our PCT Gear List & Strategy discusses tips for crossing snowmelt flooded rivers in the Sierra – and trekking poles feature prominently. See our guide to How to Ford a River and How Not to Die on a Thru-hike for step-by-step instructions on creek crossings and how poles can help.
6) Better Balance
On loose or steep terrain, trekking poles can secure your balance. This is especially true when the surface is loose, such as when you are crossing scree or other ball-bearing-sized rocks where a foot may slip at any moment. Many European hikers and trail runners use poles for this reason, as this rough terrain is common on continental trails. For example, in our Snowdonia Way guide, we recommend hiking poles as a way to navigate steep and loose trails in Wales.
Treeline editor Naomi Hudetz hiking through deep snow on the Oregon Desert Trail.
7) Extra Stability On Slippery Terrain
On slippery terrains, like wet rocks or roots, having four points of contact (two feet and two poles) can also secure your balance.
Trekking poles can help you secure balance on icy or more slippery terrain like mud and snow. Many hikers choose to use sturdier poles in conjunction with snowshoes. That's one reason we recommend poles in our Appalachian Trail Gear List & Guide. Icy trails in Smoky Mountain National Park and muddy boardwalks in New England are much more manageable with poles, even if hikers need to telescope or fold them away during the White Mountains or Mahoosuc Notch.
Poles can work in conjunction with winter traction devices to keep you upright when the trail turns to snow and ice. However, they are no substitute for having an ice axe and crampons in the worst conditions.
Many lightweight tents and shelters require trekking poles instead of having their own dedicated tent poles.
8) Poles are multi-purpose gear: tent and shelter set up
Many tents require trekking poles as part of the setup, including several of those we recommend in our Best Backpacking Tents story, including popular models like the Z-Packs Duplex, Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo, and Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker.
Trekking poles are stronger than most backpacking tent-specific poles. This means they’ll hold up to storms that would otherwise topple tents. As a bonus – you'll save pack weight by not carrying tent poles!
We've also used our trekking poles to secure sun shades for mid-day naps on desert hikes.
A creative way to use gravity to filter water (using the Sawyer Squeeze and CNOC Vecto water bags) when there are no trees around. Photo courtesy Mike Unger
9) Use as a gravity water filter
On desert or above treeline hikes where there's nothing to hang a gravity feed, we use our trekking poles to prop up gravity filters.
See our Best Water Filters guide for examples of how we use poles as part of a do-it-yourself gravity filter system in areas without trees (like sections of our thru-hike of the Arizona Trail).
10) Tripod for Photos and Videos
If you're a YouTuber, vlogger, or just want to get a selfie with your whole tramily (trail family), trekking poles work can give you the distance and height you need to set up a hands-free shot. Bring along a phone or camera holder that will screw into or latch onto your poles to get it to work. We go into detail on options for camera accessories in our review of the OM Systems TG-7 Tough Camera.
11) Protect against wildlife and dogs
We’ve used poles to scoot snakes off the trail (not recommended) or to look bigger when we’ve encountered bears on the trail. Aggressive dogs can also be kept further away until their owners get them under control.
A rattlesnake on the Arizona Trail.
12) Clearing the Trail
Trekking poles can help you move brush or spider webs out of the way without requiring the use of your hands. This can be essential on routes that are still being built, like the Blue Mountains Trail, or on routes like the Oregon Desert Trail Trail.
In addition, on brushy, overgrown trails with recent rainfall, we use our trekking poles to knock water off the plants along the trail before we get there. It helps keep the water off our legs and arms. Hikers call the phenomenon of getting soaked from rubbing up against wet bushes the “car wash effect,” because it is like being inside the scrubbers of a drive-through car wash.
Additionally, Treeline Review writer Arlette “Apple Pie” Laan writes in How to Dress for Winter Hiking that trekking poles can help remove snow on branches when hiking in the snow.
13) Reduce Swelling in Your Hands
Have you ever noticed that your hands and fingers swell during a hike? I’ve looked down at my hands and thought — those aren’t mine! Why do my fingers look like sausages? And over thousands of miles using trekking poles, my hands never swell. Why is that?
One theory is that the contraction of arm muscles while using trekking poles keeps the blood flowing back to the heart and prevents pooling (the pooling is caused by the backpack straps). Whatever the reason — it works!
14) You Can Use Them as a Splint
If you injure an arm or a leg in the backcountry, you can use a trekking pole section as a makeshift splint for stabilization until you can get proper medical care. We’ve actually known someone who did this, and it works.
Final Thoughts
Sure, trekking poles reduce strain on knees and ankles, but they also help secure balance on uneven terrain or during creek crossings and are essential to set up lightweight tents, filters, and camera systems. Trekking poles – they're not just for nordic walking anymore!
Can I Use Ski Poles as hiking poles?
Yes, theoretically, you can use your ski poles for hiking. However, in general, we recommend using hiking poles instead. The biggest reason is that most ski poles are fixed length, and trekking poles are adjustable. You'll want to decrease or increase the pole length if you're on an extended uphill or downhill section of the trail.
Also, if you're using your trekking pole as a tent pole for a lightweight or ultralight backpacking tent, you'll need to be able to adjust the trekking pole height to the exact manufacturer requirements (which will likely not be the length you need to hike).
Read our review of the best trekking poles here. It can be overwhelming – aluminum poles, carbon poles, a telescoping pole, lever lock, flick lock, cork grips, rubber grips, rubber tips…the list goes on. We break it down for you in great detail so you can feel confident knowing what type of pole is best for you and which model is best in that category.
Sources
Effects of hiking downhill using trekking poles while carrying external loads (Bohne, Abendroth-Smith)
Effects of walking poles on lower extremity gait mechanics (Wilson, Torry, Steadman, et al)
Do poles save energy during steep uphill walking? (Giovanelli, Sulli, et al)
Nordic walking practice might improve plantar pressure distribution (Pérez-Soriano, Llana-Belloch, et al)
