The Benefits of Hiking and Trekking Poles

No hiking accessory seems to have taken off in recent years like the hiking and trekking pole. More and more hikers have discovered the benefits of hiking and trekking poles and are now enjoying their walk more comfortably as a result. 

There's numerous benefits to hiking and walking with hiking poles including;

1. Redistribute your weight and the weight of your backpack
2. Reducing fatigue as a result of your redistributed weight
3. Promoting better posture through reduced fatigue 
4. Improving your lung capacity through a more upright and open posture
5. Helping you hike faster once you find your rhythm

That last one is a result of the improved posture and lung capacity, increased stability on the trail, and also the motion of walking with hiking poles lets you push yourself forward a little with each step and pushing off the pole before bringing it forward to take your next step. Whilst that all sounds like a lot to think about when walking with trekking poles, that's not the case as all these benefits will kick in naturally as you find your comfortable walking style using your hiking poles. 

A few additional benefits of hiking poles, also known as trekking poles include;

1. A support when resting through leaning on your hiking poles
2. Increasing stability and balance 
3. The confidence of having two sticks at hand should you need to fend anything off, or even knowing you have this available if you did
4. A saviour on the trail if you twist your ankle or hurt your knees and legs where you can reduce the load as you hobble to a pick-up location 

There's a range of features to look out for when buying hiking poles. At our Hiking Trails Gear Shop we only stock Black Diamond hiking and trekking poles as we believe that they're the best. Consider adjustable length hiking poles as they will let you adjust the length to your optimal comfort and support level, and look for light weight hiking poles as like with all hiking and travel gear, light weight and good quality are key.

Additionally adjustable length hiking poles will make transport in or strapped to your bag easier and be much easier to jostle onto a local bus in Kii Katsuura, an old Land Rover in outback Oz, or a taxi from Hobart airport as you head to the meeting place for your Tasmanian walking adventure.

You can check out our range of Black Diamond Hiking Poles here.