You're Probably Using Trekking Poles Wrong

I often see a lot of hikers using trekking poles incorrectly which causes two major problems the first one is that they aren't used efficiently and the second problem can even lead to injuries but before I explain these mistakes let's go over six benefits of trekking PSE and why you might want to use them in the first place first of all they give you much more stability which is super useful if you're walking on mud snow or other difficult terrains this also highly reduces the chances of few falling and spraying your ankle they also help you walk faster because with each step they push you a bit forward especially when you're walking uphill if used correctly trekking poles also distribute some of the weight over from your legs and your back over to your arms which means that you'll be able to walk longer they also add a bit of a workout to your arms especially your wrists and your triceps which means that you aren't moving just your legs anymore but I think the main benefit of tricking poles and why everyone pretty much uses them is that they reduce some of the load from your knees which means that you're much less likely to get an injury and that you'll still be able to keep hiking even when you're 60 or 70 and lastly they can also be used to protect yourself from animals or something else and you can also save a bit of weight if you own a trekking pole tent the first mistake that I see a lot of people making is that they put their hand in through the strap from the top and then they grip the trekking pole like this problem with this is that if you you fall and you eventually will the trekking pole will not release properly if you fall with your hands first your thumb might get trapped here between the pole and the strap and it might get dislocated or even broken the correct way is to go in from the bottom it doesn't matter if you go from the left or from the right side as long as you go in from the bottom and then grip over the strap like this if you fall the trkking pole will quickly release and nothing will get caught in the way you should also adjust the length of the strap so that when you put your hand through and balance it like this your fingers grip the tracking pole perfectly and comfortably it also helps with balancing some of the weight over to the strap instead of just your fingers if you're walking on flat terrain or uphill you should grip the trkking pole like this but if you're walking downhill you should grip it over here from the top like this kind of pushing against the trkking pole if you want to travel to cool places like these for example right now I'm in central Italy you'll probably need to travel and buy a local Sim when you get there if you want to keep using the internet on your phone and that's where today's sponsor comes in s they offer affordable internet plans for over50 different countries across the world through an eim this means that you can set it all up digitally without going to local stores and looking for affordable physical SIM cards simply download the s app on your Apple or Android device and select one of the plans for the country that you'll be traveling to then set up the eim and activate the plan just before your plane departs and when you land you'll have a working internet connection for me this all took just 3 minutes to set up no more overpaying for local SIM cards at the airport or following for local scams with fake SIM cards so go ahead and support this channel by signing up to S using the link in the video description they also offer 24/7 support in case you have any troubles and they'll also give you a full refund if the eim technology doesn't work on your phone to sign up go to s.com Oscar hikes thank you s for sponsoring this video but now let's get back to the rest of the video when hiking I see a lot of people placing the trekking po somewhat awkwardly either they're putting them too far in front of them like this or when they're hiking they're placing them too wide from each other but that shouldn't be the case because when you're walking on flat terrain or uphill ideally you should place the trekking poles right ly add your shoulder width and instead of placing the trekking pole next to your foot you should place it behind it so that with each step you have something to push yourself forward with I think a lot of people also struggle with their downhill technique first of all you should always lead with the trekking pole first and only then move your foot once you've established that there's a good connection to the ground because otherwise the trekking pole might slip you might lose your balance and you might spray in your ankle essentially there there are two main techniques that you can use when going downhill for trails that aren't that steep for example this Trail over here you can place the trekking pole opposite to your active feet in front of it something like this always having two or three contacts to the ground but for more steep Rocky or slippery downhill sections I would advise you to use the second technique and that is to place both tracking PS widely down in front of you then move and do it again and again because this is much more stable and you're much less likely to spray in your ankle I often see a lot of hikers that have trekking poles that are too short or too long for them ideally the trekking pole should form a 90° angle when you place it like this in front of you but the problem with this is that if you're going downhill the tracking pole needs to be longer to account for this or if you're going uphill the tracking pole needs to be shorter personally I keep the tracking pole adjusted so that it forms a 90° angle when I'm walking on flat terrains for like 90% of the time but if I see a very long and steep uphill or downhill section I'll usually readjust the tracking pole slightly shorter or longer when a lot of people start using trkking poles for the first time I see them making one big mistake it's that they're using the trekking Pole right next to their active foot something like this but that shouldn't be the case if you're walking on flat terrain or uphill you should always use the trkking P opposite to your active foot because this adds more stability to the other end of your active foot and just makes you a bit more stable overall I see a lot of people that always keep on the rubber cap and the basket on the tip of the tracking ble but you definitely shouldn't do that you should only keep the rubber caps on if you're walking on paved roads a lot and you should keep the baskets on if you're walking through mud or snow the clear carbide tip that I have over here is much better for hiking on gravel rocks or if you're hiking through forests and it isn't really that muddy outside because it digs into the ground and it provides a much better traction I hope you learned something in this quick guide on trekking poles if you did subscribe and I'll see you in one of my next videos bye

Channel: Oscar Hikes

Views: 3,989

Keywords: Trekking poles, how to use trekking poles, trekking pole mistakes, trekking pole guide, trekking poles 101, trekking pole tutorial, trekking poles instructions, how to adjust trekking poles, hiking trekking poles, benefits of trekking poles, why use trekking poles, trekking poles advantages, trekking pole injuries

Id: qRGC7ya_cog

Length: 6min 47sec (407 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 14 2024