geraldkelly
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Francés, Vía de la Plata / Camino Sanabrés, Camino del Baztán, Camino Aragonés, Chemin du Puy
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A pair of walking sticks?I'd say is more 60/40 who use poles. What's the prize for the person who gets it right
For us (herself & me) walking sticks are essential. They've helped on uphills and especially down hills. They've helped with balance and also saved knees.Hi
This is a question for people who've already walked the Camino Francés.
From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
And by walking sticks I mean the metal sticks with are specifically designed for walking and which are used in pairs.
Thinking about this my recollection is about 50%, but my memory of this isn't very clear because I never thought about it before.
Please note, this is not an invitation to engage in a pro- or anti-walking stick debate.
Thanks
Gerald
It could make a difference due to terrain, or the demographics of the pilgrims. That would be another interesting study.Would the route make a difference?
Pretty much every I see had one. Especially when it is slipper or up/down hill.Hi
This is a question for people who've already walked the Camino Francés.
From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
And by walking sticks I mean the metal sticks with are specifically designed for walking and which are used in pairs.
Thinking about this my recollection is about 50%, but my memory of this isn't very clear because I never thought about it before.
Please note, this is not an invitation to engage in a pro- or anti-walking stick debate.
Thanks
Gerald
Last time I passed that way he had three!Students of ancient times will note that this Pilgrim carries two staves and not those flimsy Aluminium / Carbon-fibre toys but two columns of solid chalk
View attachment 111400
Impossible for me to say as I didn't pay any attention to it. I walked the whole Frances but in sections and when I think of the people I walked with for a while, the majority did not seem to have 2 walking poles, at least not actively using them.From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
And by walking sticks I mean the metal sticks with are specifically designed for walking and which are used in pairs.
Thinking about this my recollection is about 50%
Another 20 minutes of observation of Camino walkers shortly before Santiago:I've just watched the webcam at Bando, San Marcos near Santiago
I, too, hated mine when I first got them. For about half a day. It took a bit of patience to figure out how to use them effectively, but they've now saved me from enough faceplants that I don't walk any distance with a pack without them.Acquired a pair once and found them useless and frustrating.
I'd say it's probably 60% who bring them, but from recent experience about half had them strapped to the pack, and of the people who used them, only 10% used them effectively. My impression is a lot of people think they have to have them and then end up not using them.
Well, it's not for me to say what works for each person, what I meant was that I see people who seem to place their poles in front of them at random, as if they just think they should but don't really see the point. Or carry them because they get tired of the meaningless clicking. I use Pacerpoles, which have a different angled handle, and mine are never out of my hands because they really make a difference. I place them behind me on flat and uphill to help take some weight off the dodgy hips and knees, in front of me as handbrakes when I go downhill, and at the end of the day I can feel that my arms have been working. They also keep my hands from swelling.others might find I am using them incorrectly?
If you didn't have the pole possibly you would have broken your leg.Broke a pole, not a leg, when I fell.
That's what she meant.If you didn't have the pole possibly you would have broken your leg.
Exactly. I was (and still am) a novice hiker and it had just rained. I hit some mud coming off a little bridge and slid. It was ugly and I planted that pole to brace myself. That pole bent in half but my leg stayed straight. Best 20 bucks I spent in a long time!If you didn't have the pole possibly you would have broken your leg.
I used walking poles (2) on both the Camino Frances and the Del Norte/Primitivo. I used them every day for balance, for uphill and especially downhill to keep me on my feet, especially the slippery gravelly bits. My knees continue to thank me to this day! I think the 60/40 ratio already mentioned here is about right. I still use them for hiking around our mountain here in Australia and should I be so lucky as to be able to do another Camino, I will use them again.Hi
This is a question for people who've already walked the Camino Francés.
From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
And by walking sticks I mean the metal sticks with are specifically designed for walking and which are used in pairs.
Thinking about this my recollection is about 50%, but my memory of this isn't very clear because I never thought about it before.
Please note, this is not an invitation to engage in a pro- or anti-walking stick debate.
Thanks
Gerald
I did this once by tripping over an embedded rock after dropping off my backpack and poles. I was thrown forward to the ground and did a chest plant, later fiinding out I had broken two ribs and scraped my knees.I once fell hard like this, and it happened so fast that I landed face first
Ouch.I was thrown forward to the ground and did a chest plant, later fiinding out I had broken two ribs and scraped my knees.
In all honesty, I don't remember.From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
I have done a front plant a couple of times, due to some slight misstep. I am not willing to give up my two poles, but have been reluctant to strap a big umbrella to myself to add to the equipment I might get tangled up in. That's why I'm not getting a hands-free umbrella. Has anyone else considered this?But word to the wise, because they are not much help if you trip or scuff a foot going straight ahead at speed. I once fell hard like this, and it happened so fast that I landed face first with my poles/arms pinned underneath me. So it was really not easy to get up; until some fellow pilgrims helped, I was completely immobilized. It's funny in retrospect, but at the time not at all
Curious, how did you come to that conclusion based upon the above postings?Thank you everybody who tried to answer my question. It seems about 40% of pilgrims carry walking sticks (in one way or another). And it's mostly older people. That generally confirms my own observations.
Gerald
Yes! I would find it too cumbersome and awkward for me to use while carrying a backpack, using poles, and then addng an umbrella, walking for miles. Then add an uneven surface and a windy day….not for me. I opt for a wide brimmed hat and wet it periodically if the weather to too beastly.I have done a front plant a couple of times, due to some slight misstep. I am not willing to give up my two poles, but have been reluctant to strap a big umbrella to myself to add to the equipment I might get tangled up in. That's why I'm not getting a hands-free umbrella. Has anyone else considered this?
On the other hand, you also get people like me who deliberately did not bring them, and avoided picking them up early in the Camino, but acquired them later on (Viana, in my case) out of necessity. The earlier stages of the Camino are not always easy on the knees.I'd say it's probably 60% who bring them, but from recent experience about half had them strapped to the pack, and of the people who used them, only 10% used them effectively. My impression is a lot of people think they have to have them and then end up not using them.
Another 20 minutes of observation of Camino walkers shortly before Santiago:
No walking sticks: 17
1 walking stick in use: 5
2 walking sticks in use: 6
2 walking sticks, not in use: 8
Total: 36 pilgrims
Confirms my gut feeling that, overall, 50-60% is too high as an estimate. But could apply to the forum demographic.
I'd agree with that approx. 60% use poles. FWIW, I'd also estimate that less than half of these know how to use them properly and/or to their full benefit.Curious, how did you come to that conclusion based upon the above postings?
I think most were writing about 60 percent used them.I would agree that younger people used poles less than older pilgrims , but no percentages for that.
Rubber tips last 1 or 2 days at most. I tend to put them on if walking through a town or village.About half. If you do use them PLEASE make sure they have rubber tips. Available cheaply from Amazon eBay etc if your trekking poles do not have them.
Thank you
Buen Camino
The rubber tips that came with my Pacer Poles were still in good shape after I used them for almost every km between SJPDP and Finisterre.Rubber tips last 1 or 2 days at most. I tend to put them on if walking through a town or village.
Depends what tips you get, that sounds like a once-only purchase - as in get better ones on day 2. Like @trecile, I found that my original Pacerpole ones lasted me 1000+ kms before I changed them, and I still keep them as spares in my daypack. I also bought Leki ones for comparison, they are £7-8 for a pair, will fit most poles and last a camino and then some. I believe the difference is not just in the quality of the rubber or whatever they make them with, but the metal disc/ring that stops the tip from wearing through. I have seen so many with metal tips poking out and still they don't remove and replace them ... Yet another example that buying cheap can be a false economy. Also, ask yourself if you trust the cheapos to keep their grip on wet/cold/slippy surfaces?Rubber tips last 1 or 2 days at most.
Goodness! Has this been a recurring experience? Mine last many hundreds of km, and I've had several types.Rubber tips last 1 or 2 days at most.
True.I believe the difference is not just in the quality of the rubber or whatever they make them with, but the metal disc/ring that stops the tip from wearing through.
How long the rubber/plastic tips last may well depend upon how extensively/hard you use the poles. For myself, I use them to take weight off my legs (on the flat and downhill) and to 'drive' up the hills....which is to say, that that they are usually bearing at least some weight and at times, quite a bit of weight. Carbide/steel tips tend to provide better traction than rubber/plastic, hence more effective if one is using the poles to bear weight, and not just for balance.Goodness! Has this been a recurring experience? Mine last many hundreds of km, and I've had several types.
True.
Very true. But it doesn't explain why mine last 50 times as long as someone else's, unless of course mine never touch the ground, which is not the case. Mine do bear some weight, although perhaps not as much as others. I would say that it is not the norm to get only one or two days use from a pair of rubber tips.How long the rubber/plastic tips last may well depend upon how extensively/hard you use the poles.
I've found this year it's closer to 30%.I'd agree with that approx. 60% use poles.
Agree, that is absolutely not the norm. Though it seems a lot of people just keep walking with the worn rubber tip around the pole and the metal tip clicking and clacking merrily away. Try Leki ones, they are widely available and will last the month no matter the poling technique.I would say that it is not the norm to get only one or two days use from a pair of rubber tips.
Just personally, as a staff hiker, I don't mind the hiking poles click-clack from other pilgrims at all, and it may be that the main benefit of rubber tip noise reduction could be to those pole hikers themselves. They are, after all, those who cannot escape from that click-clack for weeks or months on end !!Agree, that is absolutely not the norm. Though it seems a lot of people just keep walking with the worn rubber tip around the pole and the metal tip clicking and clacking merrily away. Try Leki ones, they are widely available and will last the month no matter the poling technique.
I just returned from walking the Madrid/San Salvador/Primitivo.Hi
This is a question for people who've already walked the Camino Francés.
From your observations what percentage of pilgrims use walking sticks on the Camino Francés?
And by walking sticks I mean the metal sticks with are specifically designed for walking and which are used in pairs.
Thinking about this my recollection is about 50%, but my memory of this isn't very clear because I never thought about it before.
Please note, this is not an invitation to engage in a pro- or anti-walking stick debate.
Thanks
Gerald
Definitely !!In my observation, I would say more women than men use them.
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