I started using trekking poles on my everyday walks about eight months ago, and I wish I had done it sooner. I am Odessa, a retired school nurse in Bend, Oregon, and I walk four to six miles most days with my dog Juniper. My knees are not what they were, and the first time I tried a pair of TrailBuddy trekking poles, I noticed the difference before I even reached the end of my street. This list is the ten reasons I keep reaching for them, in the order they matter to me.
The poles I reach for every single morning
TrailBuddy trekking poles are the ones leaning by my front door right now. They collapse small, they feel steady on pavement and dirt, and they have held up through a full Oregon winter.
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The first time I walked the Deschutes River Trail with poles, I paid attention to my knees on the short downhill sections near the old mill. With the poles, I could feel my arms taking some of the weight. It is not a cure for arthritis, and I am not going to claim it is. But for me, the difference between a 4 mile walk with poles and a 4 mile walk without them is the difference between feeling fine the next morning and feeling stiff. On a cold morning last February, I did the same 3 mile loop without them because I left the poles in the car, and my right knee ached for two days afterward. That was the day I stopped leaving them behind.
They give me a place to put my hands when Juniper stops to sniff
Juniper is a 7 year old Australian shepherd mix, about 45 pounds, and she stops to investigate every interesting smell. Before poles, I would stand there with my arms crossed or my hands in my pockets. Now I rest my hands on the grips and shift my weight comfortably. It sounds small, but when you stop twenty times in a mile, it adds up. On our usual two mile morning loop, I counted 17 stops one day, and every one of them was easier with the poles in my hands.
They help me keep my balance on icy patches in winter
Bend gets cold mornings, and the river path can have black ice in the shade. I have had two close calls in the past few years, both on mornings when I did not have poles with me. With the TrailBuddy poles, I have a third point of contact with the ground. I still walk carefully, but I do not feel like one slick step is going to put me on the pavement. Last December, I crossed a shaded stretch near the footbridge that I would have turned around on before, and the poles made it feel manageable.
They make hills feel shorter
There is a stretch of the river path that climbs gently for about half a mile, and I used to dread it. With poles, I plant them and let my arms help push me up. The hill is the same length, but it does not feel like the same hill. On the steeper sections near Pilot Butte, I notice it even more. I timed myself on that half mile climb one morning in March: 11 minutes with poles, compared to 13 minutes without them a few days earlier. The pace is not the point, but the difference tells me my arms are doing real work.
They collapse down small enough to fit in my SUV
I drive a small SUV to trailheads, and space is always tight. The TrailBuddy poles fold down into sections, and the whole pair fits in the back with my walking shoes and Juniper's water bowl. I keep them in the car all the time now, which means I actually use them instead of leaving them at home. On a weekend trip to a trailhead east of town, I packed them under the cargo cover with a jacket and a small cooler, and they did not get in the way once.
The cork grips do not slip when my hands get sweaty
I walk warm in the summer, and Juniper runs warm too, so we take plenty of shade breaks. My hands still sweat on the longer walks. The cork grips on the TrailBuddy poles get grippier when they are damp, which is the opposite of the rubber grips on the old pair I tried years ago. That old pair is the reason I almost gave up on poles entirely. On a hot afternoon in July, I did a full 5 mile walk without once adjusting my grip, and that had never happened with the rubber pair.
They help me keep a steady pace on flat sections
On the flat parts of the path, I fall into a rhythm with the poles. Left, right, left, right. It keeps me from slowing down without noticing, and it gives my upper body something to do. My watch says my average pace is a little faster on the days I carry poles, but the real benefit is that the walk feels more intentional. On a gray Tuesday in September, I covered my usual 4 mile route in 1 hour and 32 minutes, a few minutes faster than my average without poles, and I was not trying to hurry.
They give me something to lean on when Juniper spots a deer
Juniper pulls when she sees deer, and she has caught me off balance more than once. With a pole planted, I can brace myself before she gets going. I also use the pole to gently redirect her attention back to the path. It is not a training tool, but it is a useful extra hand. One morning near the river, she locked onto a deer across the water and lunged before I could react. The planted pole kept me upright, and we finished the walk without any trouble.
They make me feel steadier on uneven ground
The easy trails near Bend still have roots and loose rocks. I took the TrailBuddy poles on a weekend walk up a washboard gravel road, and I was glad to have them on the way back down. The baskets on the bottom keep the tips from sinking into soft dirt, and the carbide tips bite into rock without slipping. On a section of loose scree near the top, I planted both poles and picked my way down without once feeling unsteady.
They have held up through a full year of daily use
I have had my TrailBuddy poles for about eight months, and they have been rained on, frozen, dropped on pavement, and stuffed into the back of my SUV more times than I can count. The locking mechanisms still hold tight, and the tips still look good. I have not had to replace anything, which is more than I can say for the cheap pair I bought at a big box store a few years ago. Those started slipping within a month, and one of the baskets fell off on a walk. The TrailBuddy pair has not given me a single reason to fuss with them.
What I'd Skip
If you only walk on perfectly flat, dry pavement for ten minutes at a time, you probably do not need trekking poles. They are also not a substitute for a cane or a walker if your doctor has told you to use one. And if you hate carrying things in your hands, poles will feel like a chore no matter how much they help your knees. I would skip them in those cases, and I would not feel bad about it.
The difference between a 4 mile walk with poles and a 4 mile walk without them is the difference between feeling fine the next morning and feeling stiff.
If your knees talk to you on walks, this is worth trying
The TrailBuddy trekking poles are the pair I keep in my car and grab every morning. They are not magic, but they made my daily walks noticeably easier.
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