Trekking poles are something I never envisioned myself using; they appeared to me to be a luxury item and certain not a necessity. My opinion on that remains unchanged but luxury goods are certainly fun and can have utility. All my hiking prior to 2024 was done sans trekking poles. I received a pair for Christmas and was excited to try them out.
I am generally uncoordinated when it comes to my hands and arms; my foot-eye coordination is much better. I thought I might find them clumsy in hand and at first I did. I tried them out on a trail where, to my surprise, almost every other hiker I passed that day had some. I watched how they used them, how they advanced the poles in comparison to their gate. I determined that I prefer to use them like ski poles where you thrust both out in front of you at once instead of using them like animal with four legs, separately advancing them forward. I found them to be annoying when hiking on flat terrain but was thankful to have them once I hit the steep stuff. You can use them to help pull yourself up and save your legs from some of the hard work.
I was most excited to try them on the way down a steep ascent. I took them down the boulder trail on Mt Major in the Belknap range which I thought was a worthy test ground for that. My keen sense of balance and the fine motor skills in my ankles and feet have done me pretty well and so I was surprised at how much more balanced you feel when using poles on the way down. The extra two points of contact help you feel grounded and can help arrest some of your forward momentum you have so that you can more carefully choose your footing.
Some downsides I see are the fact that I’d rather stow them away when on flat ground which, because of their size, requires some creativity. I also can’t use them if I’m with my dog off leash, needing instead to keep a free hand open for the remote to his e-collar.
Another upside to poles I haven’t experienced yet but have seen others employ is testing the depth of water or mud before passing; it’ll save you a dry pair of socks.
The Wild East 