Hi all,

Do you guys have any recomendations for a good hiking pole that doubles as a shooting stick. I have some excellent Kamperdell poles that I love and I use them as "improptu" shooting sticks. I'm curious as to whether or not some of the "gimmic" ones I see in Cabelas or other places are worth looking into.

Cheers

I had a Stoney Point hiking pole/shooting stick with the yoke on top to rest your rifle in. I practiced with it at the range but never actually shot in the field with it. I used it as a hiking pole but it wasn't great quality - the rubber foot pulled off and later on the metal tip pushed up into the aluminium tube.

The screw thread for the yoke is a standard tripod fitting so you could buy the Stoney Point yoke and fit it to a better quality hiking staff that has the correct screw fitting. I know at least one reputable company makes a "photo" hiking staff, I just can't remember who.

Ian

Leki makes an excellent trekking pole with an accessory V yoke that screws into the end of the pole. Excellent item it is their Sierra or national geographic and is advertised as a camera product but the accessory is what you need.

I tried it but gave up on the idea because the thing never worked better than wraping up in a sling and made a sorry hiking pole to boot

Are any of those poles strong enough to hold my full weight plus that of a pack, when it is jammed into the mountain side ways, and I lean on it heavily in the middle? I always wonder, and especially about the ones that can be extended or shortened, or are of multi-piece design. I used to have a 6' hazel wood stick, that I can't find right now. I'm using a sturdy 5' pine stick for now. I absolutely need the heavy support to get me off the mountain without knee trouble, hence my question and concern.

Frans

Frans....short answer is "nope".

The multisegmented ones won't hold your full weight, especially if you use a hiking stick the way I do coming downhill.

Cheers,
Canuck

Canuck,

You must use it much like me. The stick absolutely needs to be able to hold FULL weight and then some. I've found a way to go down steep inclines that actually is less hard on my knees but it does require three legs. The steeper the better actually (shorter descent, better ways to utilize the support). It's the endless pounding down mid-grade slopes without real support that in the end tires the muscles and allow the ligaments to stretch, with known consequences... PAIN!

Frans

Gentlemen, I've used poles, sticks, staffs, ice axes and all and any manner of hiking shafts and have settled on the simple cane... they work!

I'd never use anything else...

Too short for me. I use mine more like the Austrian do with their Alpenstock, for lateral support in the shale, and on descents. Just wish I could find back my hazel wood stick...
it's beginning to look like I genuinely lost it.

Frans

Franz, the woods are full of "sticks" gogetcherself another one!! Hint-saskatoon trees have been used for thousands of years as bow staves.

cheers

Chef, you clearly don't appreciate the art and science of finding the perfect hazel wood walking staff!

It needs to be 6 foot long, with minimal taper, thick enough to be sturdy, yet no so thick that it becomes bulky. Cut in the right time of the year, to make sure the bark stays on over the years, and then dried for a year in a cool area, flat on the ground, to make it light and prevent warping.

It's not just any "stick".

Frans