Man began to use the stick as an additional support when driving on rough terrain a very long time ago. It is difficult to find an ancient image of a highlander, traveler or shepherd without a stick. Meanwhile, trekking sticks have been used relatively recently in mountain tourism. Prior to them, alpenstocks and sometimes ski poles were used. Moreover, the use of the latter was of a limited, “professional” nature. Trackpalks owe their birth and popularity to the German company Leki, which in 1974 was the first to manufacture telescopic tracking poles. This invention allowed the use of the same sticks for any terrain and tourist growth, in addition, made them easy to transport and convenient. It can be said, it was a revolution, and now it is difficult to imagine a tourist making a multi-day transition, not armed with trekpolki.
What are tracking poles for?
The main purpose of track sticks is to unload joints and muscles of the lower extremities. Sticks distribute the load among more muscles and joints and make the arms and shoulders work actively. Research by the Expeditionary Doctor of the Bavarian Mining Rescue Service, Gottfried Neuroiter, quantifies this unloading. On average, it is 560 kg / min on the slope, and 480 kg / min on the slope. Which in terms of an hour of walking turns into an impressive 34 and 29 tons, respectively.
In addition, trekking poles give greater stability, which is very useful if the tourist carries a heavy backpack. In the aggregate of all the qualities, the track sticks can significantly increase the speed of movement (especially with the load) and the time of daylight transit. Moreover, they reduce general fatigue, muscle damage (fatigue) and allow faster recovery. Which was experimentally confirmed in 2010 by scientists at Northumbria University (England).
How to choose trekking poles
When choosing any tourist equipment, you need to remember that it should have a set of necessary properties, and not one, to which other valuable qualities are sacrificed. This rule should be guided by choosing tracking poles. Their only drawback is the presence of mass. Alas, they have not yet come up with absolutely light equipment and probably will not come up soon. Therefore, when trying to choose the lightest of the track sticks, make sure that their length and strength remain sufficient. After all, the only way a manufacturer can reduce their weight is to save metal and reduce length, which, in turn, can easily make sticks completely unsuitable for hiking. As for the choice of length, you should probably take more than 130 cm track sticks. Of course, for a person below 175 cm they are also suitable, but a spare ten centimeters in any case will not be superfluous. In general, there is no particular classification according to the length of the tracking poles. Otherwise, it would be necessary to describe all possible terrain conditions and variants of anthropometric data of people. Sticks should be chosen, focusing on personal experience and ideas, adding a little "in reserve" of strength and length.