You've chosen your poles, adjusted them correctly, and you're ready for your first outing — but want a quick briefing first to make sure you know how to walk with your hiking poles? We've got you covered!
The many benefits of walking have convinced you to give it a go? The advantages of trekking poles have caught your attention? You've finally chosen the poles best suited to your activity and you're ready to put them to the test? To make the most of everything they offer, it's essential to use them correctly — for comfort and stability (and therefore safety), as well as performance and endurance.
Walking with poles is straightforward, but it's important to build good habits from the start! When you head out hiking with poles for the first time, it's perfectly natural to wonder whether there's a specific technique for using hiking poles, whether some methods work better than others, and whether there are mistakes to avoid. The answer is yes! There are indeed different techniques depending on personal preference — but above all, depending on the terrain ahead. Ascents, descents, traverses or obstacles: in this article, we share all our practical tips for using hiking poles correctly, wherever the trail takes you.
Walking with poles on flat terrain
The first thing to do before setting off is to correctly adjust the length of your poles. Once you're ready to go, hold your pole perpendicular to the ground, stand up straight, and check that your arm forms a right angle at the elbow. All good? Slip on your wrist straps and off you go!
There are different techniques for walking with poles — you can move using both poles simultaneously (mirroring each other) or alternating them.
Our recommendation is to use your poles in an alternating pattern, especially on flat terrain. This helps you maintain a good rhythm and is also the most natural method. You move right arm / left leg, then left arm / right leg — exactly as you would when walking normally. The poles become an extension of your arms; after a while, you'll barely notice they're there.
In both cases — simultaneous or alternating — we prefer to plant our poles slightly behind us to gain propulsion. If you find it more comfortable to place your poles in front of your body to "pull" yourself forward, make sure never to plant them directly in front of you, but to the sides, so they don't get in your way. Otherwise, you risk knocking against your poles, injuring yourself, or even falling — and above all, they'll slow you down rather than help you. Which is the exact opposite of the point.
A valuable aid for walking uphill
If the ascent is gentle and short, don't touch your pole length. If you start adjusting for every minor change in terrain, you'll never get anywhere. You'll need to make compromises — the height won't always be perfect, and if your arm doesn't form a precise 90° right angle every time, that's fine. If the ascent is steep over a long distance, then it makes sense to shorten your poles accordingly.
If the ascent is steep but short, you can remove your wrist straps and grip your poles below the handle, at the shaft or foam grip if your poles have one. It's not ideal — you won't have the strap support to take the strain off your hand and wrist — but for a short stretch it's an excellent alternative. Here too you can choose to use your poles alternately or simultaneously, especially on steep ground, to double your push.
Relieving your knees on descents
On descents, poles are primarily used to hold the hiker back and provide crucial balance. They allow for more confident movement and a greater sense of security, especially on steep, rough or obstacle-strewn terrain. They're also highly effective at reducing the impact of the slope on your joints (especially the knees) and thigh muscles (quadriceps) — which is no small thing.
Important: the first thing to do before heading into a descent is to remove your wrist straps so you're not restricted in the event of a fall, reducing the risk of injury. Once the straps are off, change your grip by holding the handles directly — or better still, pressing the palm of your hand down on top of the poles.
On descents, you can also choose whether or not to adjust your pole length based on the gradient and duration of the slope, then decide whether to use your poles alternately one by one, or together in pairs. If the slope is very gentle over a long distance and the terrain is not rugged, you can just as easily stow your poles in your backpack or clip them to your hip belt.
Moving across a traverse
On a traverse, as on a descent, you should remove your wrist straps to minimise any risk of restriction or injury. You can grip the lower pole at the handle or rest your palm on top of it (whichever feels more comfortable), and grip the upper pole below the handle, at the shaft.
For added comfort on a longer traverse, you have the option of adjusting just one of the two poles — shortening the higher one by a few centimetres. Then advance carefully.
Using trekking poles to get past an obstacle
Another situation you may encounter is crossing an obstacle: a river, a fallen tree trunk or a large boulder, for example. In these cases, poles are extremely useful for improving balance and provide great reassurance to the hiker. They also reduce the risk of slipping or falling. When crossing an obstacle, two techniques are available to you:
- You can position your poles above the obstacle and pull yourself forward. But as we mentioned earlier, we prefer the pole to act as a propulsor, so the second option is the better choice.
- Plant your poles at the base of the obstacle, then cross it. If the obstacle is on a descent, you can lengthen your poles — in which case, remove your wrist straps and change your grip, exactly as you would on a descent.
