You should buy trekking poles

If you are considering getting some trekking poles, get them. If you never thought about it — and you hike at least occasionally — get them. If you are a hiker and think you don't need them, you should seriously consider changing your mind — and get them :). Before I continue, for the people in the camp of "I've tried them, and they seem to do nothing": I only saw their benefits after I forced myself to use the proper technique. Oscar Hikes has a very good video about how to use trekking poles. It's not as easy as it looks; it requires some concentration at the beginning, but then it becomes muscle memory, like riding a bike. Since I started using them, I get less tired on hikes, and especially my knees have stopped hurting. They really help to spread the strain from just your legs to your arms as well. On a few steep uphill sections, I have actually felt my arms get more tired than my legs. That is a good indicator that they were contributing to the push! The following is a bit of an…