Miscellany: A Cheapo Hiking Pole

My calf muscles are pretty sore right now, mostly because I rode my bike to yesterday's showing of Ratatouille when I probably shouldn't have. The soreness is bad enough that I don't want to stress my legs too much over the next couple of days. I searched my place for something to use as a makeshift cane, but there was nothing handy.


That's where the $10 Swissgear hiking pole, bought from Wal-Mart, comes in:



The whole thing is pretty light, and it extends and retracts fairly easily (you loosen and tighten the pole section by section). The poles are made in China, so they're cheap, and you won't feel bad if one gets accidentally bent or broken somehow on a hiking trip. Included with the package is a plastic cap to cover the bottom of the pole when you don't want the carbide tip to scratch into stuff (the cap is wide-bottomed, like the end of a crutch).


It is a help, especially going up and down stairs. The cork grip and spring-loaded tip take out much of the shock of normal travel. The pole isn't fancy carbon fiber or anything, but it seems pretty durable (it's not designed to support your full weight, but I've leaned on it heavily in gravel parking lots and over cement sidewalks with no apparent damage). I think this is a good find for the money, and it certainly works well enough for a temporary invalid.