Hiking can do wonders to you both physically and mentally, however whilst undertaking this marvellous activity you need to make sure that you are always safe and have added support to protect you from dangerous situations that may be caused by an uneven terrain. The perfect equipment that can aid you during hiking is a hiking stick. The wooden hiking stick is amongst the most sturdiest and strongest and will provide you with many benefits on your hiking trips.
Here are some of them:
A Wooden Hiking Stick Increases Stamina
A wooden hiking stick takes most of your body weight away from your legs and feet, distributing it over your arms, and since you use your legs more than your arms when hiking you will be able to hike for longer periods of time. This is also beneficial for when you’re climbing slopes and hills, as you can use the sticks to take the excess pressure from your legs, climbing the hills with much more ease.
Firmer Balance
There are bound to be rocks and boulders, fallen tree trunks, uneven terrain, small streams and muddy areas on your hikes and you might be concerned about tripping over. However, a wooden walking stick will take all your worries away, as you can use it to balance when you find yourself in doubt whether you’re going to be able to make it up that extremely steep hill. One essential thing to keep in mind is to be extra careful when navigating amongst rocks and boulders, as there is a chance that the thin tip of your wooden hiking stick may get stuck in between tightly spaced rocks, that could cause your sticks to break.
Eliminates Excessive Painful Pressure From Your Knees
Our knees are one of the most sensitive, fragile parts of our legs and when we step over bumpy trails full of rocks and boulders, we may feel stabbing pains in them. The wooden hiking stick enables you to take away the load from your legs, reducing the risk of knee pain.
The wooden hiking stick has some unexpected benefits that you may or may not have thought about.
Here are a few:
- Walking for hours on end with your hands dangling downwards may cause the blood to gather at tips of your fingers which may cause pain and swelling. Holding the wooden hiking stick and swapping from one hand to the other at regular intervals will keep your arms raised, preventing this from happening.
- You should probably expect to lay eyes on wild-life with every step that you take, especially spiders who love to knit webs and prey on their enemies at the bottom of tree trunks where they find humidity and cosiness. A wooden hiking stick can break away these webs before they tickle at your calves.
- There are also bound to be snakes and stray dogs about, so you can use your wooden hiking stick as a tool to protect yourself from these animals.
- It’s always a good idea to stop once in a while on your hike to catch your breath and maybe take a sip of water. A wooden hiking stick will provide you with the support that you need, as you can let your body weight rest on it, while you rejuvenate your energy.
- You cannot be certain of what you are going to come across up in the hills, so it is best to make a loud tapping noise occasionally to scare anything that may be considering to follow your path.
- The path you have chosen to follow may be partially blocked with leaves and branches, as well as rocks, and a wooden hiking stick is an excellent tool to use in order to move these aside.
Here are two wooden hiking stick that we thought you may be interested in:
The first is the Rope Wrapped Wooden Walking stick with Hand-carved Eagle Design by SE. This hiking staff is 55” in length and is made of Bianbai wood, which although does not place it amongst the strongest of woods, comes with a shiny finish that protects it against any extreme weather conditions, particularly rain. The top part of this wooden hiking stick is wrapped in rope, to give you a better, firmer grip. It comes with an attached wrist strap which you can wrap around your wrist while walking for added support and to ensure that your hiking stick will not abruptly fall to the floor, and potentially break. You may also use the wrist strap for hanging when storing your hiking stick away.
- Hand-carved eagle design 55" walking/hiking stick
- Rope wrapped for a steadier grip
- SE designed steel spike with metal-reinforced removable rubber tip cover for excellent traction
- Wrist strap can be used while walking, or for hanging while storing
- Made of hard pine wood with weatherproof finish on the body
The second is the Heavy Duty Wooden Walking stick by SE. The SE WS632-60 is much more stronger and sturdier that the SE WS626-55RE as it is made of hard pine wood. It is 60” in length. The diameter of this wooden hiking stick may be different on every stick as it is hard out of natural wood. It comes with a wrist strap, which is excellent for hanging when storing away and wrapping around your wrist to eliminate the risk of the stick unexpectedly falling to the ground and breaking.
- SE designed steel spike with metal-reinforced removable rubber tip cover for excellent traction
- Made of hard pine wood
- Weatherproof finish on the body
- Wrist strap can be used while walking, or for hanging while storing
- Diameter may vary due to walking stick being hand carved out of natural wood
Although, having a wooden hiking stick is better than not carrying one at all, it is good to know that you need to have strong upper body strength to carry these along with you on your hikes, as they are quite heavy. Because of this they are not amongst the most popular and so are not manufactured extensively. Another, downside is that they are never height adjustable, so may need to be cut to your own height. This also means that once you purchase a wooden hiking staff, the only person it would be suitable for is the purchaser.
So, if you’re a big fan of walking in those gruelling hills and mountains, and you want to ensure that you’re safe and secure throughout the whole journey, then a hiking stick is the perfect mobility aid equipment for you.