Do you actually use your walking stick for walking?

I have had a Crawford Surival Staff for years now.. I love that thing, and its got quite alot of survival value built into it. The blow gun may seem hokey but I can actually pick dates on a calander and hit them fairly easy at pretty decent ranges, and it sticks the dart good. I could see getting a small animal with it from maybe 20 feet.
Also the long blade attached to it makes a damn formidable spear, that could be used to spear fish, or defend yourself.
 
Just put this in the other thread:

Staff.jpg


You could have a pivoting hook if it's helpful to you.
 
I would feel handicapped to go in the woods or streams without one. For all the reasons already mentioned, balance, testing the bottom of a stream, taking the strain off the back and legs. Another thing I've noticed is that having that third support is a great aid when stalking, whether it's for hunting or just getting closer to observe some game or bird of interest. The stick allows you to control the weight and placement of your feet much better than walking unassisted. Check out ghilliestix.com for some ideas on the importance of the grip design.
 
Wow - I'm surprised to see so many responses that have basically the same thing to say. It looks like I'm going to have to give a walking stick a better chance.

I guess the trekking poles I have are just not that thick and seem like they will crumple under pressure. Not to mention that a wooden staff looks a heck of a lot better.

Next time I head out to the woods I will have to keep my eye out for a fairly straight looking piece of wood.

I think it'll be a heck of a lot of fun stripping the bark off and making it look exactly the way I want it to look.
 
I use a collapsible walking stick. I keep it collapsed when I walking on level ground and open it up when I am on hills. I find that a walking stick is great to have to get spider webs out of the way of the trail and to stick it ahead of you in brushy areas where there may be snakes and other unfriendly critters. I don't like carrying a wooden stick since you have to keep your arm going up and down all the time. Once mine is collapsed, it it out of the way.
 
I have a wood walking stick I use sometimes at home.

But mostly I use the trekking poles because they have the wrist loop and that way you don't grip them you just lay your arm in the loop and it removes most of the weight of your arm.

I got a pair for my wife mainly because I couldn't think of anything to get her.

Then I noticed she was kicking my ass on the uphills. Tried them myself and couldn't believe the difference.:thumbup:
 
hollowdweller said:
I have a wood walking stick I use sometimes at home.

But mostly I use the trekking poles because they have the wrist loop and that way you don't grip them you just lay your arm in the loop and it removes most of the weight of your arm.
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I picked up a dymondwood staff years ago that has a leather loop bolted near the top. I rest the side of my hand in the loop with my fingers holding the staff loosely, and it just swings along.

The dymondwood is too heavy for regular use though.

Make a regular wooden staff about shoulder height, wrap a grip with paracord and tie off the ends for a loop, or better yet, braid a wider loop for a hand rest.
 
I make lots of cane-length blackthorn walking sticks and usually have a lighter shoulder length one for hiking. I wouldn`t go on a long hike on rough ground with out it for all the reasons already listed.

If you`re going to make your own out of wood you find in the woods, and you want it to last for years, allow me to offer you some advice.

1) Select a living branch or sappling, not deadwood you found on the ground.
2) Leave the bark on.After you get home seal the ends with paint or wax and let it dry for a MINIMUM of 6 monthes. (One of my friends reccomends a year for each inch of thickness.)If it has any cuves you want to straighten, do it now while it`s gree by binding the stick tightly to something that`s already straight.
3) After it`s dried you can peel the bark then if you want. The point is that you want it to dry slowly so it doesn`t warp,crack, or check.
4) Seal with whatever you like. (Varnish, polyurethane, a few coats of tung oil, I know one guy who uses wax and a heatgun.Swears that once the wood is good and dried it soaks the melting wax right up.)
5) A ferrul or collar at the base isn`t required, but it can keep the end from mushrooming out as you use it, splitting, or soaking up alot of moisture when used in wet terrain. You can buy them on line at wood working sites. Or get a piece of pipe or a pipe end-cap at the hardware store.
6) You might also consider a rubber tip. Drugstores often sell replacement tips for canes, or hardware stores may have tips for chair and table legs.
 
I have a thin Osage orange walking stick . One end has a fork. In muddy terrain the fork keeps it from sinking in the mud. Its also used for pinning snakes and pushing vines and barbed wire.The fork allows it to grip logs , rocks and such making it a lot more stable when traversing such obstacles.The other end is pointed. It can be thrust in the ground and the fork end used to hang things like clothing, binoculars, cameras ... A forked walking stick is much handier, IMO ,than a staight staff.
 
Esav: Make a regular wooden staff about shoulder height, wrap a grip with paracord and tie off the ends for a loop, or better yet, braid a wider loop for a hand rest.
Click to expand...

Chosen-frozen: I make lots of cane-length blackthorn walking sticks and usually have a lighter shoulder length one for hiking. I wouldn`t go on a long hike on rough ground with out it for all the reasons already listed.

If you`re going to make your own out of wood you find in the woods, and you want it to last for years, allow me to offer you some advice.

1) Select a living branch or sappling, not deadwood you found on the ground.
2) Leave the bark on.After you get home seal the ends with paint or wax and let it dry for a MINIMUM of 6 monthes. (One of my friends reccomends a year for each inch of thickness.)If it has any cuves you want to straighten, do it now while it`s gree by binding the stick tightly to something that`s already straight.
3) After it`s dried you can peel the bark then if you want. The point is that you want it to dry slowly so it doesn`t warp,crack, or check.
4) Seal with whatever you like. (Varnish, polyurethane, a few coats of tung oil, I know one guy who uses wax and a heatgun.Swears that once the wood is good and dried it soaks the melting wax right up.)
5) A ferrul or collar at the base isn`t required, but it can keep the end from mushrooming out as you use it, splitting, or soaking up alot of moisture when used in wet terrain. You can buy them on line at wood working sites. Or get a piece of pipe or a pipe end-cap at the hardware store.
6) You might also consider a rubber tip. Drugstores often sell replacement tips for canes, or hardware stores may have tips for chair and table legs.
Click to expand...

dipbait: I have a thin Osage orange walking stick . One end has a fork. In muddy terrain the fork keeps it from sinking in the mud. Its also used for pinning snakes and pushing vines and barbed wire.The fork allows it to grip logs , rocks and such making it a lot more stable when traversing such obstacles.The other end is pointed. It can be thrust in the ground and the fork end used to hang things like clothing, binoculars, cameras ... A forked walking stick is much handier, IMO ,than a staight staff.
Click to expand...

Good advice, all.

Doc
 
today I was under the car fixing it ..

I forgot Im sposed to be taking it easy on the bulged disks and fractured vertebrae I got

tonight , Im using my walking stick allright , just to get up and down off my chair and move around the house or get into and out of the car

mine is just a palmtree that died and someone polished up some ... the root ball makes a neat handle / club head
 
Myal said:
today I was under the car fixing it ..

I forgot Im sposed to be taking it easy on the bulged disks and fractured vertebrae I got

tonight , Im using my walking stick allright , just to get up and down off my chair and move around the house or get into and out of the car

mine is just a palmtree that died and someone polished up some ... the root ball makes a neat handle / club head
Click to expand...

That sounds like a pretty cool one you've got there. Hope that back gets better quick and you are up and around soon.
 
Thanks mate :)
Ill be right in a couple days , no worries , stick up some pics of my walking stick too then
 
I use one I bought at the Scout Store. Fairly straight, prolly Ash. Drilled a second hole about 10 inches below the "lanyard hole" alread drilled. Cord wrapped the entore space between the holes with 3mm cord. It's been on several hikes and used as a tent/tarp pole.

I try not to hilk without some kind of hiking stick.
 
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I was visiting a friend in Austin and found my self a nice dry Ceder stick down at Barton Springs. Its a little bent at the top, but I found walking back to the car that I like it. I used it a couple times at Barton springs.

Steadying myself crossing over wet slippery rocks.
Retrieving my Fiancees flip flop from a steep hill

Its a little short(about chest high) and bent(lol) but I like it. Can't wait to get home and work on it.
 
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