hiking staff questions

Midnight Scout said:
I have picked up several hiking sticks over the years. A great one I got for $6 was a hickory stick. I wanted to keep it, but it would not fit in my luggage for the flight back home.

Nowadays, I cheat by using a collapsible titanium staff. It is small enough to fit in luggage for air travel and I can extend it to a comfortable length for hiking.
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A few years ago, I picked up a 4" staff at the Blade Show, and brought it on the plane with me. The attendant was good enough to hold it in a compartment up front so I didn't have to fumble with it in my seat.

Where do you get a collapsible titanium staff? I had a good aluminum model with a wooden ball top. It could collapse to cane height for ordinary walking, and on up to about shoulder height for the trail. I like to be able to adjust the height, depending on trail conditions, and as Big Mike points out, there's a lot more use to a staff than just support, although I need that more than most to compensate for a missing foot. :)
 
Bumppo, I don't think I mentioned this to you before, but because your location is so long, it forces your posts to scroll off the edge of my screen. So I don't read anything you write, because I hate playing ping-pong with a post.
 
stingray4540 said:
Personally I use a coating that I made that contains linseed oil, pine pitch, and cut with turpentine.

I coated my wife's staff this way, and use a copper end cap like you say. I don't think you will need the 6" pipe or any other wrapping. The finish dryed pretty hard, but that may be due to the addition of the pine sap? Either way, it is pretty waterproof and durable, and adds a nice darkening to the wood that tung oil won't.

I wrapped a section of paracord for the handle area and left a lanyard loop.

Here's some pics:

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I just found a suitable staff for myself. and am currently working on it. It will be about as tall as I am, maybe a little shorter when I'm finished.
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Mine has the same wrap and cap. (hey that rhymed :cool:)

Mine is just a plain 1" by 48" dowel with a para-cord wrap and a brass pipe cap, I also drilled a lanyard hole that I lined with some 1/4" copper and put some more para-cord through. attached to the lanyard is a firo rod and a SAK huntsman.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Where do you get a collapsible titanium staff?

... although I need that more than most to compensate for a missing foot. :)
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My titanium collapsible staff is made by Komerdell. The model I have is called the Travelite Titanal, It closes to about 18". It's light and when it is extended it does not flex so it is very sturdy.

Missing foot? :confused: Sorry to hear about that! Good to see that you don't let that stop you.
 
Thanks! I found the Komperdell brand on a few websites like REI and Sierra Trading, one Titanal model, and a lot of other very good-looking non-titanium poles also. Now I have some picking and choosing to do. :thumbup:
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Thanks! I found the Komperdell brand on a few websites like REI and Sierra Trading, one Titanal model, and a lot of other very good-looking non-titanium poles also. Now I have some picking and choosing to do. :thumbup:
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I use Komperdell aluminum collapsible poles whenever I hike. I would like to use wooden poles, but a staff is too large for travel, and I prefer two poles rather than just one. The wooden staffs are more appealing, I admit.

:thumbup:

Andy
 
skimmerhorn said:
i backback in the northern rockies along with my wife. been up and down vertical side hills to get to mountain lakes to fish. a stick is only in the way. have made our on trails to get to certain spots. never used a stick. balance!! climbed peaks for the fun of it. my knees are fine. sticks only make you weaker!! why use something i don't need? less is more in the wilderness. my guess is that most have never been there.
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Was a backpack guide for 3 years and poles are pretty necessary to a guy that was hit and dragged by a forklift, 11 months compo and 2 reconstructions on my knee. BTW the B.C. Alpine club praises the use of poles or staves, but what do they know. That superman complex is only a car accident away from kryptonite, don't ever get old either.......
 
Brad "the butcher";6768165 said:
That superman complex is only a car accident away from kryptonite, don't ever get old either.......
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That superman complex is only a step onto loose gravel away from not being able to catch himself from falling.

One of my trails went down a ravine with loose rocks and it was fun running down it with the rocks spilling out from under my boots -- as long as I had a heavy staff. Three legs are much more stable than two. :D

But I find it interesting that the omnipotent and self-sufficient man couldn't even maintain his place here on an internet forum. The wilderness can be much less forgiving than we are.
 
Esav BenJamin,
Thank you for the heads up,
Is the issue corrected, or did I misunderstand?
 
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You got it. Actually, if you had cut it to about half of what you had, it would work fine.
 
I went to Home Depot the other day, picked up a hardwood replacement handle for some kinda tool.

Drilled a hole, lined it with tubing, put on a wrist loop and wrapped about 10' of paracord below that.

Drilled a hole in the tip, ran a lag bolt through a washer, squirted superglue on the threads, and ran it into the hole.

Voila!

New walking stick. I'll just use it around here.......

Andy
 
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