Hiking: Walking stick > knife for protection?

W

Wildewinds

Joined
Nov 20, 2006
Messages
600
Thanks to you dorks, I'm all paranoid about being in the woods now. This damn forum has too many horror stories. While a nice knife used to be enough to give me a false sense of security versus any wild animals and/or people, now I know better.

When I went out for a solo hike the other day, every narrow section bordered by trees or rocks was a potential ambush site for a cougar or an escaped tiger from the zoo or maybe a rabid bear. I was extra vigilant and made sure I could pull out the knife quickly. Luckily, I survived to the top of the hill.

The trail was a doozy. Switchbacks galore. After I got to the top, I cut myself a walking stick to use for the way down.

On to the moral of this story... once I had my stick, I felt much safer. I think the biggest thing was that it was in my hand at all times, unlike a knife that's kept in its sheath and has to be drawn. In addition, the added reach of the stick (it was about 5' long) was much more comforting than the thought of having to get up close to use the knife to defend myself. I did sharpen the point enough to make it an effective spear.

So, what do you guys think? Would you prefer a knife over a stick as a first line of defense, or not?
 
I think a walking stick is a better primary defense since it gives you distance. plus as you said its always in your hand. I use a collapsable aluminum walking stick which would probably suck to swing but i could probably disable someone with a well placed thrust.


My horror story.


I was hiking through a small wild area near my home, It was a nice spring day and there were alot of people on the trails. I got to a large stretch near the center at least two miles in most directions from a road or civilization. I saw a man walking towards me, the man was fairly large with the build of an athelete who has let himself go, walking shirtless with his shirt tied around his waist, his shaved head was banging in time to the music from his walkman and in his right hand was a stick. this was not a walking stick but a three foot length of wood that he was swinging also in time with his music (heavy metal guessing from the beat). I had marked him as a potential risk but not an immediate threat in fact he looked somewhat comical.

That was until he grew closer and i recognized his face. He was a former patient of mine from the psychiatric hospital i worked in. I rembered him as having violent confrontations with other patients and staff and although we had never had an altercation I knew the potential was there. I saw the look of recognition on his face as he approached me. I had a moment of fear as i decided wether to go for the knife in my pocket or use my walking stick.


As it turned out, the man was in a friendly mood and we had a pleasant conversation about how good things were going for him since discharge. He also commented that i had always treated him well during his stay. "whew"


Anyway i would like to think my walking stick was up to the task but im glad i diddnt have to find out.
 
Stick over knife by far, for the reasons mentioned. Its already in your hand, is a more innocent item in peoples eyes if something does happen and police are involved, and I think blunt force truma is faster to disable than a cut or stab.

I've had a problem with a partial disability for the past 30 years since my medical discharge from the service due to an injury to my right ankle. As a result I've used a walking stick, and when in the woods a hornbeam staff. The hiking staff was used to kill a pitbull that attacked our welsh corgi a couple of years ago. In the immediate aftermath it was used on the irrate pit owner who thought it highly unreasonable of me to hit his dog while it was tearing into our corgi who was on the leash while his pit was roaming free. The park police and country police who responded did not charge me, but did charge him with a couple of charges before he got out of the hospital. He tried to sue me, but the judge threw it right out of court and told his attorney not to bring another case like that again to clutter up his docket.

But thats the point, there was police involved, and the fact that I used a innocent looking hiking stick instead of some bowie or combat/tactical knife, made it look that much more like i was the innocent one. If I had used a knife on the pitbulls owner when he attacked me, I doubt it would have been dismissed so easy.

I'd say a hornbeam staff in the hand beats a knife in the sheath.
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
I think a walking stick is a better primary defense since it gives you distance. plus as you said its always in your hand. I use a collapsable aluminum walking stick which would probably suck to swing but i could probably disable someone with a well placed thrust.


My horror story.


I was hiking through a small wild area near my home, It was a nice spring day and there were alot of people on the trails. I got to a large stretch near the center at least two miles in most directions from a road or civilization. I saw a man walking towards me, the man was fairly large with the build of an athelete who has let himself go, walking shirtless with his shirt tied around his waist, his shaved head was banging in time to the music from his walkman and in his right hand was a stick. this was not a walking stick but a three foot length of wood that he was swinging also in time with his music (heavy metal guessing from the beat). I had marked him as a potential risk but not an immediate threat in fact he looked somewhat comical.

That was until he grew closer and i recognized his face. He was a former patient of mine from the psychiatric hospital i worked in. I rembered him as having violent confrontations with other patients and staff and although we had never had an altercation I knew the potential was there. I saw the look of recognition on his face as he approached me. I had a moment of fear as i decided wether to go for the knife in my pocket or use my walking stick.


As it turned out, the man was in a friendly mood and we had a pleasant conversation about how good things were going for him since discharge. He also commented that i had always treated him well during his stay. "whew"


Anyway i would like to think my walking stick was up to the task but im glad i diddnt have to find out.
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LOL EMSG! - Glad it didn't turn into a REAL horror story - Sounds like it could have been some good material for a murder mystery film....

The first time I thought about carrying a walking stick of some sort was a few years ago when my wife, young son and I were hiking a narrow trail and had to pass a group of young hootin' and hollerin' guys who looked (And smelled) like they just got out of a Marilyn Manson concert. I had my wife and kid get in front of me single file on the side away from the drop-off (Didn't want them behind me where I would have had to turn around if one of them wanted to get funny) and put on my best game face. I said hello to them as they passed, but I sure wasn't comfortable. They fell silent when they saw us and not a one of them returned my greeting. When they got one level up the switchback, they started saying rude things and threw a pine cone in our general direction. My blood was boiling at that point and I hustled my family along down the trail.

I've had a few times meetings up with folks that didn't look too good while hiking trails, but none that rattled me like this one did.

I've since been contemplating getting a wooden stick that might be useful if need be in a similar situation - Something sturdy with a small spike on the end of it or something...
 
Wildewinds said:
Thanks to you dorks, I'm all paranoid about being in the woods now. This damn forum has too many horror stories. While a nice knife used to be enough to give me a false sense of security versus any wild animals and/or people, now I know better.

When I went out for a solo hike the other day, every narrow section bordered by trees or rocks was a potential ambush site for a cougar or an escaped tiger from the zoo or maybe a rabid bear. I was extra vigilant and made sure I could pull out the knife quickly. Luckily, I survived to the top of the hill.

The trail was a doozy. Switchbacks galore. After I got to the top, I cut myself a walking stick to use for the way down.

On to the moral of this story... once I had my stick, I felt much safer. I think the biggest thing was that it was in my hand at all times, unlike a knife that's kept in its sheath and has to be drawn. In addition, the added reach of the stick (it was about 5' long) was much more comforting than the thought of having to get up close to use the knife to defend myself. I did sharpen the point enough to make it an effective spear.

So, what do you guys think? Would you prefer a knife over a stick as a first line of defense, or not?
Click to expand...

Regretfully, I think you need more time in the woods. Stress has us all acting a little shaky. As for the knife vs. stick; I have would usually carry a solid knife on my belt and a stick in hand. Not only might it help you to fend off some rabbid critter; but, it makes a walk in the woods a whole lot easier on the knees.

n2s
 
Wildewinds
The most dangerous things out in the walk-abouts today are other humans. The vast majority of people never feel need to learn anything about self defense until after they have been mugged or assaulted. It reminds me of my favorite definition of the Liberal vs Conservative. A conservative is a person who has been mugged. A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested.
The walking stick is a very formidable weapon but ain't worth a damned thing if you don't know how to properly use it. Same can be said of a knife, or gun, or tank?
As often taught in USMC defense courses, the most formidable weapon is a properly trained mind with any weapon. As I teach in my classes, awareness is the first key to avoiding the situations regarding superior skills. For specific animal attacks the stick is of course the best choice. No way to know if the animal is rabid or...? and the stick can hold them at bay until you either get away or the animal goes away. If its a human you'll most likely struggle over the stick until you have to draw a knife. But then what? Do you have any idea how to use it for defense? Probably not. So the alternate is to go get some specific training. You may find it to be fun if not aerobic and stimulating.
Merry Christmas to you all
Ol Shy & Bashful
 
Flyinrock said:
As often taught in USMC defense courses, the most formidable weapon is a properly trained mind with any weapon.
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Well said, Flyinrock.

I got a DVD for Christmas on stick fighting. Having trained for years in empty-hand self defense, I'm not a advocate for using books and videos to train with - you should find a teacher and a school to become adept in the martial arts. That being said, I thought the DVD was really good and useful in providing a basic set of drills to practice self-defense with a stick. So I thought I'd recommend it for anyone who might be interested - check it out:

http://www.turtlepress.com/Jang_Bong_DVD_p/dvd-jsd25.htm
 
Flyinrock said:
If its a human you'll most likely struggle over the stick until you have to draw a knife. But then what? Do you have any idea how to use it for defense? Probably not. So the alternate is to go get some specific training. You may find it to be fun if not aerobic and stimulating.
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I've had both stick and knife training. Not against animals, though. ;)

As stupid as this sounds, I'm more worried about animals.

After years of hiking and mountain biking I've got a bunch of stories of animal encounters. I don't have one bad people encounter. I carry a very noticeable sheathed knife when I hike, so maybe that has something to do with it.
 
I feel very safe with a stick in my hand and a knife on my belt. Humans are one thing, but in the part of KY where my family owns land....wild dogs are an issue. Just dogs running around uncontrolled. I have run accross 1 or 2 more than once, the idea of running into a pack is scary. They sometimes run in large packs in those hills. Since they are not scared of humans and some of the ones I have run accross have been rather large, they worry me when i am hiking down there(luckily I also carry my 1911, but thats not the point of the thread).
 
A staff has been a very effective weapon for a long time. I'm sure early man used them. Point it and you have a pike. Shepards used them, probably against wolves. Simple but effective tool that can be used as a weapon.

A walking stick of some weight and strength is a good thing to have in your hand walking in the woods. They can keep you from getting strained knees and sprained ankles, protect against falls. The aluminium ones are nice and light, but don't have as much effect if you are swinging it and defending yourself. I'd still have a handgun along as well as a knife. But as was said, the walking stick or staff is already in your hand and it would be your first line of defense.

Interesting thread.
 
While I'll agree that good sturdy walking sticks are great protection against dogs and other offenders, nothing beats walking with a buddy or two. Two or more hikers are an entirely different target than a single one.

The buddy system works - use it.
 
A nice stick tapered to hold my cold steel bushman.
It may take a few seconds to attach it and put in a cotter pin, but if I dont have time the stick would be the first choice.
 
kenk said:
While I'll agree that good sturdy walking sticks are great protection against dogs and other offenders, nothing beats walking with a buddy or two. Two or more hikers are an entirely different target than a single one.

The buddy system works - use it.
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When something goes wrong the first instinctive reaction is to run like he11. By the time you buddy figures out that you are not behind him, and works up the nerve to backtrack to where things went wrong, the police will be half way through their incident report. It is nice to have buddies; but, never bet too heavily on anything with feet and a sense of self preservation.

n2s
 
BOth!!!

You should have a blade on you with which you can cut many sticks grasshoper.

A stick gives distance but once that security window is closed its you or him close up.

Skam
 
For many years (before I started carrying a firearm post scouting days) while hiking with the boy scouts I carried a full size MSR hiking Ice Ax, 36" long very tough aluminum shaft with a 10" long (sharpened) steel "ax" and 4" wide scope on the other side. MSR initiated the forward angled Ice Axes back in the early 70's. The ax worked perfectly as a walking cane. I have no doubt I could have put all 10" thru any animal in a single swing. Always in my hand.
The ax is retired, replaced by a stout wood walking staff and a .357 (concealed for serious threats). I am far too old and disabled to take on anything with a knife, at least any knife I would carry on my belt. Besides, a .357 is far more intimidating than a knife, hence less likely to have to be used.
Ron Athay
 
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