I already wondered when this will show up here on the forum. I saw them a couple of weeks ago at The Walking Company. Let me put my impression this way: Those sticks are a typical case of looking-for-a-solution-where-there-is-no-problem.
First the good part. The stick itself is nicely engineered, the quality and the machining of the aluminum is nicely done, it feels good and solid in your hand (hey, doesnt THAT sound familiar?
) As a cool walking stick maybe not a bad gadget, but any self cut straight hard wood branch would do the same trick for free and real walking sticks (do I have to mention LEKI?) beat this arcane design hands down.
Now to the bad parts. When I tried to get the stick out of the rack I first thought it got stuck somewhere. No, it was its own weight which gave me trouble. Now you could say what a wimp. But Im not only 63 Im also used to throw/carry our >1 year old daughter around all day long (well, at least on the weekend), so Im a little bit used to that kind of activity. The thing was I tried the other sticks in the rack first. When you then grab the rescue rod you notice the unpleasant weight difference immediately. This gadget is just way to heavy to take it on any kind of extended excursion. On first thought, the idea of having these survival items with you sounds intriguing, but why the heck do I have to lug them around in my hand? Imagine all the muscles you have to use just to get that puppy moving all the time. Where is the actual advantage? The argument that all you need is the stick doesnt hold up. Combining two items (survival kit and walking stick) in one is DANGEROUS. Its the same like putting some stuff in a hollow handled knife. You loose the knife/stick you loose your survival kit. And this toy is even worse than the knife in that you carry the stick in your hand. A hand carried item is most likely the one you loose first when you get in some kind of trouble. Imaging wading a creek and slipping. What goes first downstream? Right, your stick with all the goodies. A survival kit belongs safely secured ON THE BODY and that at all times. You should be able to run with it, swim with it, climb a tree with it, ride a car/bike/kayak/etc with it
well, you get the idea. And what happens to your kit if you dont want to use the stick because you are in an environment where you cant carry it, lets say youre whitewater rafting? BAD choice!
Another thing is how difficult it is to get to those items and how difficult it is to put them back. Imagine you injured one hand and youre alone. Can you still unscrew the stick and get to the items you need? Lets hope so. I rather have a simple zippered pouch which I can open easily with one hand and can then pick the items I need without emptying it completely.
You might have notice that I didnt comment on the items included. Thats a.) because I havent used them in the appropriate situation and manner and b.) they are so generic, that any word spend on them would be a waste of time.
So in short again, this stick belongs in the category useless gizmo with questionable functionality which can give you a false sense of security and therefore put you in serious trouble. IMHO this thing is to be avoided like the plague by any knowledgeable outdoor person.
I was really excited at the idea of asking women if they wanted to see my pink Rescue Rod
, but then I found out that they only come in blue, silver, and cammo! I guess all the other odd colors they show are just to entice us into buying one.
