Walking stick / hiking stick / hiking staff - What do you use?

Take a Hike!
Monday, November 17, 2025 is National Take a Hike Day. So, grab that stick and get out there!
Note! A friend carved this stick for me, and it is my go-to stick for trails or otherwise sauntering through uncharted (to me) territory, trail or no trail.
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I didn't even realize there was such a thing as National Take a Hike Day until I saw it over in the A Walk in Nature thread.
 
DirtDawg said:
Take a Hike!
Monday, November 17, 2025 is National Take a Hike Day. So, grab that stick and get out there!
Note! A friend carved this stick for me, and it is my go-to stick for trails or otherwise sauntering through uncharted (to me) territory, trail or no trail.
View attachment 3024435

I didn't even realize there was such a thing as National Take a Hike Day until I saw it over in the A Walk in Nature thread.
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We will be on the trail on Monday!!
🤗🥾🥾🎒
John 😁
 
National Take a Hike Day 2025
Reporting back:

Albeit a limited length saunter through the woods, it was a great day to be on the trail, and I only needed to share it with Liberty, my trusted hiking/sauntering partner.
Firefly Habitat? Who knew there was such a thing?
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One of my other trail partners got to share some time with Liberty on said day. 1995 Buck 112 Ranger with custom Elk Antler scales.
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DirtDawg said:
Walker & the Bear

1980-ish LB7 Uncle Henry Bear Paw
...and a walking stick I worked up from a deadfall branch with my Buck 703 back in 1986.

A friend gifted the LB7 to me a couple of years back, and I'm finally getting around to spiffing it up some. It looks to have never been sharpened, and maybe never even used. However, it spent a lot of time in the sheath over the years - likely a 1980-ish model, but I'm not sure - S/N T8938.
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Knives and Sticks - They just seem to go together.
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UPDATE: "Walker & the Bear"
It has been two years since I applied this tip guard. The far right image shows the tip after over two years of extensive use on pavement, concrete, trails, rocks, ice, snow, etc. I try to walk a couple of times a week at a few miles per walk on average, year round. This stuff wears like iron and has great grip on nearly all surfaces, including ice and snow. The only slippage I've encountered is wet leaves and loose gravel. Note! The key to a smooth finish is multiple coats (I do 3) and smooth it with an ice cube. Adds traction and saves wear & tear on the stick tip
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DirtDawg said:
UPDATE: "Walker & the Bear"
It has been two years since I applied this tip guard. The far right image shows the tip after over two years of extensive use on pavement, concrete, trails, rocks, ice, snow, etc. I try to walk a couple of times a week at a few miles per walk on average, year round. This stuff wears like iron and has great grip on nearly all surfaces, including ice and snow. The only slippage I've encountered is wet leaves and loose gravel. Note! The key to a smooth finish is multiple coats (I do 3) and smooth it with an ice cube. Adds traction and saves wear & tear on the stick tip
View attachment 3037263
Click to expand...
Wow! I'm going to try this!
 
DirtDawg said:
UPDATE: "Walker & the Bear"
It has been two years since I applied this tip guard. The far right image shows the tip after over two years of extensive use on pavement, concrete, trails, rocks, ice, snow, etc. I try to walk a couple of times a week at a few miles per walk on average, year round. This stuff wears like iron and has great grip on nearly all surfaces, including ice and snow. The only slippage I've encountered is wet leaves and loose gravel. Note! The key to a smooth finish is multiple coats (I do 3) and smooth it with an ice cube. Adds traction and saves wear & tear on the stick tip
View attachment 3037263
Click to expand...

OK, I got some Shoe Goo (turns out I ordered black, but that's OK) and spent a few days layering and allowing it to cure. I think this will be a great improvement! Left to right, Oak walking stick that I made about 40 years ago; oak walking stick made from a sapling that was growing under a power line a few years ago; and hard maple walking stick bought about 50 years ago somewhere "out east" when I was stationed in Connecticut. I tired the ice cube trick but couldn't manage to hold on to it!


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Ace Rimmer said:
OK, I got some Shoe Goo (turns out I ordered black, but that's OK) and spent a few days layering and allowing it to cure. I think this will be a great improvement! Left to right, Oak walking stick that I made about 40 years ago; oak walking stick made from a sapling that was growing under a power line a few years ago; and hard maple walking stick bought about 50 years ago somewhere "out east" when I was stationed in Connecticut. I tired the ice cube trick but couldn't manage to hold on to it!


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OOPS! Did I neglect to mention to make sure you have a small tub of cubes on the benchtop so you can grab another when the first gets too slippery? As the kids say, "my bad". Those turned out nice.
 
DirtDawg said:
Good lookin' stick. I really like the leather wrap. How long of a piece was needed to accomplish that wrap?
That looks to be quite the nice woodworking bench too.
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Thanks - I didn't keep track of how long the leather wrap was - but here's an estimate. Stick about 1.75" diameter, 6" long wrap. At 1.75" diameter, each loop is 5.5". 8 loops per inch x 6" = 48 loops. 48 x 5.5" = 264”. So about 22' of 1/8" wide leather, with another couple of feet for the lanyard.

The bench was a fun project. Ash, very heavy.
 
ron55 said:
Thanks - I didn't keep track of how long the leather wrap was - but here's an estimate. Stick about 1.75" diameter, 6" long wrap. At 1.75" diameter, each loop is 5.5". 8 loops per inch x 6" = 48 loops. 48 x 5.5" = 264”. So about 22' of 1/8" wide leather, with another couple of feet for the lanyard.

The bench was a fun project. Ash, very heavy.
Click to expand...
22 feet... I'm assuming there might well be a splice or two in there somewhere then.
 
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