Walking Sticks

[CindyP]

Hey all, has anyone taken these through US security in a carryon? We don't check luggage and I'm thinking that there is no way I can get these on a plane. It would be wonderful if rentals in areas where there is a lot of walking/hiking would supply these or rent them.

I have used a single pole, not a double . At times it seemed to help a lot, at others I was collapsing it and attaching it to my backpack. Though a couple of years ago in Italy I wish I had a paid when we were in Cinque Terre. I had terrible pain in a knee going downhill and I almost fell once. Anything that would have taken any weight of my knee would have been a blessing. Thankfully the pain was mostly gone the next day and hasn't returned. But I now travel with elastic knee braces, just in case.

 

[Kathy]

We often carry walking sticks in our checked baggage, but I can't imagine you could bring in a carryon (even if they would fold up that small). Clearly, they could be used as a weapon.

I use walking sticks on our long distance walks (multiple day inn-to-inn walks, when we walk in all conditions). For day hikes, I don't use them unless a route is unusually rocky.

I've never seen walking sticks in a rental... or available for rent. I once stayed at a luxury inn in the Smoky Mountains that provided them.

 

[CindyP]

On our tour to Peru last year there were women selling inexpensive collapsible poles at the bus station before Maccu Pichu. A lot of people bought them. They weren't the most high tech but I know they helped the people that used them. At the end of the trip many of the poles were given to the tour guide because people didn't want to pack them. She could have a lucrative business reselling poles!

 

[Karen Frerichs]

I have never had a problem with my Rocky Mtn Ambler small collapsible stick, although it did get some attention from TSA once when the rubber tip on the end came off and the metal pointed end showed up in the x-ray machine.
BUT I have only taken it domestic carry-on so far... BTW, it folds to less than a foot and weighs 7 oz, so fits into my purse for when it is not needed.
I should probably be prepared to have it gate-checked when I fly to Italy in September....

 

[artnbarb]

We found a great deal on a pair of adjustable, sturdy hiking poles at a store in Switzerland called Landi. Our friends in Switzerland told us about Landi - it's probably one of the few bargains in Switzerland. 2 hiking poles were CHF 17! Art bought a pair of hiking shoes for CHF 40, and we bought a small day pack for CHF 14! We liked the day pack we stopped at another Landi to buy a second one.

It's also a grocery, garden supply shop, has farm/hiking clothes and accessories, as well as household items like pots and pans. If you see a Landi in Switzerland, it's worth a stop! There's one just outside of Lenk, and one in Gstaad, right behind the Coop. I'm sure the website will show you where they all are.