When winter arrives you can either spend your time wrapped up in a warm blanket or get outside and experience The Great Outdoors. Unless you spent a great deal of time on the ice as a child you probably don’t know a whole lot about snowshoeing. It really isn’t all that difficult and a little bit of Common Sense will go a long. There is one question that seems to pop up time and time again. How long should snowshoe poles actually be?
How Long Should Snowshoe Poles Be?
How to Select Pole Length
Most people prefer to adjust their poles on the trail. If you don’t already have a good set of poles you should try these Atlas 2 LockJaw Poles. Atlas Poles are moderately priced and offer a lot of support. You need a pole that’s going to be easy to adjust in the field. Big clasps are a must, because you’re going to be making adjustments with gloves on.
Adjust to The Incline
What seems right for you on flat ground probably won’t work for you in the hills. You need to adjust your poles to the current incline. You’ll probably want to shorten the pole for hill climbs and extend them on the descent. Play around with the length and see what works best for the terrain.
The easiest way to adjust the pole length is to hold your arm out straight and lower the pole down to the ground. On flat terrain your poles should create a 90 degree angle when held straight out. Personally I prefer my poles to be a little bit longer. I’m used to cross country skiing with longer poles.
Switching to Snowshoe Poles
With a ton of experience cross country skiing throughout my life I thought I knew everything there was to know about ski poles.I figured that I just strap on a pair of snowshoes and pull out my trusty cross country ski poles. Ski poles worked for a while but I decided to switch to the proper solution and get a good pair of Snowshoe poles.Boy was I glad to make the switch.
Snowshoe Poles Vs Ski Poles
Winter Outdoorsman have been using walking poles for hundreds of years to get through the snow. Our ancestors used crude walking sticks and they seemed to have gotten along just fine. So what’s the advantage of a real snowshoe pole over a ski pole?
When looking at these snowshoe poles and ski poles side by side they actually look quite similar.The primary advantage of traditional Snowshoe poles is that you can adjust the overall length. You’d be surprised how much difference is actually makes when tracking up and down Hills. Ski poles on the other hand have a fixed length that was design specifically to push skis. It will be pretty close to the correct length for most people but it isn’t the best tool for the job.
Advantage of Adjustable Snowshoe Poles
On flat Terrain you probably won’t notice a huge difference between these two poles. the biggest difference is going to be when you’re trekking up and down hills. It’s a lot easier to walk uphill using a shorter Pole and downhill using a longer Pole. adjustable poles allow you to shift the weight making it easier to walk up and down Hills.
Another major advantage of Snowshoe poles is that one pole can be shared among multiple family members. People of different heights are going to be able to use the same poles with a slight adjustment.
Adjustable Poles are Safer in Rough Conditions
There’s a reason that most seasoned Snowshoe hikers go for the adjustable poles. They are much safer to use in tough Terrain. You’ll be ablet to adjust the poles to the surrounding terrain and find what feels safest.
When you’re off a broken trail dealing with variable snow adjustable poles are vital. Anytime you’re hiking a slope with a bad fall potential poles are going to help you stabilize. Poles are mainly used to maintain control on steep ascents/descents. Poles should minimize your risk of needing to self arres with an axe.
Can You Use Trekking Poles With Snowshoes?
Trekking Poles are completely adjustable and look just like snowshoe poles. So can you use trekking poles in the snow? Well you can use the more expensive trekking poles in the snow, but they aren’t going to offer the same support. You’ll have to buy a set of specialized trekking pole snow basket tips to increase your stability in the snow. The biggest downside to going this route is that you’ll probably destroy your poles. Since you can normally see where you’re placing your pole without snow they don’t have to be as sturdy. The first time you sink into a rotted log and put additional weight on the pole it’ll probably snap.