Stick stashers - a clever way to temporarily stow your hiking poles

[trecile]

I recently came across this product that looks like an easy way to temporarily stow your hiking poles. It consists of magnets - you attach one set to your poles, and the other to your backpack.

Here's the website, though I bet that someone could come up with a DIY solution too.

Stick Stashers – Spuds Adventure Gear

spudsadventuregear.com

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Osprey packs come with their own hiking pole holders, but possibly you are referring to storing them inside your pack. I use very chunky rubber tips anyway, that would never make a hole.

 

[trecile]

Osprey packs come with their own hiking pole holders, but possibly you are referring to storing them inside your pack. I use very chunky rubber tips anyway, that would never make a hole.

No, completely different. Here's a video from the website showing them in action.

 

[Telelama]

Now that's a great idea!

Like so many others, we primarily carry Osprey (plus they're from our home US state of Colorado!), so there's a nicely built-in carry for poles as Camino Chrissy notes above.

Funny story; a young woman we met near the end of the Frances, right around Palas del Rei, had been carry her poles for long periods of time. So I pointed out to her that she didn't need to carry her poles, that her Osprey had a built-in carry system. She stopped in her tracks, looked at me in dismay and said; "I've been carrying these poles for 400 miles and now someone tells me!"

Now she knows.

 

[trecile]

Funny story; a young woman we met near the end of the Frances, right around Palas del Rei, had been carry her poles for long periods of time. So I pointed out to her that she didn't need to carry her poles, that her Osprey had a built-in carry system. She stopped in her tracks, looked at me in dismay and said; "I've been carrying these poles for 400 miles and now someone tells me!"

Why was she not using her poles?

 

[dougfitz]

Why was she not using her poles?

Exactly! If you have them, use them, don't carry them. They cannot help you if they aren't with one end in your hands and the other making regular contact with the ground.

 

[makingtrax]

Exactly! If you have them, use them, don't carry them. They cannot help you if they aren't with one end in your hands and the other making regular contact with the ground.

Similar to carrying instead of wearing your cycle helmet!!

 

[t2andreo]

While a clever idea at first glance, I would not like the sticks swinging to and fro. Also, if a stick gets caught on anything, the magnet will not hold it.

I use the Osprey Kestrel rucksack with a left-side bungee cord holder. It works to do the same thing, and came with the pack. No problems with this method in nearly 8 years of use.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[trecile]

While a clever idea at first glance, I would not like the sticks swinging to and fro. Also, if a stick gets caught on anything, the magnet will not hold it.

I think that it would be useful for stowing the poles very temporarily, like for taking pictures.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I actually have never used my Osprey tote bungees. I normally use just one of my poles and stow the other one fully collapsed in a side pocket and the loop above it.

 

[CWBuff]

I think I'm with @t2andreo - I dont think I'd like them to swing behind me and I'd be more nervous that I would simply lose one or both at some point.

Yes, as @trecile points - there could be a merit for freeing your hands to take a picture, et al, but somehow I did survived walking 900km and taking 2.5K photos and over 100 videos.

IIRC, I stashed them into the backpack loops (I have Gregory Zulu) perhaps 3 times. I'm perfectly fine having both of my poles in one hand carrying them handles down sort of behind my arm (like a musket without a sling). The need for use can come up very fast and it'll take no time to get them ready

But hey - to each their own.

 

[dougfitz]

I think that it would be useful for stowing the poles very temporarily, like for taking pictures.

That might help, but if the straps are being worn correctly on a technical pole, the pole will fall away from one's hands and not be a major impediment to taking a photo. That said, there may be circumstances where it would be desirable to completely remove the poles. The other reason promoted in the video, scrambling up rock faces, seems pretty irrelevant in the context of the camino. But that doesn't mean that there aren't people who do want to stow their poles, and that will always be their prerogative.

 

[trecile]

I do usually let my poles dangle from my arms when I take photos.

 

[David Tallan]

Exactly! If you have them, use them, don't carry them. They cannot help you if they aren't with one end in your hands and the other making regular contact with the ground.

I tend to say it is their job to carry me, not my job to carry them.

 

[t2andreo]

I think that it would be useful for stowing the poles very temporarily, like for taking pictures.

I usually hold them in one or the other armpit when taking photos. But these clips would work too.

I have also seen many pilgrims jam their poles into the horizontal sternum strap while taking photos.

It's all good.

Hope this helps.

Tom

 

[Judy T]

I use and recommend these minimalist bungee attachments: https://www.gossamergear.com/collections/accessories/products/lightrek-pack-bungee-attachment . They effectively attach sticks, umbrella, fishing rods, etc. to your pack.

 

[Janade]

Besides walking caminos every few years, I also hike a great deal. I can’t count the times when I have had to throw my poles up or down ahead of me as I needed to use my hands while rock scrambling. Or how often I’ve leaned my poles on my abdomen as I’ve retrieved my phone from my pocket to take a picture, only to have one or both fall to the ground. I think the Spuds would be a great solution for those short-term situations.

The only time I stash my poles in my carry loops on my backpack is if I’m boarding a train or going into a restaurant or shop, or overnight at an albergue or such. Poles are meant to be used while you walk/hike - not stashed away.

 

[Stivandrer]

my Osprey Kestrel 48 has two long zipped pockets on either side for storing my Leki Vario Micro poles that colapses to38 cm. I use this option when packing for storing in the hull...
Does other Osprey sizes have this as well ?

 

[Walkalong]

There's no end of great ideas for outdoor kit. A carabiner attached to the shoulder strap has many versatile uses, including holding trekking poles.

 

[DBC]

Why was she not using her poles?

Probably because she didn’t need to or want to. Her choice. You don’t have to agree with it or challenge it.
Because of the way osteoarthritis has manifested in my knees I only need my poles for downhills, and not for flats or uphills. I sometimes use them on steep uphills towards the end of the day, but for the flat sections between hills I stow them in a DIY copy of the Osprey system.

 

[BrianP]

I’m have the Stick Stashers and they work great - you don’t have to collapse the pole like you do on the Osprey pack system. It’s super easy to “stash” your poles for a minute or two to take a picture, use your phone, or eat a snack, without stopping. I have used them more than I thought I would. Holding force is strong.

 

[Juspassinthru]

Why was she not using her poles?

Carrying them is probably better than using them incorrectly.

Back on subject, I have 3 Osprey packs and I do use the pole straps when I don’t want to use my poles or when I just need to keep my gear together. Osprey packs sometimes lack enough external attachment points, I sometimes use the pole straps for other things too. Any port in a storm…

 

[ShoshTrvls]

I'm tempted to try these as I find myself carrying my poles when I don't need them (usually when I'm walking on sidewalks through towns and cities) simply because I'm too lazy to take off my pack and stash them using the bungee and loop.

 

[dougfitz]

Carrying them is probably better than using them incorrectly.

I wouldn't think so. At least if they are in your hands, there is the prospect that they can help you with your balance, much that same as an old-fashioned walking staff might. That mightn't be the only reason, but it is the one that came immediately to mind.

 

[Juspassinthru]

I wouldn't think so. At least if they are in your hands, there is the prospect that they can help you with your balance, much that same as an old-fashioned walking staff might. That mightn't be the only reason, but it is the one that came immediately to mind.

@dougfitz I normally agree with you and I don’t completely disagree this time. But I saw some pilgrims this past spring who had poles, they probably thought they should but never learned to use them. They tripped over them (saw it), drug them behind (saw it several times) and were quite probably a danger to themselves and others when they had poles in hand.

In all seriousness, poles are a great tool and I recommend them. I also recommend learning how to use them. Future pilgrims, hikers and walkers…YouTube!

 

[dougfitz]

But I saw some pilgrims this past spring who had poles, they probably thought they should but never learned to use them.

I know, and I also blame retailers who don't explain to people who buy poles even the basics. I think it is shameful that one might spend quite a lot for reasonable poles, and not have any explanation given.

In all seriousness, poles are a great tool and I recommend them. I also recommend learning how to use them. Future pilgrims, hikers and walkers…YouTube!

You are spot on. Most of the advice I see on YouTube is reasonable. The advice provided by OEMs like Leki and Helinox was always pretty good if you can find it. Some others seemed to get carried away with variations of good practice that I don't think would work very well. When I have tried these, I have abandoned those sorts of funny techniques pretty quickly. If you're learning or not a very experienced pole user, stay with the basics and learn to do those well.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

In this last year I was on some camino where I met a guy who used them (or something like them)

I met him because I was on a "bushy" path... I was walking along and all I saw was a perfectly good pole stuck in a bush.

I picked up the pole, put it in my pack, and kept moving forward. About a half an hour later I came upon the guy with a single matching pole still attached to his backpack.

I passed him and stopped, turned to him and pointed at the pole in my bag and said, "this yours?"

He looked a little shocked, reached around his own bag and then sheepishly smiled and said... "yes, thank you... I got these new magnet things..."

I have no clue if he was using them correctly, or if they were the same model.

 

[SYates]

Until you brush against a building or tree and your sticks fall off ...
BC SY

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I personally would never trust a magnetic thingy to hold my pole/s. I would constantly be thinking about them and trying to be extra careful to not jostle them in unusual terrain, lest they would fall off...apparently it does happen.