Do You Use a Walking Stick in Boston When It's Icy?

A neighbor saw me out with my walking stick last week and asked me about it. She's a smart woman and she wanted one.

I'm usually asked if I've been injured or had a fall. I wonder why it's cool to use a stick when hiking in the woods but not when walking on icy sidewalks or climbing over snowbanks?

No one would ask this woman if she's been injured. They just think that she has outfitted herself for the conditions she expects. 

I don't use the stick because I've had an injury or because I'm unstable, but because I want to prevent falls by walking safely. I walk everywhere. It's my principal means of transportation and my main exercise. With icy sidewalks, unshoveled corners, and snow banks to navigate, I love the secure step that hiking sticks give me. 

This post has been updated on 02/11/15 with the newest versions of this product.

 

My favorite stick for city walking is a Hammers Hiking Pole like the one shown in the photos here. I find this type of stick very useful. It can be opened to a full five feet, if that is what you need, and then telescoped down to 27.5 inches. That's small enough to stow in a suitcase, backpack, or shopping bag.

Mine came with tips for smooth ground, ice, snow, and even has a camera mount hidden under the knob at the top. Turning a walking stick into a monopod is useful when both hiking and photography are on the agenda. I've used it, successfully, with my compact Canon pocket camera and heavy Nikon D600. The current models may be a bit different but this has been a reliable company.

I've also thought about getting this Hammers Shooting Stick/Monopod since it would always have a rest for my camera open and ready to use. 

Over the years, I've built a small collection of sticks.

One is an Irish Blackthorn Walking stick. This was always called a shillelagh in my family.

This was actually a very popular weapon in its day and its history is as a fighting stick. Here's is a link to a page with more on that aspect and the real history of these iconic staffs.

I also have a simple hickory hiking pole with a rawhide strap. The strap on a walking stick is not just there to keep you from dropping the pole. It is an integral part of the tool.

I've found a site that tells you about using walking sticks and how to use the strap to transfer the work of walking with a stick from your hand to your arm and shoulder.

Perhaps it's time to start our own fashion trend and make walking sticks the accessory to be seen using on Boston's icy streets.  

Details:
Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: istockphoto and Hammer site 
Here are links to my favorite and a couple others that are fun to have.