[pct-l] Poles and pole locks

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

A really good use for the straps is to hold the poles almost  
backwards so that the straps rest over your knuckles. As you walk,  
the strap will flap around your knuckles making it harder for  
mosquitoes to bite you there. For some reason they always want to  
bite me at the base of my 4th fingers.

On Aug 27, 2010, at 12:53 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>   I started using poles three years ago.  I have the twist-lock  
> kind and
> they have never failed when I've needed them.
>
> However, I advise NEVER put the straps over your wrists when going  
> down
> anything dicey.  This summer on a steep, cross-country descent into  
> the
> middle fork of the san joaquin river I slipped on some of last year's
> leaves.  I put my hand down to catch myself, and the pole thrust my
> hand/arm/body out into space and I did a 180 down the little cliff,
> landing on my back/pack.  Without having the strap on I would have
> stopped my slide and grunted a bit.  As it was, I was miles from a
> maintained trail and thought about what had happened.  I was a bit
> spooked.   I keep the straps off now when hiking on anything steep, up
> or down...
>
> Jeffrey Olson
> Martin, SD