Field Report for LEKI Jr Hiking Poles
by
Brian Tannehill

Name: Brian Tannehill  
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 7” (1.7 m)
Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)
Email address: bj(at)tannehillclan(dot)com  
City, State, Country: Lompoc, California, USA
Date: 14 Mar 2004
 

Name: Dylan
Age: 10
Gender: Male
Height: Five feet (1.5 m) tall
Weight: 60 lbs (27 kg)

Name: Bryan
Age: 8
Gender: Male
Height: Four feet (1.2 m) tall
Weight: 40 lbs (18 kg)

Product Information:
Manufacturer: LEKI
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.leki.com
Mfg Weight: 14.4 oz. per pair (408 g)
My weight: 15.6 oz per pair (444 g)
MSRP: USA $39.95 per pr.(USD)/ Canada $64.95 (CD)

Backpacking Background:

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. The majority of the hunting has been done from a well established basecamp, venturing out from there for the day. Because of the young kids I have (2, 8, 10), I mostly do weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching anywhere along the central coast of California. I am also an avid mountain biker. My two oldest kids which are boys are getting to the point where they can come out more hiking and camping with me, and I am looking forward to this in the future. I now live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round. I have also recently been accepted to join a Search and Rescue team for the local area, and will be using the majority of my equipment for this, so it had better work!

Background information on my boys:

Initially I had applied to test these with one son, the oldest Dylan who is 10. After they arrived, and after the youngest boy saw them, he became very jealous of his older brother having these new tools, so I asked and he gets to test them out as well. The oldest boy is 10, and almost five feet (1.5 m) tall. The youngest boy Bryan is eight and is about four feet (1.2 m) tall. Neither one has used poles before, nor hiked a lot. We have used the poles 5 times on the local trails around my house. The trails have been anywhere from pavement to dirt to rock and no more than about 2 miles (3.2 km) roundtrip. The kids just aren't up to doing anyore than that right now. Elevation ranged from about 200 feet (61 m) to 2000 feet (610 m). Weather has varied from foggy and cold to sunny and warm.

The all important question I asked both boys is do they like them? I got a unanimous YES! What they liked about them was a little tougher to get out of them. One said he liked the poles because they helped him go up and down hills better. The other said he liked the poles because they were easy to adjust. On a couple of hikes towards the end Dylan would actually carry the poles instead of using them. When asked why, he said because he was tired of using them. He also said the buckles hurt his hands. We played with them, and readjusted them, and they do not seem to bother him anymore. I still like his idea of having Velcro straps instead of a hard plastic buckle.

From Dylan:
We have been hiking near our house on this huge mountain, and it is very hard to walk up. My dad explained how to use the poles to make walking easier. We have been out there four or five times now. It is hard learning how to use the poles at first. I have never owned a pair of hiking poles before. These poles did not come with any instructions. They would have been nice to help me learn how to use them. The instructions could have things like how to adjust the buckles, and how to adjust the poles. It could also show you how to use the poles hiking up and down hills.

Bryan has had no complaints when he uses them. He actually walks really fast with them and it is hard for me to keep up, so I have to make him stop when he gets to far ahead.

Some things that I have noted about the poles:
I am 5’ 7” (1.7 m) tall, and the poles are just long enough to give me the proper arm angle. My oldest boy is almost as tall as me and he is only 10, so if he keeps growing he could outgrow them. The baskets and metal tips have held up well over the last two months. One thing I do think needs to be added to the poles is a Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty diagram. My boys don’t always know which way to twist to adjust them.

Overall we have been very pleased with the hiking poles. Dylan is still trying to learn how to use the poles, and is still carrying them a lot. He says they make his arms tired. I have explained to him with my limited knowledge of poles about how to use them for ascending and descending hills. The poles seem to hold up well against two destructive boys, who poke and prod them on every little nook and cranny on the trail.

Brian