To paraphrase Nancy Sinatra, "these poles are made for hiking”…and that's just what they do in this excellent instructional video, hosted by "adventure buddies" Jayah Paley and Bob Haxo, designed to give hikers a complete body workout while using a couple of sporty looking sticks. Employing the proper techniques, hikers not only increase their overall fitness workout (finally giving their arms something to do), but hiking poles also reduce an enormous amount of strain on the knees, ankles, and hips, as well as help stabilize and balance the body in varied terrain. Filmed on location in Peyto Lake (Canada), Yosemite and Death Valley, among other heavenly locales, avid hikers Paley and Haxo discuss equipment (pole size, gloves and loop straps), technique (including the five basic holding postures), and offer hiking tips and strategies for preventing injury and staying safe on the trail. My willowy ‘adventure buddy' Jackie (she's about 4'11 with bad knees, but will love that I called her “willowy”) has hiked with ski poles for years and has good-naturedly taken some ribbing from our local mountaineers, who can't resist shouting the ever-clever summertime refrain “where's the snow?” But on the trail, she's nearly poked, harpooned, or outright skewered anyone within reach of those damn sticks, so this video is mandatory viewing for her, and highly recommended for others. Aud: P. (N. Plympton)
Hiking Poles: Techniques & Tips for All Ages and Abilities
(2001) 39 min. $29.95. Adventure Buddies (dist. by Instructional Video). PPR. Color cover. Volume 18, Issue 1
Hiking Poles: Techniques & Tips for All Ages and Abilities
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.