Scotland walking in general

I think this depends on where you are hiking, how far you are going, etc.

We hiked the last few segments of the West Highland Way (about 37 miles) a couple summers ago and absolutely regretted not having hiking poles along. The terrain there was rocky, uneven and ended up being very hard on the knees.

Other trails may be smoother of course making poles unnecessary.

If you're doing more serious hiking, it's probably worth the effort to make sure you have them available (whether you buy them there or pack them from home).

Hi -

I think Steve above is right. Personally, I never leave home without them (that’s not to say I always use them) but with a duff hip, an artificial one and a heavily repaired knee from a fall some years ago, there’s no doubt trekking poles take the strain off your knees especially both ascending and descending. In Scotland, they’d get heavily used!

Ian

Poles or not depends on where you plan on walking. There are places where they’d come in handy, but they were not needed anyplace we walked.

You don’t need poles. We the never use poles and we are hikers and have hiked in Scotland. The terrain is no different than other terrain we have hiked. If you do not use poles now, you do not need them specifically for Scotland. Plus, they will be a hassle to pack and carry around and you will have the question about on the plane or not. A common question here. People who use poles will be advocates for the use of poles.
At any rate, if you do want poles, start using them now. See if you do need them.

I was very resistant to using poles at first, but once I needed to use them (dodgy kness) I'm a convert and never travel without them.

I'm with Steve on this one. It all comes down to what sort of walking you are planning on, personal preference, age, and if you are used to using poles. If necessary you can always buty a cheap pair at any outdoor shop once you arrive.

By the way, have you discovered the Walk Highland website? It is the walkers's Bible! It grades walks according to difficulty and also 'bog factor' - important for many areas. If you click on the profile for each walk, there are pictures which will give an idea of what the terraine is like underfoot.

Never used them till too years back ,I backpack and wss given a walking stick at Cape Wrath by a trailer who had judt finished his journey.
Would not walk without it now as I do trail walking and a fair bit of mamba ( miles and miles of bugger all)

Thanks to all for your thoughts and advice. We live in a very flat area and cannot practice hills on a regular basis, so depending on how high or rugged the hills are, it can be challenging, especially at first. We're going to contact our first hotel to see if we can mail poles ahead of us since we aren't checking any luggage and poles aren't allowed in carry-ons.
Thanks again.

I would also go by what Steve says (and the others who agree with him). It really depends on where you are going and your level of experience and ability. Poles can be a big help when trekking on uneven terrain or when the path is slippery or rocky. You may not need them all of the time but when you do, they can be very helpful.

If you live in a very flat area and aren't used to hills, then I would definitely recommend poles. Do practice with them first. It was a standing joke with the family when I first started using them, as I would get them tangled up in my feet and fall over.... I had to stand and work out which pole to move first before starting to walk...

Yes, there’s nothing to to stop you practising on the flat, it’s a good idea to get the rhythm of them (even if you might get some odd looks and feel a bit awkward - my advice regarding anybody who criticises is ‘sod ‘em’) as wasleys says.

Watch a couple of ‘how to’ videos on You Tube. Useful tips in those. My tip is, if you haven’t bought them yet, when you do get some get the ones with extended handles. Set them long (shorter in ascent than in descent is the rule of thumb) and leave them long, but when going uphill slide your hands down to the lower part of the handle. This works with non extended handles too but is not as comfortable.

I wear, on long walks or multi day hikes, a pair of cycling fingerless gloves (padded fingerless weights gloves or specialist via ferrata gloves work as well) to prevent hand soreness and possible blisters. I favour one of the click-lock mechanisms over the screw tight versions as regards poles - I’m currently using an old pair of Black Diamond Trail poles, which generally speaking are relatively bog-standard, so no fancy bells or whistles or carbon fibre required.

Ian

Thank you. Although I've never used poles, my husband used them on the Appalachian Trail and other hikes. We'll entertain the neighbors.