Lucky Girl, on the use of trekking poles, use case varies widely by individual. In the Alps, some people use them for all walking on all surfaces. Some people don't use them. Some people only use them for sketchy trails.
I am fit and have done a lot of long day backpacking trips, some 20 mile days, some days with massive elevation, some days completely off trail in the deep backcountry. Once I started using trekking poles, I tend to use them all the time. I'm among the stronger members of our backpacking group. Another strong member of our group never uses trekking poles. these choices are just preferences, not "levels." So don't think of trekking poles as some sort of training wheels or just a stability tool for tippy people. They are just a choice of how you are going to distribute the force necessary to move around in the mountains. All legs or legs and arms.
In Europe, It's not uncommon for people to use trekking poles all the time for walking outside the city. In Switzerland just outside the town of Lauffenburg for instance, the municipality has a big sign declaring that the primary local "sport" is walking with trekking poles, including a little primer on how to.
Years ago I read a study of calorie burn and trekking poles. At the same speed over the same terrain trekking pole users burn slightly more calories. Some long distance hikers see this minimal extra calorie burn as inefficient. For me though, spending a little bit extra energy is worth the distribution of load and more of a full body workout, even if I'm hiking without a backpack. I like that the repetitive stress of a long walk ends up more distributed around my body. Makes it less likely that I'm going to end up with a nagging injury anywhere from my hips down. And truth be told most of the time I could benefit from burning a few more calories and toning more than just my legs.
You can buy expensive tracking poles, and they do feel nice. The ones I have at home are pricey. But cheap ones work - in the end they are just sticks. The most important thing to prefer if you can help it when buying is flip locks over twisting locks. The real problem with cheaper trekking poles is if they slip at the length adjustment points. Twist locks are more finicky, they will slip if over-tight and they will slip a under-tight. And even if perfectly tight, eventually they will also start slipping (this takes a long time, sometimes years). So if you can find cheaper trekking poles with flip locks, those are a better call than twist. But if you can only find twist, It's fine, just be careful about tightening them a reasonable amount.
A lot about trekking poles! It's fun to walk in the mountains. Anyway you slice it :). Have a good time
