Trekking Poles

If you decide to get some, Costco has good, lightweight poles that are very reasonably priced.

I took only one on my Ireland trip last year and found it very helpful going up and down hills or stairs with no rail or walking over rocky or uneven ground. It gave me that little extra stability and it didn't make me feel as old as a cane would have.

I too am going this summer and plan on carrying them daily and using as necessary, likely at the higher altitudes. I wanted to ship mine over (am not checking luggage) and so far am told the price to ship to my Austrian hotel is ~$200. So I need to keep looking for cheaper sipping, check my luggage or buy them over there.

Since they have to go in checked luggage, not carry-on, you might want to wait and buy them there if you decide you want them. Trekking poles are widely available, even in the small mountain villages.

We found ours to be helpful when doing a lot of hiking, especially on steep or uneven ground, but as others have said, they can present some issues with luggage. Before 9/11, it was possible to just hand them to a flight attendant when boarding the plane, and then collect them again when getting off the plane, but now they have to be in a checked bag.

Even our Leki and Komperdell collapsible poles are too long for our small and medium-sized bags, which we prefer to take, and carry on or check. We have a couple of duffel bags which are long enough to hold the collapsed poles, and after wrapping them in bubble wrap for protection, we've taken a duffel a couple of times. Lugging the duffel around isn't as easy as the smaller rolling suitcases, but having the poles was worth it on those trips.

My husband and I went on the RS My Way Alpine Europe tour last year and we brought trekking poles in our checked luggage. There are many chances to purchase poles there as well. We did a lot of hiking and had a fabulous time! We did a fun hike through the forest from Fussen to the castles in the rain and the trekking poles came in handy to navigate some slick areas.

@dovetraveler - I also always travel with carry-on only. Two years ago I hiked the Southwest Coastal Path in Cornwall, so I bought a pair of hiking poles on Amazon UK and had them delivered to the first B&B I stayed at. Worked perfectly, total cost was about $40, and when I finished my trip, I gifted them to an older couple in the Cotswolds who hadn't thought to bring/buy poles. Last year for my Slovenia trip, I bought a pair at my first stop, at Lake Bohijn. I think either of these approaches would work well for you and are low-hassle.

Thanks Shelly I hadn’t thought of the AMZN UK idea but I might go that route, great tip.

Leki makes trekking poles that fold to 40cm and should fit in a carry-on with no problem. The carbon fiber version weighs less than 1 lb.

@Brian >> My understanding has always been that hiking poles have to be checked because of the tips, not because of being too big for carry-on.

TSA is pretty specific on their website that trekking poles cannot be carried on the plane, but must go in checked baggage.

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/hiking-poles

That said, my sister has successfully carried her Black Diamond z-poles to Europe and elsewhere in her carryon bag. But I am not willing to risk losing mine, so I plan on checking them.

Just a little levity, but we once ran into a couple of trekking Poles, who said they'd hiked from Warsaw. Didn't ask them if they were allowed on a plane, but they didn't look like they retracted.