How To - Use Hiking Pole Wrist Straps

Most hiking poles are designed with wrist straps, and knowing how to work with them will go a long way towards using your hiking poles effectively in the great outdoors.

The Benefits Of Wrist Straps

They might not seem overly technical, but the wrist straps on your hiking poles provide some important benefits when you are on the trails.

Weight Distribution: First and foremost, wrist straps help to distribute the force of the ground impact across your hands, wrists and arms in combination, rather than the force being absorbed straight into your hands. This will be less energy-sapping and easier for your grip over the course of a long trek.

Attachment Points: Wrist straps are also handy should your grip come loose. If you slip or fall and let go of your hiking pole, it will stay attached to your person and be within immediate reach, rather than losing it all together.

Gripping Your Hiking Pole

1. Most pairs of hiking poles come with wrist straps that are labelled 'left' and 'right'. Make sure you are using the correctly assigned hiking pole with your left and right hands.
2. Slide your hand in an upward direction through the wrist strap until it is sitting over your wrist. Your hand will likely be positioned higher than the top of the handle.
3. Moving your hand in a downward motion, simply make a fist to grip the handle. The front portion of the wrist strap should be sitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. There will be a small amount of tension in the wrist strap - if not, or if there is too much, you will need to adjust them accordingly.

Left and right pole indicators.

Start by sliding your hand in an upward direction through the wrist strap.

To grip the pole, move your hand downwards and make a fist.

Adjusting Your Hiking Pole Wrist Straps

1. Your hiking pole has a wrist strap adjustment tab in the back of the handle. To open it, push it into the top of the handle until it clicks.
2. To loosen the wrist strap, pull on the bottom portion of the loop of the wrist strap. To tighten the wrist strap, pull on the end of the wrist strap where the 'left/right' identifier is located.
3. To close the wrist strap adjustment tab, pull on the top portion of the loop of the wrist strap until it clicks.

With the adjustment tab engaged, tighten by pulling on the end of the strap where the 'left/right' identifier is located.