Glad this article is helpful, Ed, and thanks for subscribing to The Big Outside, I appreciate that. I figured you were related to Richard. You guys are going to have a great hike in the Sierra.

Good suggestion, Deb, thanks.

Hi Lou,

Thanks. Tip no. 2 explains how to grip the strap and pole.

Hi Laurie,

Yes, thanks for asking. That’s because this story, like many at my blog, is partly free for anyone to read but requires a paid subscription to The Big Outside to read in full. A subscription gives you full access to all of my blog’s stories, including the trip planner section at the bottom of stories about specific trips, where I share details of the itinerary and other logistics and tips on planning a trip.

Thanks for the comment, Steve. I’m not sure what you mean precisely by “bare ground,” but I’ll try to elaborate on your point. When I’m backcountry skiing through trees, which is a relatively high-speed activity, as with most backcountry skiers, I take my hands/gloves out of the wrist straps because of the risk of a pole getting snagged on a tree or brush and dislocating/injuring my shoulder. But that’s because of the speed of skiing.

When hiking down steep, rocky terrain—when the risk of falling is elevated—I sometimes also remove the straps from my wrists to avoid the poles getting in my way and somehow worsening injuries if I do trip and fall. But since the pointed end of the pole is away from me and the grip is the end most likely to hit my body, my concern isn’t getting impaled, it’s tripping over the pole or having the pole cause a severe twist of my arm or shoulder because my wrist is in the strap when I’m falling. But when descending, I’m primarily leaning on the poles rather than using the poles to help propel me forward, so the straps are less important, anyway. At just about all other times when hiking, without the wrist straps, you lose the major benefit of having poles: their ability to help you move forward and conserve energy without over-gripping and fatiguing your hands (or causing blisters on hands). I touch on these points in tips no. 2-5 above.

I hope that makes sense.

I DO wear XC ski straps as you describe because of the value of pushing on the strap rather than holding with your grip.