Best walking poles in the UK: buying guide

How to choose walking poles for UK trails

Most walkers get on best with a pair of adjustable poles rather than a single fixed staff. Two poles balance the load across both arms, steady you on rough ground, and give tired legs a rest on steep descents. A single pole is better than none, but two is the standard for anything beyond gentle, well-surfaced paths.

The main decisions come down to material, how the pole collapses, the locking mechanism and the grip. None of these is about brand loyalty. They are about matching the pole to the ground you walk on and the way you pack. The sections below work through each in turn.

For typical UK hillwalking, coast paths and long-distance trails, a mid-weight aluminium or carbon pole with lever locks, a cork or foam grip and interchangeable tips will cover almost everything the terrain throws at you.

Aluminium or carbon: which material is better?

Aluminium is the durable, forgiving choice. It bends under a heavy impact rather than snapping, and a small bend can often be straightened out in the field. It is cheaper, handles being jammed between rocks well, and is the sensible pick for beginners, heavier users and rough, rocky ground. The trade-off is a little more weight per pair.

Carbon fibre is lighter and damps trail vibration better, which reduces arm fatigue on long days. It suits fast, light walking and multi-day routes where every gram on your back matters. The catch is that carbon can fracture suddenly under sideways stress, for example if a tip wedges in rock and you fall onto it. It also costs more.

There is no universally better material. For most UK walkers, aluminium offers the best balance of durability and value. Choose carbon if low weight and packed comfort are your priority and you accept the higher price and the small risk of a sudden break.

Folding or telescopic?

Telescopic poles slide two or three sections inside one another and adjust across a wide length range. That makes them the most flexible for fine-tuning to climbs and descents, and they are usually the cheaper design. They pack down longer than folding poles, so they sit higher above a rucksack.

Folding, or Z-fold, poles link three short sections with an internal cord, like a tent pole. They collapse to a very short packed length that fits inside a daypack or hand luggage, and they deploy in seconds. Most have a small adjustment range on top of the folded length, so you still get some terrain tuning.

Choose telescopic for maximum length adjustment and lower cost. Choose folding if compact pack size and quick setup matter most, which is why trail runners and travellers tend to prefer them.

Locking mechanisms: flick-lock vs twist-lock

The lock is what stops your pole collapsing under load, so reliability matters more than any other single feature. There are two common types.

Lever locks, also called flick-locks or clamp locks, use an external cam that you flip open and shut. They hold firmly under body weight, are easy to operate with gloves on, and you can see at a glance whether they are closed. Tension is usually adjustable with a small screw. This is the mechanism on most quality poles for good reason.

Twist-locks expand an internal plug when you rotate the sections. They keep the pole clean-looking and compact, but they can slip under heavy load and are fiddly to adjust with cold or gloved hands. If you are choosing between two similar poles, the lever-lock version is the safer bet for UK hillwalking.

Grips: cork, foam or rubber

Cork moulds to your hand over time, wicks sweat, and stays comfortable in warm weather. It is the popular all-round choice and holds up well over years of use. It costs a little more and can feel firm in very cold conditions.

Foam is the softest and lightest option and absorbs sweat readily, so it feels good on long summer days. The downside is that it compresses and wears faster than cork, and it soaks up water in persistent rain.

Rubber grips shrug off cold and wet better than either, but they can feel hard and cause hot spots or blisters on long days, and sweaty hands slip on them. Rubber suits cold-weather and occasional use rather than long summer miles. Whatever the material, look for an extended grip section below the main handle so you can choke down on short, steep sections without stopping to re-adjust the length.

How to set the correct pole length

Set your baseline on flat ground. Stand upright, plant the pole tip beside your foot, and grip the handle: your elbow should sit at roughly 90 degrees with your forearm level. That is the right length for general walking, and it is the single most important adjustment to get right.

On sustained climbs, shorten each pole by about 5 to 10cm. Shorter poles give better leverage and a more natural arm swing, and stop you overreaching in front of your body as the ground rises to meet you.

On sustained descents, lengthen each pole by about 5 to 10cm from your flat setting. Longer poles let you plant ahead and below without hunching, keep you more upright and balanced, and pass some of the downward impact through your arms and upper body. On a long traverse, you can shorten the uphill pole and lengthen the downhill one to keep your shoulders level.

How to use walking poles properly

Use the straps correctly first. Bring your hand up through the loop from underneath, then close it down over the strap so the webbing supports the heel of your hand. This lets you push through the strap and relax your grip, rather than clenching the handle all day.

Walk with an opposite-arm rhythm, the same as normal walking: as the left foot goes forward, the right pole plants, and vice versa. Keep the plants light and close to your body rather than reaching far ahead.

Uphill, plant the poles roughly level with or just behind your feet and push down and back to drive yourself up. Downhill, plant slightly ahead and let the poles take a share of the load before your foot lands, which softens each step. Get the weight onto the pole before you commit your foot, and the movement becomes smooth rather than jarring.

Do walking poles really protect your knees?

Yes, particularly on descents. A frequently cited 1999 study found that using two poles can cut the compressive force on the knees by up to around 25 per cent on downhill sections, because your arms and upper body take on some of the braking that the quadriceps and knee otherwise absorb.

Real-world benefit varies with technique and terrain, and some studies show smaller differences. Poles help most when you actually load them, planting ahead on descents and taking weight through your arms rather than just carrying them.

For anyone doing long descents, big-mileage days or carrying a heavy pack, or for walkers with existing knee problems, poles used well make a clear difference. On flat, easy paths the benefit is smaller, though plenty of experienced walkers still use them for rhythm and stability.

Tips and baskets for UK terrain

Most poles ship with carbide or steel tips that bite into rock, hard-packed earth and wet stone. These are what you want for grip on typical hill and mountain ground, and good carbide tips last thousands of miles. Rubber tip covers slip over the top for hard surfaces such as pavement, chalk paths and rocky slabs, where they cut noise and skidding and reduce trail damage.

Baskets are the discs near the tip that stop the pole sinking. The small trekking baskets fitted as standard suit firm ground. Swap to wider mud baskets for the boggy, peaty and soft ground common on UK moors and fells, as they stop the pole plunging deep and dragging on every plant.

Large snow baskets are a winter item for deep snow and give the pole flotation, like a small snowshoe. Most walkers only need them for genuine winter mountain conditions. Check that spare baskets and tips are available for any pole you buy, as they are wear items.