A bamboo hiking stick has many uses, most of which are related to providing balance during off-trail
activities such as boulder-hopping, fording streams, walking across logs that span a stream, and
descending a snow slope by doing a standing glissade.

Compared to a collapsible trekking pole, it has the advantage of being thick enough
to be easily gripped throughout its length, slides through one’s hand easily for
quickly changing its effective length, and is dirt cheap. Unlike a collapsible trekking
pole, it is too long to carry in luggage and cannot be carried on a backpack.

In addition, it works as a tent pole for a tarp tent and is handy for pushing spider webs out of
the way as one walks down a brushy trail. In rattlesnake terrain it gives me a (perhaps false)
sense of security. This gallery demonstrates yet another use: acting as a scale for photos.

Characteristics: sturdy, lightweight, six feet (1.8m) long, and free---it grew in my front yard.
I did three things to make it the useful tool it is: 1) sanded the joints to prevent skin abrasion
and getting splinters; 2) covered the bottom end with a blob of Shoe Goo adhesive to extend its
life (bamboo wears out fairly rapidly from contact with rocks and dirt); and 3) attached strips
of colored tape on it at intervals of one foot so it could be used as a scale for photos.

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