Different Wood Hiking Sticks

The main purposes of a good quality wooden hiking stick are to help the hiker maintain balance and to take pressure off of knee joints and hips. They are particularly useful in this regard when climbing or descending a steep incline. Wooden hiking sticks with secondary features are popular, however, with the most common additional uses involving the ability to balance photographic equipment and to use embedded compasses for navigation.

  1. Camera Monopod Hiking Stick

    • Monopod hiking sticks serve an additional purpose beyond offering balance and support while hiking: they are also used for balancing a camera. The head of a monopod hiking stick has a built in camera mount, usually a metal plate with an exposed screw end, onto which a swiveling tilt head is secured. A camera is mounted onto the tilt head, giving the camera a leveled flexibility of smooth, rotational movement. The monopod is extremely useful for professional nature photography, keeping the camera steady to prevent blurred images.

    Embedded Compass Hiking Stick

    • Wooden hiking sticks which feature an embedded compass at the tip are extremely useful for orienting oneself while walking, with the added convenience of not having to carry a compass separately in a pocket or backpack. With some models, the compass is exposed at all times, secured into a crevice at the tip of the stick and completely uncovered. More expensive models may have the compass resting in the bottom half of a hollow brass or steel ball, which is secured to the end of the stick. When the top half of the ball is removed, the compass is exposed for use.

    Hiking Stick Flute

    • For the whimsical and musically-inclined, there are models of hollow wooden hiking sticks which also double as flutes. These walking stick flutes come in a wide variety of tunings, with the majority offering six holes for playing. Some models are geared more towards Celtic-style flute music, while others have been carved with more of a Native American feel in mind. More complicated and expensive models have two or even three flutes built into the body of the stick, with all flutes capable of being played simultaneously.