Good Nordic Walking poles are eight ounces. Feather light. You don’t even know you have them on. Notice I said “on,” not grabbing them. As we showed in the last post, you can get signs of carpal tunnel syndrome if you clutch them in a “death grip.”
You will generally NOT find Nordic Walking poles at REI, Sports Basement, or other “sports” stores in your area. If you ask, they will show you Trekking poles. Not the same. The reason is because NW activity is still emerging in the USA. It’s huge in Europe. I have met people from there and they can’t believe they don’t see walkers like they do at home. When it rolled out worldwide in the early 2000’s, Americans were slow to go. As usual.
When I started my hard-core Yosemite hiking, no one used trekking poles. Then I saw Euro’s with them. A short explanation of the benefits and I was convinced. Today most hikers use them.
Nordic Walking is at the same stage. Once you try it – you like it. YOU can be an early adopter.
A variety of manufacturers offer Nordic Walking poles. The poles are lightweight aluminum or carbon fiber. Weight is a key difference from ski poles and trekking poles, but more important is the ability to telescope to the proper length.