WHY USE POLES?
Even after evolving to become bipeds, your arms will automatically switch
to walking-mode when they haven’t anything to do; but if they dangle
for too long your hands become stiff, swollen and uncomfortable. They need
to be used. Power from the familiar arm-swing above your legs represents
a natural-walking-resource as it thrusts back against the air. Until now,
the problem has been one of inefficient control of this extra power during
transmission between your arm, the pole and the ground, resulting in inferior
performance. This gives grounds for the stigma often attached to poles of
all kinds - that they’re a means of "last resort".
Pacerpoles are different; they are designed from first principles to access
maximum arm power. The design started without the constraints of modifying
something already existing – unlike that of conventional walking
or trekking pole designs, based on modified ski poles and a wooden staff.
Instead, Pacerpoles resulted from extensive anatomical and biomechanical
research, designed to integrate with the hand as a contoured platform
for controlling your arm’s power transmission; you continue to walk-tall
with the bonus of increased stability, support and thrust. Accessing your
arm’s power so efficiently to boost overall walking and endurance
levels means that even the fittest biped’s performance can improve.
You become an extremely effective "Double-biped"! (Where the
axis of movement remains around the vertical instead of reverting to the
horizontal axis of quadrupedal gait.)
Perhaps surprisingly your arm’s swing action focuses on the elbow and not the shoulder. By including a forward shoulder swing as well would only bring the pole too far forward - which is inefficient and unnecessary. Unlike your shoulders though, your hips do have to swing forward. Just as when your elbow bends, your hand comes forward without needing to involve the shoulder - when your knee bends, the foot goes back, behind you - so your hip has to swing to bring your whole leg through for the next step. This swing phase is where your limbs act like pendulums off the ground; it is the lift and carry phase of your stride (so weight is an issue here). It is not just the weight itself though, but where the weight is distributed. For example.......... (continue)
|
|
| back | forward |
WHY USE POLES? - POLE WEIGHT COMPARISONS? - WHY USE TWO POLES? - WHY LEFT + RIGHT HANDLES? - WHY NO THICK WRIST STRAPS? - HANDLE SIZE? - STOWING OR STORAGE? - WHY NO SHAFT SPRINGS? - SINGLE POLE USE? - CARE AND MAINTENANCE? - USE OF PLASTIC BASKETS? - WEIGHT v EFFORT - RETURNS POLICY - SNOW BASKETS + SHAFTS