If you are an avid hiker then the use of a wooden staff as you hike can help you greatly, regardless of what you fitness levels are or whether you are you or old. The way in which a strong staff can help you is that it can assist you as you are climbing up hills or mountains and it can also be sued as a rest when you are feeling tired. There are many other benefits to carrying a wooden staff with you on a hike and I have even used mine on two separate occasions to help out someone who has become injured during the hike.

There are many staffs on the market which you can buy but I prefer to make my own and I learned from Steve Sorensen select staffing how to do exactly that. If you are interested in making yourself a helpful and unique hiking staff, here is how to do it.

The Wood

When selecting a piece of wood for your staff, you need to be selective as to what you pick up because you need something that is going to be both strong and supple. Make suer that you are using dead wood for this as green wood is far too supple and will not support your weight. You will need to be careful s to which piece of wood that you pick up as you will need the size to be just right for your body height. The ideal piece of wood to be used for a staff should come up to your chin. If you do happen to find a green piece of wood that is the perfect height then debark it and let it dry for several weeks before you start working on it. If possible, try to use hickory or ash as they are the lightest and strongest woods.

Remove Bark and Notches

Next up, use a knife to take off any notches from the piece of woof and strip the bark away from the outside of the wood. Make sure that the branch is completely dried out before starting this process.

Staining

Now you need to stain the wood so that you can give it a good looking finish and protect the wood from the forces of nature as you are going for your hike, You will probably need to add at least two layers of stain to your branch.

Adding Tweaks

Finally it is time to add some tweaks to your staff to make it ready for you next hike, you can use some paracord around the handhold of your staff so that it makes it easier to grip on to as you are walking. In terms of design features why not paint your staff or even add a horn form a sheep or goat to the top of it for that really authentic look.