For me, they are more of a love/hate relationship. I like the help they provide on uphill and downhill grades and I also, like others here, have noticed that they speed me up a bit. On the deficit side, I don't like not having my hands free, I get annoyed when trail side brush deflects a pole in front of an advancing foot (potential face plant), they make my arthritic thumbs hurt, and sometimes I just want to walk with my hands in my pockets. Also, when I am not using them they are a pain in the tuchus to stow.

For many years I have used a single staff and only started using the walking poles this year. I have the general hang of them but still am on the learning curve.

I bought a pair of Leki Shasta poles. These are twist lock with cork composition grips and are sturdy but not particularly light.