>>2324211What I always tell people is that trekking poles, if used properly, are going to save your body a small percentage of the energy you would spend if you hiked without them--let's say it's a 5% energy savings. On a short, casual hike, if the terrain is level or your pack light, you will never spend more than 5% of your total energy reserves in the first place, on the entire hike, so you'd never notice a difference of 5% of 5%.
However, if you are pushing your body on a long hike (20+ miles in a day on tough terrain), especially with uphill terrain, with a heavy pack, even the most fit hiker can easily notice the difference that trekking poles make. You'll feel less tired, you'll be less likely to twist your ankle, your feet will hurt less, less likely to have blisters... After one tough hike with trekking poles, or one time where they save you from twisting your ankle, you'll want to bring them on every hike, even the easy ones.
