Not a fan of folding wading sticks myself but there is a talon one being sold on ebay for £15 with free p&p

I've been using a hiking pole lately, been solid enough and does me, cheap aswell! Telescopic so easy to transport/carry and IMO safer than the folding wading sticks.

Hope this helps :thumbs:

 

Thanks I will have a look, regarding walking stick do you not need to weight it?
Ray

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I don't, maybe if your fishing faster water you could weight the bottom, they are hollow so easy enough to do if needed, add some lead or a short brass rod, mines where about £10 from go outdoors, spiked metal bottom, nice grip, lanyard, about 5ft fully extended.

 

I'm no authority on wading, but I use a hiking stick from go outdoors, only a £5er, and it's saved me a couple of times. Strong enough to support me, and I'm no lightweight. It does tend to drift a bit but I manage, comes with a wrist strap, and I put my own lanyard on. Works for me.

 

They are very strong, I'm eh, fat as **** and they are fine for me!

 

YOU DO NOT WANT A FOLDING WADING STAFF!! Death looking for a place to happen.

Your guy is 'The Stickman.' Get the longest one he makes as its chest high on someone 6 foot tall. Bottom is weighted with lead sheeting and it stays put, as "you" try to stay put.

Personal experience in PNW rivers. A 'wrong step' can be a game changer in a second. mg: I've tossed my fly rod at the river bank and 'inched' my self back to safety.

Another 'Just trust me on this one.'

Fred

 

the only collapsible stick I would buy would be the Simms, the( steel cable) locking mechanism is pretty fool proof will not let you down. It's main advantage is carrying it on your belt and it is ready at a flick , however the thing that it is really useful for is a) a depth gauge probing in front of you ( saved me a dunking or two ) a steady / walking stick on rocky bottoms in not too deep riffles , if you intend to habitually wade fast , strong , deep, currents, ( the sort where your arseometer tells you are achieving positive buoyancy) a solid one piece staff as Fred suggests is the way to go, I've got into a couple of those situations and then the Simms is at the very edge of its capabilities vibrating like phone wire in the wind and a nice thick solid wood 50" stick has got to be the way to go.

 

Some of the folding wading staffs are held together with a bungee. The worry for me would be the bottom end getting trapped when you go to lift, this results in the staff coming apart and potentially folding. Really not recommended.

 

Thanks everybody i think i will go for a solid 1piece
Cheers Ray

 

Have two 'solids' in the Jeep and hand the other out to a 'I've got Newbie' out on the river. "Don't need it." 60 seconds, later on the Rogue River, and hanging on for 'Dear Life.'

Just wait until they fish the 'Fly Only' water on the North Umpqua. mg:

fae

 

I have bought full wading staffs from the Stickman and not only are they solid and light but also little works of art made out of Hazel and will last a lifetime and at £15 a pop are fantastic value for money IMHO.

 

I use a one piece SOLID Snowbee (I think) wading staff, it make me feel safe.

Its a good idea to get in the river and find out which depths you are comfortable wading, and mark up your wading staff with tape accordingly.

That's what I do, can't go wrong.