Camino Pilgrim

If used correctly they can take up to a third of the weight off your knees. For someone with a weak knee or two, this would mean being safe and pain free. For people who care about daily distances then the ability to walk 30% more safely day after day is a huge win. It is not critical to use sticks, but they certainly come in handy on the Camino.

Airports and hiking poles

You are not allowed to take poles into the plane with you. Even if the poles are on the inside of the backpack. The only exception would be if you have paid for drop-off luggage and have given the bag with poles away at the check-in counter of the airport.

If you fly from outside of Europe, then your flight maybe does contain drop-off luggage already inside the cost, but European flights usually do not. Paying extra just because you want hiking poles with you becomes more expensive than just buying new poles in Spain.

Buying hiking poles in Spain

There is at least one sports store in every starting point of a longer Camino. You can find one in Irun, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Pamplona, Leon, Seville, Lisbon and Porto. Chances are that buying new poles is cheaper than flying back and fourth from home with drop-off luggage.

Decathlon stores are seen across cities in Spain, Portugal and France. There you have the Forclaz hiking stick series (its a brand by Decathlon itself). They sell the hiking stick individually and you can buy asphalt stick ends seperately.

The bonus is that you can pre-order from their online store hiking poles to the Decathlon you are passing anyways up to 15 days ahead. Very often these online purchases can be already picked up the next day.

Donated poles in albergues

You actually do not need to buy your own. It is quite easy to find donated poles in albergues. Ask the hospitaliero first for permission. In general many people leave their poles behind at some point.

Most people leave their poles in Santiago. So if you happen to fly to Spain to Santiago airport, then grab a pair of poles from the Pilgrim House or any of the local albergues.

Single wooden stick

If you are doing Camino Frances and starting off in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, then visit the local Pilgrim’s Store for your seashell and wooden hiking stick. This is the classical pilgrim look, that you will see on wall paintings and statues along the Camino route. There will be also later moment on the Camino where you can find locals selling these along the route, but these are not that common.

Make your own pole(s)

The budget option is to just go and find a suitable stick of wood from local trees or bush. It is not overly common, but a totally acceptable solution.