Screw-Together Trekking Staff with Camp Tool Heads – 3 to 6 Aluminum Tubes

A trekking staff made of screw-together tubes, with three steel tool heads that ride inside it

Each tube is a short length of ringed aluminum with a thread at one end. Screw three together and you have a short staff; screw six together and it stands at chest height. Cap the bottom with the ground foot for walking, or swap the top for the pointed spike. The three tool heads (a knife blade, a serrated knife blade and a hooked saw) screw onto the same thread, and when you are not using them they stow inside the tubes.

What it actually is

• Tubes. Dark anodized metal tubes about 7 inches long and 1.1 in (2.8 cm) across, each with a threaded stud at one end and a socket at the other. The maker describes them as machined aluminum alloy. Three, four, five or six tubes depending on the set you pick.
• Three tool heads. A pointed knife blade, a knife blade with a serrated spine, and a saw blade with a hooked tip. Each is black steel on a short knurled collar that screws onto any tube, so a single tube becomes a handle for the tool and the full staff becomes a long-handled one.
• Ends. A cone-shaped ground foot for walking and a pointed spike tip. A short joiner tube connects two tube sockets when you need it.
• T-handle sets. The "T-handle" configurations add a T-shaped grip that screws onto the top, with a pointed spike built into one end of the crossbar. Those sets use spiral-fluted tubes; the plain sets use ringed tubes.

How it goes together

Everything on the kit shares one thread. Tubes screw end to end, the foot and spike screw onto either end, and any tool head screws onto any tube. The tool heads are the length of a hand and travel inside the tubes, so the packed kit is a bundle of short cylinders rather than a bag of loose blades. Assembly is a minute of hand-tightening; there are no pins, cams or twist-locks to fail.

What it is for

It is a walking staff first: a rigid, heavy-duty pole for steep trails, stream crossings and leaning on at the top of a climb. The tool heads are for camp tasks — cutting cord, notching a stake, sawing a fallen branch to length, hooking a bundle out of the water. Used on the full-length staff they reach further than a hand tool will.

Weight and feel

The maker does not publish a weight. The tubes are thick-walled metal and the heads are solid steel, and buyers consistently call it heavy for a walking stick. That weight is what makes it rigid enough to lean on and swing a saw from; it is not a featherweight trekking pole and does not try to be.

Sizes

The assembled lengths are the maker's figures for each set and include the end pieces. A tube adds about 7 inches, so pick by where you want the top of the staff to sit: hip height for most adults is the 5-tube set, chest height the 6-tube.

What arrives

• The number of tubes in the set you chose (3, 4, 5 or 6)
• Three tool heads (knife, serrated knife, hooked saw), except in the "no tool heads" set
• Ground foot, spike tip and joiner tube
• T-handle grip, in the T-handle sets only

The maker shows no carry bag or sheath, so do not count on one. The blades are the real thing: keep them stowed inside the tubes when you travel, and check your local rules on carrying fixed blades before you take it into town.

HIGHLIGHTS

• One thread for everything: Tubes, foot, spike, T-handle and all three tool heads screw onto the same thread, so any tube is a handle and any length is a staff.
• Three steel tool heads: Knife, serrated knife and hooked saw, stowed inside the tubes when you walk.
• Your length, your choice: Three to six tubes, about 7 inches each, with or without the T-handle grip.
• Rigid, not light: Thick-walled metal tubes you can lean on; buyers call it heavy, and that is the trade.
• Two ends: A cone ground foot for the trail and a pointed spike tip for soft ground.