Just realized I was carrying my trekking poles upside down for 2 seasons
I was on the Pacific Crest Trail near Crater Lake last week when a thru-hiker stopped me and asked why my straps were twisted. I looked down and sure enough, the baskets were pointing up and the grips were scraping against my pack every step. Turns out I'd been storing them wrong the whole time, which wore down the cork grips and made my wrists ache on descents. Has anyone else had a gear habit that felt normal until someone pointed it out? What did you fix and how much easier did it get?
So someone told you your straps were twisted and now suddenly two seasons of hiking were wrong? I've carried poles every which way and never once did a basket direction change how my wrists felt on a descent. Sounds less like a gear fix and more like you just wanted a reason to buy new cork grips.