Why bamboo Hiking Sticks?

The short answer

Bamboo is a strong, durable and lightweight natural organic material,

It makes for a great walking staff! Excellent for all manner of hikers, adventurers, wizards, shamans, ninjas, woodsmen, and others such folk..

the long answer

provenance

Though a bamboo hiking stick may evoke feelings of being in a distant exotic land, it doesn’t mean the actual bamboo or the guy who cut it down and made it should be! With a DomesticBamboo staff, you’ll know right where your bamboo grew up… chemical free in southern Ohio, USA. Shoot, you can e-mail the guy who grew your bamboo, cut it down, cured it, heat treated it, crafted it, and tested it, before it shipped out. Try that with a cheap import!

Lightweight

A good hickory hiking stick might weight 2-3 pounds or more. An average weight of a bamboo hiking stick is around 8 ounces! Some big stout ones weight over a pound, but generally bamboo staves are lightweight when compared to wood. Comparable sized aluminum poles are going to weight about the same as bamboo, without all the added clutter that goes into the the harvest and manufacture of aluminum.

strength and Durability

Bamboo is legendary for it’s strength and durability! Which is saying something since it’s really just grass. The strength of bamboo surpasses that of steel in some circumstances. Our hiking sticks are made from only the lower parts of the bamboo where it is thickest and strongest, in order to support eh weight of 30 feet of swaying grass up above! The tops of the hiking sticks are where the bamboo rooted into the ground. Much of bamboos strength comes from the nodes, the thicker parts with rings that contain a woody membrane inside of an otherwise hollow tube. Our hiking sticks are cut close to the node on bottom to maintain that strength. In addition to it being ridiculously strong for it’s weight and size, bamboo is quite durable… but only when properly cared for in the crafting process.

Bamboo is susceptible to insect damage after harvesting, as well as weather and UV degradation. Most commercial bamboo is either treated with boric acid, harsh chemicals, or other pesticides in order to address insect damage. Here at Domestic Bamboo we use heat, in the form of various open flame artistic techniques to heat treat each piece, followed quickly by a warm burnish with our bamboo conditioner. This process sweats out the plants natural oils, which when burnished, harden into a protective enamel shell, which sheds moisture and inhibits UV penetration. The heat treatment provides another vital function, it reduces the moisture and starches which attract insect damage. Plus, a quality heat treatment brings out the natural beauty of bamboo, adds visual depth and contrast and gives our chimes that one-of-a-kind look.

CARE AND FEEDING

The best maintenance for a bamboo hiking staff is to use it! Seriously, it doesn’t do well tucked in the corner of a garage, but the oils from your skin and moisture from your breath help keep the bamboo supple. Realize though it’s just grass and subject to all the things that affect organic matter. Feel free to wash it with soap and water if you want, and an occasional rub down with a bamboo conditioner or any oil / wax wood feeder will go a long way in keeping the bamboo supple and functioning. Pay extra attention to any end grain, as this is where the humidity transfer happens,and the wax /and oil slows this process down, in affect, clogging the pores, which gives time for the bamboo to respond rather than cracking from shrinkage, extending the life of the staff.

Eco-friendly

Compared to other possibilities, bamboo is near impossible to beat. Consider the energy output required for extraction and manufacturing of aluminum or plastic parts, say nothing of the waste generated. What about wood? Compared to an equal sized stand of trees, bamboo will generate over 30% more oxygen and sequester 2x- 5x the amount of carbon, depending on the tree species. Trees require decades to harvest, bamboo generally takes 2-3 years, after which because bamboo is all connected by an underground root structure, repeatedly produces larger pieces, every year, year after year. It isn’t really even close, if caring for the future of our planet is important to you, then hand made bamboo is the very best you can buy.

Our groves are natural bamboo and don’t require pesticides, herbicides or any other chemicals. Harvest requires me to go outside with a handsaw and cut down bamboo, followed by using hand pruners to clip the branches, then the bamboo is stored under cover for a few months to cure. We transform the plant into product using a torch and our hands. It’s not at all perfect, but we’re giving it a go.

unique aesthetic

Guaranteed to turn heads on the trail, every one of our hiking sticks is a unique piece of art! Foreign and exotic, yet somehow it’s familiar, warm and grounding, organic and earthy like a dear old friend. It’s something you’ll only get with a carefully crafted DomesticBamboo hiking stick..