Wading Staff

[namekagon]

Gottta love it! :lol:
Since I don’t have a bud, I also carry a sub nose .38 with me just incase I happen on quicksand.

[Jerry]

@TyroneFly

Thanks all for your recommendations and suggestions. I went with the Folstaff 3/4 diameter model.

The Folstaff should last a lifetime. They will rebuild one for a nominal fee. Sturdy, always at hand, quick and easy to deploy. Average out the somewhat high initial cost and they are actually a good buy.

[RG_AR]

Denny, Amen!

[Bamboozle]

@peregrines

Both Arthur and Joan Stoliar (the founders) have passed away. They were both great folks and very supportive of conservation efforts and founded Project Access (for the general public and the handicapped). They’ve been very generous and humble about their support for these efforts. Sweet, decent, nice folks.

I still have the staff Joanie gave me one afternoon at their Greenwich Village brownstone after tea and a tour of the basement “factory”. They were great folks and a lot of fun. A few years ago I found out from Lee, (their daughter); that the Folstaf has a LIFETIME guarantee so I sent it in. I got a refurbed Folstaf with the improved double-shock cords and a new cork grip to boot!

TyroneFly; you have made a lifetime investment!

[Marco]

God made my wading staff and left it for me in a tangle of driftwood debris at the mouth of the Carmel River in Carmel CA. He did, however, leave it with a slight design flaw. It’s a bit thick and therefor does feel the current a bit. But if it were not for this Divine Intervention, I would have bought(en) a Folstaff fer sure.

Mark

[ducksterman]

@flyfisher7

Are you sure you had the Simms properly assembled when you tested it? I have owned one for two years and find it much sturdier than the Falstaff, which it replaced. The only disadvantage to the Simms is that you have to make sure the ferrules are fully engaged and the locking mechanism is locked. The Falstaff will snap into place (as long as the internal shock cord lasts), and is handier in an emergency. Both models have their place, but I feel that Simms is a sturdier unit.

As an innocent bystander…[I have used a high end ski pole…since I quit skiing years ago…in fact, I have a spare…but there’s no way this one will ever collapse]

Just to play devil’s advocate… flyfisher7’s quote …he has had both …would make me question whether Falstaff is still the standard…I know …heresey… and if I were going to get a staff I would wonder which to choose.

Oh, and I love my ski pole especially the platform on the grip that supports my hand

[flyfisher7]

I had the Folstaff for many years, even had it rebuilt once. It served me well, but when it got to the point where it was about to need another rebuild or a replacement, I started looking around, and chose the Simms. The design is quite different, and much sturdier, but it does not deploy quickly as does the Folstaff. Think of the Simms as a one piece staff that you can collapse for easy storage or carrying on your belt to the stream. Both types have their place, I think it is wrong to say one is the “standard”. It’s an apples vs oranges thing.

[ZeissMan]

I use an old ski pole with a tether to my vest.
Works great and if I bust it, well there is the other half of the pair I got for $10.
Worked great on the NPlatte in Saratoga and other water I work.
Stay safe whatever you pick.
~ZM