Stand in your hiking boots and measure from the ground to the crease of your wrist with your arm relaxed — that number is your staff length, and it should leave a slight bend in your elbow.
A staff matched to your height alone often means raised shoulders and a grip you keep re-adjusting. Two people at 5’10” can have very different arm lengths, and one will hold a stick that forces an awkward lean all day. The wrist-crease method takes ten seconds and accounts for what a height chart ignores: your actual arm length.
Measure To The Wrist Crease, Not To The Floor
The wrist crease sets the grip at a height where your elbow stays slightly bent instead of locked straight. The NSW Clinical Excellence Commission’s equipment safe use guide for walking sticks documents this reference and the resulting elbow bend.
- Wear the footwear you actually hike in. Boots add height; bare feet subtract it.
- Stand upright with both arms hanging relaxed at your sides.
- Have another person measure vertically from the ground to the crease on the inside of your wrist; solo measuring tends to drift.
- Write the number down — your target before the ferrule.
If nobody is around, flip the check: put the staff tip on the ground, grip it naturally, and look at your elbow. A slight bend is right; a locked-straight arm means it is short, a shrug means it is long.
What The Height-Based Rules Get Wrong
The common shortcut — floor to elbow, then add 6 to 8 inches so the tip lands near your armpit — is a recreation heuristic, not a manufacturer specification or medical standard. It can land close for an average build and miss badly for long or short arms or different posture. The wrist measurement is more reproducible because it measures the person, not the population.
| Common Mistake | What It Does To The Fit | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Measuring barefoot | Staff comes out short once boots are on | Measure in hiking footwear |
| Measuring to the fingertips | Adds several inches — staff ends up too long | Measure to the wrist crease |
| Holding the arm rigid | Skews the number and hides the elbow-bend check | Let the arm hang naturally |
| Sizing from body height alone | Ignores arm length entirely | Use the wrist measure as primary |
| Forgetting the ferrule | Rubber tip adds height after the cut | Measure and cut with the tip in mind |
| Leaving it long to be safe | Raised shoulders, poor balance, tired arms | Cut conservatively, then trim again |
| Trusting the armpit estimate | May be off by an inch or more on non-average builds | Confirm against the wrist measurement |
Cutting And Fitting Without Ruining The Wood
Cut only after testing the staff in your boots and grip position — wood shortens easily and lengthens almost never. Mark the cut point with the staff inverted so the line reads correctly from the tip end, then saw. Rubber ferrules add a small amount of height, so factor that in first. Smooth and seal the end for the wood type, fit a tight ferrule, and check the tip before each trip — a worn-through ferrule on wet rock is a slip waiting to happen. The same clinical guide stresses following the manufacturer’s instructions and seeking professional advice where needed.
If the finished staff feels wrong, the symptom tells you the direction: shoulders creeping up means too long; leaning forward or reaching down means too short.
Ready to skip the hardware-store gamble? Our tested wooden hiking staff picks cover models that come in cut-to-fit lengths.
When A Staff Is Not The Right Tool
The wrist-crease method is documented for walking sticks and general support aids and fits a single-hand wooden staff on ordinary trail terrain. It is not validated for every staff design, and a wooden staff is not equivalent to a medical cane, trekking poles, or a weight-bearing mobility aid. Anyone leaning on the staff for real balance support, recovering from injury, or managing a condition should get individualized sizing advice from a physician, physiotherapist, or occupational therapist rather than a chart or tape measure alone.
Common Questions
Should I measure in bare feet or in boots?
In boots. Measuring barefoot makes the finished staff too short by roughly the boot sole and heel height. Wear the exact pair you hike in, then measure from the ground to the wrist crease with your arm relaxed.
What if my staff is slightly too long?
Trim it. A long staff pushes your shoulders up and throws off your gait, which is worse than losing an inch. Cut a small amount at a time, reinstall the ferrule, and retest in your boots before cutting again.
Does the ruler-to-elbow-plus-6-to-8-inches rule work?
It gets close for an average build but is a recreation heuristic, not an official or medical standard, and it ignores arm length. Use the wrist-crease measurement as primary and the elbow-plus rule as a rough cross-check at best.
Sources
- NSW Clinical Excellence Commission. “Walking Stick — Equipment Safe Use Guide” Documents the wrist-crease sizing reference, the slight elbow bend, and ferrule and maintenance cautions.
- REI Co-op. “Hiker Staff — Single” Example of a commercially sold wooden hiking staff for length and fit reference.
- REI Co-op. “Walker Staff — Single” Second wooden staff listing used for fit and grip reference.