I use this for fishing streams. It snaps open instantly and locks firmly into place. The shock-cord running down the inside of this staff has higher tension than my previous wading staff (which I had to replace because the cord stretched and lost its elasticity). Overall it’s well-made, but the top of the staff has a padded end cap that unscrews for access to a camera mount. As I was hiking alongside a stream I was lucky to hear the end cap hit the ground in some dry leaves or I would have lost it. Perhaps through the rhythmic motion of walking, it had come unscrewed and fallen off. I’ve since remedied the design flaw by adding a rubber washer over the screw post, which keeps tension on the threads (rubber washer not shown in the photo). The cap is essential because it’s where the wrist-strap attaches to the staff. The buckle on the wrist strap provides the only attachment point on the staff for the coiled retaining cord. As you can see in the photo, the storage sheath includes a steel key-ring that the retaining cord is attached to. The other end of the retaining cord has a small carabiner-like clip to attach to the staff. I had to clip it to the buckle on the wrist strap because there is no other attachment point on the staff. That lack of attachment point is the 2nd design flaw, since if you lose the end cap there’s nothing to attach the retaining cord to (the wrist strap attaches over the threaded camera mount stud). Another design improvement I’d like to see is a way to adjust the tension of the shock cord - and the ability to replace it entirely when it eventually loses its elasticity. These criticisms aside, I like the staff, which is very sturdy and has a nice neoprene sheath with a belt-loop at the top and a drainage hole at the bottom. Read more