Hey Gary!
For me, hiking pole straps are no different than a lanyard for a camera, the only purpose being to keep it in your personal possession in the event you accidentally lose your grip of the item (particularly helpful if you are near a drop-off). Unless I'm missing something, for me, there is no weight bearing mechanism involved in having the straps loosely hanging around your wrists, and thus, no weight bearing advantage to wearing them. Although I don't experience nearly the diversity of hiking situations as Laura (which comes with living in Ohio), nonetheless my reasons for not wearing the straps are similar to hers in principle.
CaT
PS - Hope your Dawgs do well. Richt is in the proverbial hot seat a little this year, I think.
