Fizan Compact Trekking Poles Review

[Cas Berentsen]

I've been using these poles now more than a year and I'm very pleased with them.

Only the handgrips are rather slim and they get rather slippery in hot weather.

[WV Hiker]

"I realize BPL has gotten out of the business of selling gear"

Was this announced? I now see that there is no gear in the Store. What happened?

[Link .]

Read this thread
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=49780

[WV Hiker]

Anna,

That thread comes up an non-existant.

[Link .]

interesting I just tried it again to make sure and it works for me

[WV Hiker]

Which forum was it in and what was the title? I'll try to find it that way.

[Link .]

You are not getting it because it is in a thread for Life Time Members Only,sorry.Try this one it is a little different but you will get the idea
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=50021

[Keith Selbo]

"I believe that my use of "collapsible" and "adjustable" are inline with BPL definitions."

Where are the BPL definitions whereof you speak? By the way, I wasn't questioning your definitions, I was questioning your not stating them. Whenever you depart from the standard English definition of a word, you should state your definition. Otherwise your prose is difficult to understand.

[Lee Lally]

Just an update to this thread. For 2 seasons I have been using these Walmart Trekking poles based on some reviews I read, and my initial budget.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Products-Single-Camlock-Trekking-Pole/20753456

After reading the review here on BPL I made the jump to the Fizan Compact poles expecting to shave some major weight. I can report to you now, after receiving the Fizans, to save your money unless you just have it burning a hole in you pocket. They are only 3 oz lighter than the Walmart poles between the 2 of them, and a full 8-10 inches shorter. That 8-10 is a major factor as I use my poles often with my tarp and for many other things. The Fizans are very nice, and I will probably take them on zero chance of rain trips, but most of the time I will be sticking with Walmart poles.

[Adam Klags]

Can you comment on the quality of those wal mart poles in terms of:

Do they slip at all when tightened and can you adjust those lever locks if they are not tight enough?

Can they take your weight in a fall?

How comfortable are the grips?

And what about your opinion of the comfort of the straps?

Personally I'd find it hard to match the overall quality and feeling of the Fizan poles. After 2 seasons with them, they never slip, the handles are really comfortable, the straps are literally THE MOST comfortable I've ever had on poles, and they are lighter than the walmart poles. Sure, maybe for some it isn't worth an extra $40, but for me, it is. Especially when spread over years of use…

[Jim Milstein]

I've got about sixty days skiing with the Fizans. I put a pair of Life Link baskets on them. Super-light and great swing weight. Their sections do not slip; however, the bottom of a middle section fractured recently. The vendor, Ultralight Outdoor Gear (in the UK), immediately sent me a replacement section, no charge. Could not ask for better customer service.

The manufacturer's rep blamed the failure on over-tightening. Perhaps. I tried conscientiously to tighten just enough to prevent slipping. In the instructions that came with the poles we are warned not to over-tighten them so that the plastic expansion plugs inside will not be damaged. The plugs were undamaged.

So, be careful about tightening the sections.

[M B]

Ive bought 3 pr of the Fizans.

One middle section did crack where it was tightened. Never slipped, crack didnt run to edge, but cracked none the less, would split open as you tightened it. I ordered another pair and have spare parts now.

Recently my son was hiking too fast downhill in NC over wet rocks, his right pole went down into a crack between rocks pretty deep, about a 18", and his feet slid out from underneath him and landed on his butt/pack bottom. He completely broke a middle section in two pieces on the fall. Not bent, not cracked, severed into two pieces.

Any lightwt pole would have broken on this fall I think.Especially carbon. He was unhurt.

But,my opinion is the poles are fairly brittle aluminum, hardened to be stiff while so thin. I still like mine, until I find another 11oz pair of aluminum poles, Ill stick with them. They dont slip, I have had no problems at all with slippage.

[Cas Berentsen]

I've used these poles now for over 5 years in all kind of conditions and am quite satisfied. They often got stuck in between rocks experiencing severe stresses or had to carry my entire body weight in motion during unplanned action. Flexing never worried me in practice. I did not experience the "tightening" cracks myself, but I met someone on the HRP of which the poles did show those cracks. In my opinion that is a design flaw as I tighten my poles a lot and have sometimes quite some difficulties to reopen them. The locking mechanism never failed or caused problems. After 4 years I needed to replace the tips because they broke on both poles. Fizan improved the grip. The first grip was much more slippery than the "foamy" type that replaces it (as shown in the pictures of the article). I lost one pole because I stored it wet and couldn't reopen it because of aluminum oxidization. Oxidization also causes the pole sections to slide less smoothly over time. The 4 poles I have measure 163g each including the wrist strap.

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