Fizan pole fail, convert to Flicklocks?

I know the pro version of the BD trail poles are heavier and I believe the only difference is the fliplock mechanisms. The aluminum def look a lot better and have a slimmer profile.

hope this helps

That certainly is useful, Eric, thank you.

The pro flicklocks look cooler, but functionally they're a wash with the old plastic ones.

You might be able to retrofit flicklocks on, though arranging the shim and keeping it in place might be a bit tricky. You'll need to drill/cut a keyhole-shaped opening in the pole so the flicklock will be able to compress the shaft. This is easy with a carbide drill bit and dremel cut wheel.

nm

Well, almost done.

Here are my conversion steps:

-Order flicklocks from Black Diamond. I ordered 18mm and 16mm flicklock replacements directly from BD. These were a very reasonable $2.50 each. I saw "Flicklock 2" listed for the 18mm but not the 16mm, so I ordered both sizes in the original style. I ended up using only the 18mm, so maybe should have gotten the Flicklock 2 version, don't know about the weight difference. The Pro versions are available at a still reasonable $5 each, but a previous posts in this thread indicated they were heavier without added functionality.

-Looked at BD poles at REI to get an idea of their slot shape. They currently use an "L" shape.

-Weighed the Flicklocks. These are some hefty things at about .6oz each. The 16mm are actually a bit heavier than the 18mm since the bodies are the same but the hole is smaller on the 16mms, so there is more plastic.

-Decided to only convert the upper locks to flicklock. On my Fizan poles, the lower joint has a large diametrical gap between the lower and middle pole sections which I think would be too much to try to compress, so I would have had to put a shim between the two sections to take up the slack. I reasoned that since the lower twist locks are in good shape and get much less use than the upper sections (all length adjustment is done at the upper joint on the Fizans), I would just convert the upper joints.

-Decided on orientation. I liked the slot facing rearward on the pole, so I went with that.

-Made shims. Since the Fizan upper poles are 17mm outer diameter and the flicklocks are made for 18mm tubing, I made some shims to go between the pole and the lock. .5mm or .020" thick shim would have been perfect, but I had some .016" aluminum sheet on hand, and decided that was good enough. The sheet was dead soft which made forming the shims easy.

-Laid out the slot profile on the upper pole sections to approximate the "L" shape on the BD poles I looked at.

-Drilled 1//8" holes at the center of the curves and then slotted out the straight parts with the Dremel.

-Cleaned up the cuts with needle files and then sandpaper.

-Fit the parts together.

-Adjusted the screw and checked the clamping force.

I say I'm almost done because I still need to put a dot of epoxy here and there to hold the shims and locks in place, and I am still trying to knock the original twist lock device out of one of the poles (the other separated from the middle pole section when the end of the tube cracked, which was one of the reasons I decided to do this conversion).

The Flicklocks each weigh .6oz, while the original twist lock device weighed .38oz (for both the pressed in aluminum cone part and the plastic expander), so there is a net gain of .22 oz for each pole, from 5.6oz to 5.82oz (no baskets or straps). Of course I'm not happy about the weight gain, but the ease of use does go up a good bit.

I realize that I'm late to the party, and that you've made your purchase, but I've used both of the BD fliplocks and will +1 what David said. I don't see a functional improvement from the old to the new.

Well done on the repair job.