Fizan Adventure trekking pole experience?

I’ve been using Fizan Compact poles (2 sets) for a decade, both for hiking and tent poles, and have never had a problem with them locking in 3-season backpacking with fluctuating temps from 15-80 degrees. My only problem with the internal adjusters is that they loosen, and the poles shorten when I am hiking and exerting big downward pressure. I usually crank ’em down tight, but that doesn’t make much of a difference unless I REALLY tighten them such that they are a bear to loosen. So I wonder if you might be over-tightening them for tent use?

I might be over-tightening them for hiking, but if I don’t tighten them pretty hard, they tend to slip a few centimeters.

There’s probably a sweet spot I need to hit, but that sort of thing is incredibly hard for me to do consistently.

There could also be other factors at play, but I do clean them regularly, and almost every time they lock up, heating the outer tube with my hands helps, which is why I blame temperature.

In any case, it’s a common enough occurrence that I’m ready to throw a bit of weight and money at the problem.

Yep, me too. Which is why I may switch to poles like Black Diamond carbon fiber that have outer tensioners with a lever rather than inner tensioners with a hand twist. But having only used inner tensioners (Leki, GG, Fizan) I don’t know if they are better. Anyone who uses such care to chime in?

Oh, and I trust you clean the tubes of the Fizan of any grit from time to time, which might also contribute to their stuckness.

I have many years and miles on my BD Alpine Carbon Cork poles and have had zero slippage, jamming, or other problems. I do not baby them and never clean them. They just work. I sure wish them made them with foam grips.

I’ve been dayhiking with the adjustable blue carbon z-poles from BD for the better part of a year now. They are stiff enough for me (way more stiff than my old aluminum BD Z-poles) and I think I would probably take them on a non-snowy trip that stays below treeline. I don’t think I’d want to trust them to hold up my shelter in a 40mph wind but short of that they are a dream to use with a nice light weight and my preferred foam grips. The only ding perhaps is the straps are not as supportive as the straps on my heavier Alpine poles.

I hope that helps!

I sure wish them made them with foam grips.

Hear, hear!

I find the poles that use levers more reliable than the ones you twist to tighten. I have a Leki pair with cork grips. Nothing special or especially lightweight, but they have lasted me for many years. If I were getting a new pair, I’d certainly consider z-style poles with a small adjustment range.

I have the same problem with Leki. They don’t seem to break

I’ve broken more than one of the Fizzans that used to be sold on DROP.    They both appeared to me, made out of the same material, and weigh the same so I don’t know how different they are. But even my.125 wife managed to snap one.

This morning I remembered that I bought the Durston Z-flick poles when I still wasn’t sure I could get comfortable with trekking poles.

Being 88g a piece, the total weight of my Fizan Compact+ Z-flick is 482g. A pair of Fizan Adventure is 460g, and as far as I can find, anything lighter with external tensioners is significantly more expensive.

So I’m thinking I might just take the 22g penalty and bring the Z-flick for now.

When I’ve got the money, I could grab a pair with external tensioners, that’s no heavier than the Fizan Compact.

I like my BD Alpine Carbon Cork poles too, however, I did cut the stock grips off and installed GG LT4 grips. They are much more comfortable to me. The poles have held me up with no slipping, and at 190g each I can’t complain much about the weight.

I also have a set of poles someone made for me from carbon fiber golf shafts. From the butt end of the foam grip to the tip they measure 43″. Obviously they are a fixed length, but they only come in at 86g each, so they are very light. I am not as confident that they would take the same beatings that my BD poles have taken though.