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Reviews > Trekking Poles > Poles > Fizan Trektour > Owner Review by Andrew Preece

Fizan Trektour trekking poles
Owner review
by
Andrew Preece

The Pole.
Photo courtesy of Fizan
Contents
Description
My Details
 
Personal Details
Name: Andrew Preece
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight: 188 lb (85 kg)
Email: andrew_at_teamgunnparker_dot_com
City: Perth.
Western Australia.
Australia.
Testing Locations
Bibbulmun Track: Sea level to 1,920 ft (585 m). Within this region I backpack along old forestry roads, sandy tracks, and purpose built walking tracks. The south-west of Western Australia allows for hiking and backpacking from coastal plains to forested ranges. I hike in varying conditions from forestry tracks, to sandy tracks to single purpose walking trails, from rock hopping, to beach walking to completely off-track through open and dense bush country.
Backpacking Background
I have done a lot of hiking over the years but only now carry a hammock and all the gear for over night stays of one to two nights. I normally carry approximately 28 lb (13 kg) which includes food and water. My trips are usually between one to three days duration mainly over weekends. I hike all seasons with winter temperatures ranging from 39 F (4 C) to 64 F (18 C) including periods of heavy rain at times to summer conditions with the temperature ranging from 68 F (20 C) to 95 F (35 C) and very dry.
Testing Activities
I have used these poles every time I hike any where, whether it is multi day hiking trips of up 43 mi (70 km) to shorter days hikes of 9.3 mi (15 km) and in any geocaching days that take me out into the bush.
 
Testing Conditions
I have used these poles in all sorts of weather, from bucketing down rain to very hot summers days. I have used them up in the hills of Perth on mainly gravel and rocky tracks and down on the flatter ground near the coast which is mainly sandy trails.
 
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The poles I have are Fizan Trektour and I have two of them.
I have owned them for about ten months.
Manufacturer: Fizan s.r.l.
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.fizan.it/
MSRP: unavailable
The grip.
The rubberised handle.
   Measurements.  
Length at full extension 54 in (137 cm)  
Length fully closed 24.5 in (62 cm)  
Weight each 9.21 oz (261 gm)  
     
     
The shaft.
A section of the pole.
Description
My poles are three piece poles with a contoured rubberised handle at one end tapering down to a sharp metal point at the other end.
Built into the top of the handle is an adjustable strap with a buckle that allows for the adjustments. This strap looks like it could be replaced as there is a screw in the very top of the handle, I have never tried to undo this screw.

The poles are made in Italy from 5083-F45 aluminium in three telescopic sections with two twist locks to hold the pole at the correct height or length.
The point has a knurled metal end fitted to it to allow the point to bite into any rocks that the pole comes into contact with. This stops or helps to prevent any slipping whilst hiking. The poles came with a rubber cap that fits over the end so that if I am walking on a foot path around my home area they do not scrape the ground and make a lot of noise.
At the pointy end of the pole is a hard plastic basket to stop the pole from sinking into any soft ground.

The point.
The point.
Use
I first looked into getting trekking poles after hiking many times with a friend who swears by them. I decided I did not want to spend a lot of money on them in case I did not like them. So I found some that where on special at the time, now I love them and would not go back to not using them.

I have just completed four days out hiking and have really come to appreciate my trekking poles. I started out with 38.58 lbs (17.5 kg) in my pack and found straight away that the weight from my pack was transferred through my arms to the poles. Thereby making the weight that I carried on my back feel a lot less.
I had to walk a lot of uphill and downhill sections on this walk and liked the fact I could really lean down on the poles and push off the ground to help get up the hills, so much better I feel.
Also the downhill sections were on slippery small rocks and I felt a lot more stable being able to lean on the poles while walking down to keep my balance.
The Poles have never come apart while using them but at one point as I was stepping up over a log I must have pushed off too hard on the poles and one of them slid into itself. I made sure that from that moment on I had the poles set tight.

I like them also because in the past I found that my arms and hands would get tired and fidgety and I would be poking my thumbs through a couple of loops on my pack. Now I no longer have to worry about that at all.
I find that my pack load feels lighter and I am supporting more weight on my arms now, which means I can cover more distance without needing as many rest stops.
The adjustable strap at the handle end is easy to use and it is a set and forget type of thing, once done I do not need to do it again. When using the poles correctly with my hands through the straps and lightly grasping the handles I find my hands do not get overly sweaty on the rubber handles.

Setting the height of the poles is simply a matter of twisting the lower section and setting that to what looks good, I like to keep this section short as it is thinner than the longer middle section. Then I just twist this middle section and set it to the correct height that I need. then I just twist all of the sections to lock them in place and I am all set to go hiking.
It is recommended that maintenance is undertaken on the poles by cleaning them, keeping them free from dirt and lubricating the twist locks so as to stop them from binding. I must admit that in the ten months I have had them I have done nothing at all to maintain them and they work perfectly.


 

 

The twist lock.

One of the twist locks.

Conclusion
I am very happy with my first set of trekking poles and I can think of no reason to upgrade to a newer pair. These have done me very well up until now I am am willing to bet they will last a lot longer too.
 
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