Bushwalk Australia

Hey guys

Kathmandu has a sale and have Fizan trekking poles. Anybody heard of them or used them? Limited results on the net don't give much (if anything) away, mainly marketing material.
http://www.kathmandu.com.au/14.html?cat ... -626382938

hightower wrote:Kathmandu has a sale and have Fizan trekking poles. Anybody heard of them or used them? Limited results on the net don't give much (if anything) away, mainly marketing material.
http://www.kathmandu.com.au/14.html?cat ... -626382938

Yes, we've used them for several years. Fizan is an Italian brand distributed in Australia by Kathmandu under their own label. Been around since 1947 making ski poles apparently (for detailed product info etc see http://www.fizan.it/history.php).

I've got the basic one ($30 on sale) about 3-4 years old and it's still OK. Has been used in many places including Tassie numerous times. Quality is quite good. They're generally lightweight and fairly compact. I find that I can stow mine inside a reasonable sized daypack. Does the job for me when I need it (dicky left knee on steep descents mainly). I think either Outdoor mag or Wild reviewed them amongst other brands within the last 12-18 months.

We've found no significant problems with them. Mine is sometimes difficult to secure, I suspect simply due to wear and tear, but still quite useable. Keeping the internal parts clean and dry helps. Getting parts is the only problem I can think of, if you were to lose a mud basket or break a tip etc KMD don't seem to keep spares.

While there are probably better poles around, the Fizan ones (esp. when on sale) seem to be good value. I bought the current basic model for my son about 12 months ago at 60% discount which ended up being about $23-00. Ridiculously cheap, I'll never understand KMD's pricing strategy.

I bought a couple of these about twelve months ago; I can't remember the model name but from memory KMD's RRP was about $90 & looks similar to the Trek.

Edit - dug 'em out of the cupboard - model is 'Altaquota'. Sprung carbide steel tip and better wrist strap were the main differences from the cheaper models IIRC.

I'm happy with them for the price.

I've used one quite a bit for day and overnight walks as well as an overland track trip where I lent the other to a mate - he sprained an ankle on day one and the pole came in for some very rough treatment but stood up well. Both have some cosmetic scratches and scrapes but work perfectly - no locking problems, no bends and the tips still look new.

Hi I use them , got them on sale and picked the sprung type model. Seem a little heavier and chunkier than some of the more expensive types . I go into some very heavy territory up in the Lamington NP in Qld and I recon they have saved me falling several times. On a few occasions they took my total weight and they did not bend and I was able recover balance quickly. I also have been recently use them as path clearers on some of the over grown tracks and in off track walks through thorns etc. Mine are quite well marked but have held up very well and for the price , great.Hope this helps , Steve C