Gear Review: Red Fox Fizan Trekking Poles

World's Lightest?

Trekking poles give the wilderness walker that extra traction to go the extra mile. They save the knees on the downhills, and are great for balance. If you’re an ultralighter, they come in handy for pitching the tarp too. And there are a ton to choose from. People are generally overwhelmed when they walk into REI and see an entire aisle full of poles, but one feature they always want is light weight.

 That’s why I was so stoked to review the Red Fox Fizan trekking poles. At 158 grams they make the bold claim of being the world’s lightest, and maybe they are. Compared to my Black Diamond poles they felt like feathers. In fact the 5.6 ounce weight is lighter than the lightest Black Diamonds. But they’re tough too. There were a couple times in The Grand Canyon when I thought they would break after I jammed one between rocks while in cruise control, but the aluminum allow construction had just enough flex to make the recovery without any damage.

Breakdown

At around 23 inches they also get smaller than the high-end name-brand poles we’re used to. And if that’s not small enough, they’ll easily break down into three separate sections of less than 19 inches, which is short enough to fit in most carry-on luggage. 

Specs aside, it’s clear to me that the Red Fox Fizan trekking poles are exactly what other poles are trying to be. Even the locking system is superior. Most twist locks fail over time, or when pressed upon by a significant weight. The twist locking mechanism in the Red Fox Fizan poles didn't budge even when I leaned on them. In the two months I've owned them they've never slipped once.

Compact

In the short term these trekking poles have been the best I've ever used. In 5 days of hard backpacking they felt like an extension of myself more than a tool I was using for travel. All wasn't perfect however, as the rubber tips they came with were utterly destroyed by the rocky Grand Canyon terrain... But that isn't saying much.

Oh yeah.

You can check out the Red Fox Fizan trekking poles and other gear at:
http://redfoxna.com/

Disclosure: I was given the Red Fox Fizan Trekking Poles at no cost of my own from Red Fox for the purposes of a product review. The opinions I express in the review about the product are my own.