Trekking Poles - Store in Italy

[Robo]

Pat and I use Fizan Compact trekking poles, mainly because they are ultra light.
Only 158 gms per pole. (3 section)

The downside of course is that they are not that strong, and as they use twist grips, over tightening can lead to splits in the pole.
So we are in need of replacements. It didn't help that I slipped on my butt this year coming down from El Acebo and landed on a pole. It's now banana shaped!

So I was shopping around here in Oz for replacements. They are crazy prices.

I came across a chain of stores in Italy (Fizan are made in Italy)

Even with the postage they are cheaper than buying here in Oz.

I'm going to try the even more compact 4 section poles, as we'll be backpacking around Europe by train after our next Camino.
I'll keep you posted.

This is the store (no commercial interest) https://www.oliunid.com/
They have a chain of bricks and mortar stores and look fairly legit/

For those in the US, yes I realise you guys pack a fraction of the price that we do for stuff down under
Sadly I have found a lot of US retailers won't ship to Australia.


I suspect we will now get an avalanche of Pole recommendations.
Black Diamond, Pacer......... we like our Fizan

 

[henrythedog]

Four-section poles do make for slightly easier packing - although most of my travel bags have one dimension long enough to take a three-section pole - but they also add another potential point of failure.

 

[Robo]

Four-section poles do make for slightly easier packing - although most of my travel bags have one dimension long enough to take a three-section pole - but they also add another potential point of failure.

True. I'm interested to try them though.
Our 3 section won't fit inside our packs, but maybe he 4 section will.
Might make things easier for post Camino train hopping.

With this type of pole I've found the only failure, having gone through 4 or 5 poles, is caused by over tightening the twist locks. They expand too much and crack the outer tube. I've always managed to get by with duct taping around where the crack is. But I now don't collapse them at the end of the day. Leaving them alone and not adjusting too much helps with that accidental damage.

Or maybe I just have to not over tighten? But it's hard to gauge.

Yes I could try a different locking mechanism, but I'm a bit OCD when I find gear that I like.
I don't want to change

 

[Stephan the Painter]

So I was shopping around here in Oz for replacements. They are crazy prices.

I came across a chain of stores in Italy (Fizan are made in Italy)

Even with the postage they are cheaper than buying here in Oz.

For those in the US, yes I realise you guys pack a fraction of the price that we do for stuff down under
Sadly I have found a lot of US retailers won't ship to Australia.

I remember, I spent a month in Perth once working. I think Perth is expensive even for Australia, but it really was a lot more expensive then the US. My sympathies!

 

[Robo]

I remember, I spent a month in Perth once working. I think Perth is expensive even for Australia, but it really was a lot more expensive then the US. My sympathies!

Someone has to live here
Though Perth (Western Australia) is not really Australia.

Over there they think they are a separate country and don't like us folks from the East much
It is like a separate country!

Afternote:
This was a poor attempt at humour that upset another member.
My apologies.


We were thinking of driving over and doing a road trip.
8 hours a day on the road, would take about 6 days to get there..............
With not much in between.

I'm kind of drawn to it though.

It would be the driving equivalent of the Meseta

 

[J Willhaus]

Here's the pitch for Black Diamond. My 3 section poles fit easily in a backpack or a suitcase or even a small handbag and they don't twist lock.

 

[Saint Mike II]

G'Day @Robo loved the description of you falling on your butt, as long as only the trekking pole was hurt.
As for buying replacements in Italy, not at all surprised that even with postage/shipping and the AUD v Euro exchange rate they were cheaper. Best wishes for next adventure.

 

[Corned Beef]

Though Perth (Western Australia) is not really Australia.

Oh. So my brother hasn't go to Australia then?

Good spot on the website though. They stock my favourite brand of boots (Scarpa) at really good prices.

 

[dougfitz]

Oh. So my brother hasn't go to Australia then?

Of course he has!!

This:

Though Perth (Western Australia) is not really Australia.

is the sort of offensive joke that normally not even a real Australian would make would make in public discourse. Whatever element of truth their might be in @Robo's gross generalisations about not only Western Australia but anywhere else between where he lives and the west coast, they are mostly Pinocchio moments. Although, with this attitude, his views about being welcome might become a self-fulfilling prophecy were he to visit sometime.

 

[Sedona11]

Pat and I use Fizan Compact trekking poles, mainly because they are ultra light.
Only 158 gms per pole. (3 section)

The downside of course is that they are not that strong, and as they use twist grips, over tightening can lead to splits in the pole.
So we are in need of replacements. It didn't help that I slipped on my butt this year coming down from El Acebo and landed on a pole. It's now banana shaped!

So I was shopping around here in Oz for replacements. They are crazy prices.

I came across a chain of stores in Italy (Fizan are made in Italy)

Even with the postage they are cheaper than buying here in Oz.

I'm going to try the even more compact 4 section poles, as we'll be backpacking around Europe by train after our next Camino.
I'll keep you posted.

This is the store (no commercial interest) https://www.oliunid.com/
They have a chain of bricks and mortar stores and look fairly legit/

For those in the US, yes I realise you guys pack a fraction of the price that we do for stuff down under
Sadly I have found a lot of US retailers won't ship to Australia.


I suspect we will now get an avalanche of Pole recommendations.
Black Diamond, Pacer......... we like our Fizan

Thank you for the information. We bought ours at an Asian store for $8.50 euros each and they lasted til the end of our Camino and left them in Santiago

 

[Geebee]

Pat and I use Fizan Compact trekking poles, mainly because they are ultra light.
Only 158 gms per pole. (3 section)

The downside of course is that they are not that strong, and as they use twist grips, over tightening can lead to splits in the pole.
So we are in need of replacements. It didn't help that I slipped on my butt this year coming down from El Acebo and landed on a pole. It's now banana shaped!

So I was shopping around here in Oz for replacements. They are crazy prices.

I came across a chain of stores in Italy (Fizan are made in Italy)

Even with the postage they are cheaper than buying here in Oz.

I'm going to try the even more compact 4 section poles, as we'll be backpacking around Europe by train after our next Camino.
I'll keep you posted.

This is the store (no commercial interest) https://www.oliunid.com/
They have a chain of bricks and mortar stores and look fairly legit/

For those in the US, yes I realise you guys pack a fraction of the price that we do for stuff down under
Sadly I have found a lot of US retailers won't ship to Australia.


I suspect we will now get an avalanche of Pole recommendations.
Black Diamond, Pacer......... we like our Fizan

I can recommend Oliunid, I’ve been buying Fizan Nordic poles through them for friends in the Castlemaine region (Victoria) for several years.

 

[Saint Mike II]

G'Day @Robo, let me know when/if you are driving to the Golden West. The Nullabore is the only bit of Oz I have not driven. As for comparing it to the Meseta, well only if the Meseta was 10 times longer. Cheers

 

[Tincatinker]

@dougfitz, @Robo - you guys want to try living in Europe. We can go to war over much less than a joke

 

[dougfitz]

G'Day @Robo, let me know when/if you are driving to the Golden West. The Nullabore is the only bit of Oz I have not driven. As for comparing it to the Meseta, well only if the Meseta was 10 times longer. Cheers

If you let me know, I will forewarn my family there and arrange a sandgroper welcome for the pair of you Probably something less interesting than visiting some disused mine shafts around Kalgoorlie!!

Mind you, these days the road generally skirts along the southern edge of the Nullabor, and has become far less challenging over my lifetime. The Eyre Highway has been sealed for nearly half a century. This has its advantages, and access to the many interesting places to visit along the way is now much easier.

 

[Robo]

Of course he has!!

This:

is the sort of offensive joke that normally not even a real Australian would make would make in public discourse. Whatever element of truth their might be in @Robo's gross generalisations about not only Western Australia but anywhere else between where he lives and the west coast, they are mostly Pinocchio moments. Although, with this attitude, his views about being welcome might become a self-fulfilling prophecy were he to visit sometime.

My apologies @dougfitz . A poor attempt at humour and trying to portray the vastness of the landscape.

 

[dougfitz]

A poor attempt at humour and trying to portray the vastness of the landscape.

I understand. Many years ago I was attending a training course in England, and a fellow student asked if I got to visit my parents every weekend. The next day I brought in a little brochure that the Australian High Commission had given me showing Australia superimposed on Europe. With WA's west coast aligned with the west coast of Ireland, where I had been stationed in Victoria was a little to the east of Moscow. It quickly dawned on him why I had found it amusing to think I would visit Perth that often.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Well, if Perth is the worst part of Australia, I better go and visit the rest of it. I had a wonderful time and I met so many lovely people.

I was helping a friend out on an art project for the Perth festival and was there a month. We also went down to wine country south of Perth . And then afterwords, I went to Bali and rented a scooter and sketched all over the island.

It was an amazing trip, although my flight was Chicago to Hawaii to Tokyo to Perth. That must’ve been 24 hours total! I believe Perth is the farthest major city away from Chicago on the planet.

 

[Lleslie]

Brought up in New Zealand where no place is more than 130k from the coast - when I was 18 went to visit my sister in Sydney. She asked what I was going to do on a day she was working. I replied that I thought I'd take a bus to Uluru (Ayres Rock as it was known then, in the 80's) I added I might stay the night or just come back on the same day. Didn't understand why she fell about laughing