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Thread: Z poles?

  1. #21
    Registered User
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    08-22-2013
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deadeye View Post
    I bought a pair and busted one within the first 25 miles. Got lousy service from BD, they essentially told me I was too tough on UL equipment. I think the idea was great, but there's weak spot in the design where the elastic cords attach. Caveat emptor.

    I had a very similar experience with BD customer service after I bent a Z-pole on a section hike. Was essentially told that BD warranty covered manufactures defects but not normal usage. My rationale to the service rep that if something breaks in normal usage IT IS a manufacture's defect....!

    Was told sorry, no warranty. So I researched BD on the financial web sites to establish the names of all the corporate leaders. From there I reviewed the email naming convention of the customer service rep and duplicated it using the BD leaderships names.

    I had a responses back from the CEO, COO, CFO, etc... within about 2 hours. Had a new pole by the end of the week. YMMV but worked for me.

  2. #22
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    I am 6'0" and a bit over 200#. I use the zpoles at 120 fixed. I like the light weight and the ability to easy put them in a suitcase. I have had no issues. If I were to change anything with them, it would be better handles.

  3. #23

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    Black Diamond has recently been adding to the Z-Poles selections. Lots of new options including cork, carbon, snow baskets.

    http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/trekking-poles

  4. #24

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    I have z poles as well and they have worked out just fine. I got mine from geartrade.com for about $50.

  5. #25
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    09-29-2012
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    I have a set of the Aluminum ones, 120cm. I go backpacking about every other day here in CO typically no less than 5 miles. I also have several 30+ mile trips on mine up in the high country. I weight 155# and I have a bum knee so I tend to put a lot of my weight on them especially down hill. I also use them for my shelter which is a GOLITE poncho tarp. I have had 0 issues. They easily have 200+ miles of rough terrain on them and I can say with great confidence that with just a bit of care they will last. I do overnighters all the time with just my MountainSmith Tour lumbar pack and I love being able to stow them on the bottom straps. I love mine, rarely use my others now.

  6. #26
    Registered User MikekiM's Avatar
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    04-10-2016
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    East of Montauk, NY
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    I have a few seasons on my BD Z-Poles. I have never missed the length adjustment and have had a great experience with them.

    Best part is that since their internals are limited to a length of cord to keep the sections together, they are dead quiet..

  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rasty View Post
    I'm curious about others experience with the z-poles. Do the poles work for those larger than 150 pounds unlike myself?
    185 and no problem with either the carbon or aluminum folding Z poles. The inner connector cord is Kevlar, so you can't get a much stronger flexible material. Just be careful that you deploy them fully so that the pole section ends are fully seated in one another. That said, on rocky terrain, I go with either carbon or aluminum "full size" BD pole with the flick lock system. The full size poles seem to be more stable due to the larger diameter but at the cost of heavier weight not collapsing down to as small a size as Z poles. Like anything, there are trade-offs and no absolute right answer. It depends on your needs and priorities.

  8. #28
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    While I normally use a solid 6' tall bamboo pole for a hiking stick, I purchased a pair of light-weight BD Z-poles for a recent JMT thru hike because I had to fly out to California.

    My weight for the trip was right around 190#, and there were a few times where I tripped and put most of my weight on one of the pole (recall even seeing one of them bend pretty good and expected it to break because of the many breaks I've heard about regarding hiking poles). Obviously your mileage might vary, but I tried to keep the attitude that I knew at any moment I likely could break one of these light weight poles and just tried to remember that I at least had two and would have something to walk with unless I broke both of them.

    Actually, my two biggest difficulties with the poles were:
    1. Don't drop them when pausing to take a picture.
    2. Don't loose the rubber tip if you buy the larger rubber tips that slide over the ends.

    Rather than use the tiny metal tips, I left the other tips on and bought a set of the larger rubber tips to go over the ends. The poles worked much better on rock, dirt, sand, and basically all around with the large rubber tips over the standard tips. However, because they don't lock on, I had to be extra careful if I was around mud or snow/ice. I finally learned that when ever I was near anything questionable, I would slide them off and put them in my pocket until I passed the hazard that was likely to suck them off.

    When I would pause to take a picture, I would frequently just try to lean the poles against my chest. But they often tried to roll off to the side and fall to the ground. I had to learn that anytime I was near a cliff, on a bridge, or anywhere else where dropping the poles would make them difficult/impossible/dangerous to retrieve, I would try to lock them in place with the pole carrying cords that came with my Osprey back pack.

  9. #29
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    01-15-2015
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    I love the z-poles, lightweight, easy to pack, etc. Downside was that in a year's use (I've been doing mostly 3-6 day trips once every month or so) the inner rubber part that connects the sections has worn thin. I've been mindful of how I've folded them to avoid creating pressure points, but still have had the rubber wear down on both of them.

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