Z-Flick Tent Pole
World's Lightest Adjustable Pole
The Z-Flick tent poles are a premium folding pole that allows bikepackers, canoeists, single trekking pole users, and others to enjoy the X-Mid and other trekking pole tents. By designing them specifically for this application, we've been able to create a better folding pole. That includes being the world's lightest adjustable pole at just 88 g (3.1 oz), the stiffest pole in its class, the only folding pole with an easy to use external adjuster, and the only folding pole compatible with almost every tent on the market.
INNOVATION
Folding poles (to substitute for trekking poles) have typically been treated as an afterthought by most tent companies. Most existing folding poles are built from traditional tent pole tubing (this is designed to flex) or generic carbon tubing (heavier than need be) resulting in a pole that is unnecessarily flexy, heavy, and rarely adjustable (important for fine tuning your tent pitch).
With the Z-Flick poles we started from scratch and applied our first principles philosophy to design an optimal folding pole. We are confident the Z-Flick poles are the finest available because they are:
These are the lightest adjustable poles on the market at just 88 grams (3.1 oz). We accomplish this with premium carbon fiber and larger diameter tubing which delivers more strength for the weight. There are slightly lighter non-adjustable poles but anything substantially lighter is much weaker and non-adjustable.
Adjustability is important for fine tuning the pitch of your tent, yet most folding poles are fixed length and the few that are adjustable use less reliable twist locks or a pin system that only adjusts in increments. External ‘flick’ style adjusters are quicker, continuously adjustable, and more reliable than twist locks, which is why we are pleased to offer the first and only folding poles with an external adjuster.
The Z-Flick poles are the stiffest poles in their class for reliable use in rough weather. We achieve this in three ways: (1) we use carbon tubing that is designed to be highly rigid (as opposed to tent pole tubing that is intended to flex), (2) we use precise tolerances between the sections to avoid slop, and (3) we use slightly larger diameter tubing that gives greater strength for the weight (12 mm vs 9.5 - 11 mm typically).
Our goal is to build the high quality gear, which is why we partnered with the same factory that builds premium carbon trekking poles and carbon avalanche probes for several leading brands. This quality is a clear contrast to folding poles built with generic aluminum or carbon tubing that offer lower performance and reliability.
A compact pole is important for bikepackers and many users, which is why the Z-Flick pole uses 5 sections to achieve a short 12″ packed length.
UNIVERSALLY COMPATIBLE
More than just a great pole, the Z-Flick poles are the most widely compatible folding poles on the market. All other folding poles only work with a subset of tents because they are typically non-adjustable length, but also because other poles only have one tip style, yet the world of trekking pole tents is divided into models that pitch in two ways: handles up or tips up.
The Z-Flick poles address this by having tips to suit both tip up and handle up style tents. That means they'll work for any tent with a peak under the 51.5" (131 cm) maximum (almost all tents). And if you need an even taller pole (e.g. pyramids) you can add sections to change the length by lifting off the flat end cap.
We’ve accomplished this with a unique idea: the four upper folding sections can be flipped to insert either end into the external adjuster, so we provide a different tip style on each end. One end has a custom shaped pointy tip for grommet style tents while the other end has a blunt aluminum cap for handles up tents.
The result is a highly versatile pole that works with almost ever trekking pole tent on the market. They’ll work for your current tent and your next one.
The Z-Flick poles set the standard for folding poles, as they are not only the lightest adjustable poles on the market, but also the stiffest poles anywhere near this weight, compatible with almost every tent, and the only pole to have continuous external adjustment. Any pole that is lighter has a fixed length and is quite likely much less stiff. Whether you own a tent from us or someone else, almost certainly these poles are your best choice.
SPECIFICATIONS
88 g (3.1 oz) per pole
12.25" (31 cm)
43.5 - 51.5" (111 - 131 cm)
14 mm / 0.55″ (bottom section)
12 mm / 0.47″ (upper sections)