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I converted to hiking poles in 2017 when I completed Wainwright’s coast-to-coast. They help you power up hills, take pressure off your knees, and stay balanced on uneven terrain. A mountain lead I know says, “There are two types of people who hike with poles, those with bad knees and those that don't want bad knees”. I use trekking poles to erect my tent, so they support me and my shelter.

I've always used telescopic poles, but I was recently on a trip, and some people I was hiking with were using Z-pole-style poles. Z-poles are constructed of three sections of pole connected by a flexible joint. This allows them to be collapsed and packed down much smaller than traditional, telescopic trekking poles, which I have always found unwieldy and unsafe, especially when transporting them on a train or coach. So I was on the lookout for a new pair of poles.

The Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles are a new, robust 4-season pole from Black Diamond. They are incredibly packable, sliding into my water bottle pocket with no problems. Unlike most fixed-length Z-poles, the Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles have an additional 15 cm of adjustable length. This is brilliant if you use a trekking pole shelter, as in fine weather, you can pitch it high, aiding airflow, and in foul weather, you can pitch the tent lower to the ground. This degree of variation is not possible with fixed-length poles.

Flick lock poles are generally tightened and loosened with an Allan key, which is good, but they can be hard to find on the trail.  Black Diamond has come up with a solution to this. The entire handle of the Pursuit FLZs can be removed, revealing an Allan key. This can be used to tighten the lock on the fly.

Not one to do things by halves, the first trip I took the  Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles on was the Cairngorm 4000 in early April; we had full winter conditions, deep snow and the occasional whiteout, so I even got to test out the large snow baskets the poles come with. If you have ever done the Cairngorm 4000, you can attest that the climb leading to each summit is strewn with steep boulder fields, so I had to really had to rely on my poles. I was soon confident putting plenty of weight on them as I pushed myself up the mountains. They are constructed from 7000 series aluminium, a high-strength and high-hardness aluminium alloy widely used in aviation, automobile, railway, and shipbuilding.

I have since used the poles on a 240-mile coast-to-coast crossing of Scotland, so I've given these poles a good workout, and I'm pleased to say they look untouched. Once, the pin that locks the poles in place got stuck, but I quickly fixed them with the included Allen key, and I've not had that problem since.

My last trekking pole had a foam handle and a nylon wrist strap. This resulted in blisters on my palms, and I never used the straps as I found them uncomfortable. I'm pleased to have no blisters with the cork handle, my hands don't get sweaty, and they are comfortable to hold all day. The straps are much more breathable, when I used them, especially on descents; they are supportive and comfortable.

Overall, if you are looking for a hardwearing, reliable pair of pole the Pursuit FLZ Trekking Poles are versatile, packable and have even given consideration to on trail maintenance. They are not the lightest poles on the market, and they come at a premium price, but they are now may go to poles, I have confidence in them handling any terrain, and being able to support my tent in any condition.

Photo by Benny Branden on Instagram

Andy Neil
Andy has been a keen long-distance hiker and wild camping enthusiast since he completed the Cleveland Way in 2015. Since then, he has walked thousands of trail miles all over the UK and is an active member of the Wild Camping UK community, being an admin of the largest wild camping community on Facebook. He strongly advocates for responsible wild camping and believes it is important to leave no trace when camping in the wilderness. He joined the UOG team in 2021 and works as a website developer and content creator. Read more from Andy Neil