In reply to gingerkate: If it's still stiff, you could try cleaning it. A surprising amount of grit and gunge gets carried up inside the tubes when you collapse the poles. One mistake I've seen people making is not extending the bottom section as far as the "stop" mark. If it's only half extended, the taper on the bottom section means that a gap is left at the joint for dirt to get in, and it's down near the ground where all the dirt is. If you extend the bottom section all the way to the "stop" mark then the seal is better, and it's higher up away from the filth. Unless you are really short, the overall length of the pole should be adjusted at the middle section only - which is why most poles have helpful index marks on that section.
The handbook which came with my Lekis says, under Maintenance:
"For many years of reliable performance, clean the inside of each shaft section of dust, dirt and oxidation regularly. After use in wet conditions take pole sections apart and let dry. It is recommended that expanders be replaced on a yearly basis for optimum performance. [yeah, right!] Sleeves separating shaft sections only need replacement if worn or lost. Note: If the shaft sections are unscrewed too far, the locking expander dowel will remain and 'float' in the upper shaft section. It is easy to 'catch' and retrieve this expander by gently pushing the lower shaft completely into the upper shaft. Twisting the lower shaft clockwise a couple of turns will allow the screw threads to catch the expander once again."
What the handbook doesn't do is explain how to go about the cleaning. What I do is:
- pull the sections completely apart, including the "red bit" (what Leki call the "split dowel" or "expander")
- thoroughly clean the outside of each sliding section and their expanders with soapy water, and use a bit of paraffin or WD40 on the threads
- cleaning the insides of the sections is trickier; I use a bit of rag tied on the end of a straightened-out wire coat hanger!
- make sure you let everything dry out thoroughly before re-assembling.
I put a very thin film of grease on the expander before I put it back in to the sleeve. I find this makes the action smoother, although I admit it may attract dirt and make cleaning a more frequent necessity.
I think it's unlikely that you can have cross-threaded the expander. The thread (on my Lekis anyway) seems to me to be too coarse to get crossed-up if the expander is held inside the upper section. Also, if the expander isn't expanded, I don't think it will grip the inside of the upper section firmly enough to allow you cross-thread it. However, as Toby says, if you have damanged the expander you should be able to get hold of a replacement fairly easily.
My Lekis worked fine for two or three years in spring/summer/autumn conditions, but they started to play up after a few winter outings - getting very difficult to unscrew, refusing to collapse/extend at awkward times etc. I now have a pair of Black Diamonds with the flicklock mechanism. So far they seem OK, although they do take a bit of fine tuning of the clamp screws to get them so that they hold the sections securely enough to take being leaned on, without being
so stiff that they can't be "flicked" when you need to adjust the pole length. (If you plan to do this fine tuning on the hill you'll need to take the right screwdriver with you - or perhaps a Leatherman - because a Swiss Army Knife won't do the job!) Now that I've been through the tuning process, mine do so far seem to be behaving better than my Lekis did.
