HELP with stuck Fizan pole

Get some calipers and measure if there are sections of the pole that are no longer round. Also look for sections that are not perfectly straight. I ran over one Fizan pole with a Prius and it become nearly impossible to adjust. After taking some measurements, I found that some sections were out of round and some were no longer straight. After squeezing the pole with a well-padded pipe wrench and some gentle bending and beating with a mallet, the pole is now usable, though still stiff. That’s the great thing about Aluminum poles – you can often fix them if they bend.

Also always totally disassemble the poles after any use where they may have gotten damp inside. Aluminum often creates chalky galvanic corrosion that results in locked pole sections. If you ever see chalky dust come out of your poles, you have corrosion.

Yeah it’s probably that chalky corrosion that Philip mentions.

I had a Fizan pole get super stuck when I put it away collapsed and wet for a month. When I finally got it apart it was chalky. I had to do the fancy way and use vice grips on each section to twice them apart. The best prevention is to dry the poles, but next best is not to collapse them all the way so you’ll have more to grab onto to twist them apart.

Try putting the narrower diameter section of the pole in ice and at the same time pouring liberal amounts of very hot water on the wider diameter section. This will cause the metal of the smaller section to contract and the larger section to expand, which could give you more clearance to get the two pieces apart.

That is a great idea, JR, and it might work. A couple weeks ago I had an occasion to contact the U.S. Fizan representative about something altogether different. He had some free time, so we chatted about most everything related to those poles. He emphasized that if the poles do get wet, to be sure to disassemble them and dry out all the innards.

Yeah, that won’t fix the underlying problem, but it might buy enough wiggle room to separate the sections so the OP can clean up any grit, chalky corrosion, moisture, or whatever the actual problem is.

Another advantage of metal poles, I don’t know if this would work with CF.

Well, to take a trick from flyfishing, use two or three people. Have each get a grip on each side and pull to free it (after loosening it, of course.) A few *gentile* taps will free up most corrosion. Then just try again. 99% of the time, this will free up the pole. It works on all sorts of poles and is a simple application of “more power.” I have pulled ferrules off that were frozen, though…necessitating repairs. This won’t happen with a hiking staff. I have had some older cheap ones from Dicks do that. I still have one in service as an emergency staff (for when my mind is lost and I cannot remember to bring mine…hey, hey…) If the prob;lem is a twist, have all hands twist properly, as is the case with the cheap Dicks poles. (Yes, they were corroded together.) With three people you can actually twist the aluminum, so be a bit careful. No, oil won’t work on corrosion. However, a couple nights of hot water will free up the mineral salts. Then use a hard wax (car wax) to keep it from corroding.

“Another advantage of metal poles, I don’t know if this would work with CF.”
I don’t think heat expansion does much for CF poles, but CF poles also don’t corrode nor do they really bend out of round. So it seems that they have a lot less stuck issues like this. CF tends to be either fine or completely busted.

Never had an issue

Try two people(hands) on each section? Double the torque.

Or .strap wrench

Dont overtighten. Its not neeed and you will crack the shaft at point of expansion.