How to look after your Mountain King walking poles

Proper care of your walking poles should lead to many hours of problem free use.

The essentails for keeping your walking poles in good condition are as follows:

*Always dry your poles thoroughly before storing them.
Although aluminium is very corrosion resistant, when poles are stored damp for long periods of time, a powdery layer of aluminium oxide can form on the inside of the tubes, forming a sliding layer which makes it difficult to get the poles to lock without over-tightening them.
In serious cases, the powdery oxide can jam the pole sections or the threads on the locking mechanism.
Before storing your poles, seperate the sections and wipe them down with a soft absorbent cloth and allow the insides of the sections to dry out before re assembling and storing them.

*Never use lubricants such as WD40 on your poles.
as the locking mechanisms inside the pole sections rely on friction to operate and hold the poles at your desired length, anything oily inside the pole sections means that your poles are likely to slip unpredictably during use and may even become impossible to lock.

*Do not over-tighten
Applying too much force when locking your pole sections can cause the mechanism to jam, or even strip the thread in the expansion mechanism. If you do accidentally over tighten your poles, wear a pair of rubber gloves to get a firm grip on the pole sections to release them, do not twist the pole end-caps.

*Do not use your poles with sections extended beyond the stop markings.
Your poles rely on having a certain amount of overlap between the sections for strength, without this, your poles are much more likely to be damaged in use. For maximum strength, try to keep the sections on your poles at roughly the same length, rather than just extending one section.

*Separate your poles into sections when transporting in a suitcase or inside a rucksack.
This will reduce the overall length of your poles, and help to prevent damage in transit.