I started with facelift poles back in 2010, then discovered gardiners and I have never looked back since.
If anything I’d say the quality has improved. The “shims” for example in the clamps, and the little notch that stopped the clamps from spinning round when loosened.
We use extreme poles, and slx poles, and they all last years. I get two years Atleast from an extreme, and probably three from an slx before the sections spin.
That’s full time hours for me, and my wife does two days a week, so they get heavy use.
Mayb it’s a case of being a bit too heavy handed or getting loads of grit inside the pole and not cleaning it out?