X-shot failure

So I've had my X-shot camera extender arm for just over a year now.  I feel this is partly my fault as I was a little rough on it.  I  used it to dunk my camera under water in the ocean a few times and knew that it was getting salt water in it, but I would try to fill it with fresh water in an attempt to flush it out.  I greased it up once every few months to try and keep it from freezing up but I guess I didn't keep it greased enough.  A few days ago I was trying to re-grease it and get it moving smooth again as it was starting to get tough to extend and collapse.  The segment that was closest to the handle when extended seemed really tough collapse so I greased it well and tried to collapse and extend it a few times.  I ended up shoving it right through the bottom of the handle sending the base cap flying across the floor.  I looked into the busted handle and found a nice big glob of sea salt.

I just sent an email to XShot to see what they have to say about it. 

My suggestion to those that have an XShot:
Drill a small hole in the center of the end cap at the base of the handle.  Or, while the thing is extended, drill the hole in the handle near the end, but not less than about an inch from the end(I cut away the bottom half of the rubber handle sheath and wrapped the bottom with electrical tape and it worked really well).  If you have used it for a little while, fill it with hot, soapy water; shake it really well; rinse and repeat.  Maybe even let it soak in hot soapy water for a while.  Next, pack the thing with marine grade engine grease.  Plug the hole with marine goop.  You can always take off the marine goop to access the inside again if you want to repeat the rinse and grease process.  I imagine fluid film might help as well.

When I first got my XShot, my first thought was "this thing ain't going to last".   

-Allen

Liberal internal coating of Corrosion-X may also help ward off the salties.