Normally the top is the male then the next section would sit over it.Gravity would pull the joints a little tighter but they should never slide more than about five inches into the joint. You should be able to use it with no tape at all but eventually you may get a jam.
done that... but one slides into the other.. 3 to 4 inch maximum... thats without tape... so a little worried about strength... if i put the tape on and lose a couple of inch to protect from jamming.
Gazza,
You're just trying to wind me up aren't you?
Just put the pole together, and wind a couple of turns of gaffer tape around the male section; so the tape is JUST below the female section. Job done. No worries about strength; it's tough and robust and should feel so too.
Like Dai said (and he's old enough to be a bit senile):
The trick is to put the sections together as normal, then wrap the tape over the male section as a stop.
This prevents it from going in even further when in use and getting stuck.
If you have any further questions on this part; which should take no longer than 10 or 15 minutes and is really simple to do, e-mail me your address and I'll jump in the car and drive the 300 miles to your house and show you how it's done.
And you'll kick yourself; 'cos it's so easy.
Do you want photos? I'll run out and take them NOW if you're still unsure.