Elevate Your Shots: A Deep Dive into the Insta360 Extended 10ft Selfie Stick

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I take this stick everywhere, but the moment it earned its place was on a cruise to Alaska. The views were unreal (glaciers, open water, mountains stacked to the horizon) and the best angle for any of it was straight up and out, an aerial 360 looking back down on the deck. Everyone else was elbowing for a spot at the railing. I just extended this stick above the whole crowd and shot clean, uninterrupted footage that nobody else could get.

That’s the whole pitch for an extended selfie stick. If you shoot with an Insta360 or another small action cam, you already know the angles that make footage feel cinematic are the ones you physically can’t reach: over a crowd, off a cliff edge, high enough that the stick itself disappears in the final 360 render. This is the tool that gets you there.

The Insta360 Extended Edition is a telescoping carbon-fiber stick built for 360 and action cameras. It’s officially made for the Insta360 ONE X2, ONE R, ONE X, and ONE, but the top is a standard 1/4-inch screw mount, so it’ll take pretty much any action cam (a GoPro included, with the right adapter).

The headline number is reach: it goes from a packable 14 inches out to almost 10 feet, all from a single piece. No second section to screw on, no twist-to-lock collars. You just pull it out and friction holds it wherever you stop.

Insta360 publishes the full spec sheet, and the figures that actually matter day to day are the length and the weight:

• Weight: 365g (12.9oz)
• Minimum length: 362mm (about 14 inches / 1.2ft)
• Maximum length: 3000mm (9.8ft)
• Minimum diameter: 9mm (0.4in)
• Maximum diameter: 36mm (1.4in)
• Sections: 10

A stick like this earns its keep in a handful of very specific situations. These are the ones that come up again and again for me.

Aerial shots without a drone. Drones are great until they aren’t. They’re expensive, there’s a real learning curve, and half the places worth filming (national parks, near airports, plenty of cities) won’t let you fly at all. They’re also loud enough to wreck a quiet moment. This stick gets you a big chunk of that drone-like height with none of the cost, noise, or paperwork. You won’t clear a treeline, but for “above the crowd” and “looking down on the scene,” it’s all the lift you need.

Real third-person angles. Handheld and short sticks keep the camera right on top of you. Push the camera out 8 or 9 feet and you get those wide, follow-cam third-person shots that make footage feel like it was filmed by someone else walking alongside you.

Creative flexibility. Fixed-length sticks box you in. With ten sections and anything from 36cm to 3m on tap, you can frame for the moment: just over a crowd, just past a cliff edge, or somewhere in between.

The best views were aerial 360s, and while everyone fought for the railing, I just lifted the camera over their heads.

Build and feel. It’s carbon fiber, so it’s both stiff and genuinely light. The grip is comfortable and it looks the part. This doesn’t feel like a throwaway accessory.

Setting up. Dead simple. The camera screws onto the 1/4-inch mount up top, and extending is just a smooth pull-and-stop. Friction holds each section in place, which is why there are no locks to fiddle with. The trade-off: friction has limits, so this is built for light cameras and accessories, not heavy rigs.

A bonus mount. The bottom has a 1/4-inch female thread too, so you can stand it on a tripod or add other accessories. Handy for setting up a static high shot.

Performance. Held straight up it’s rock-solid and the footage is steady. Held out horizontally there’s a little bend if your camera is heavier than a standard Insta360. It’s minor, and not something I notice in the final 360 render, but worth knowing if you’re hanging a heavier action cam off the end. The tip doesn’t articulate, but for a 360 camera that’s a non-issue, and it’s one less thing that can break.

The spec that sells itself in person is the collapsed size. Long sticks are a pain to carry: they snag, they don’t fit in a bag, they’re the thing you leave behind. This one folds down to 14 inches and slides into a backpack or a side pocket without a second thought.

I keep mine in the outside pocket of my camera bag with a camera already attached and the stick extended an inch or two, partly so it’s grab-and-go, and partly so I can pretend I’m a Mandalorian. It fit my LowePro Slingshot Edge 250 AW perfectly with my Insta360 X3 mounted.

Price isn’t the only thing that matters here. Ease of use, packed size, and reach all count. I compared it against a popular budget rival, the Smatree 86.6-inch stick, and it wasn’t close.

The biggest gotcha with the rival: the two-piece, screw-together design wasn’t clearly advertised, which catches a lot of buyers off guard. Even with both pieces joined and fully extended, it still came up short of the Insta360, and the twist-locks make it slower to deploy.

No piece of gear is perfect, so here’s the straight talk. It’s pricier than the generic long sticks. You’re paying for the one-piece carbon build and the reach, and I think that’s fair, but it’s a real difference. It’s friction-held, so there’s a weight ceiling (more on that below) and it’s not the tool for a heavy mirrorless or a loaded rig. And held dead horizontal with a heavier-than-stock camera, you’ll see a touch of bend. None of that is a dealbreaker for 360 and action-cam use, which is exactly what it’s built for, but it’s worth going in with the right expectations.

If you shoot 360 or action footage and you keep hitting the same wall (angles you can’t reach, crowds you can’t get above, the drone you can’t or won’t fly), this is the fix. The single-piece carbon build, the near-10-foot reach, and the 14-inch packed size add up to a stick you’ll actually bring along instead of leaving at home. It costs more than the budget options, but it does things they simply can’t, and it’s become permanent gear for me.

Ready to add some height to your shots? Here’s where to grab one.

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What’s the most weight I can put on it? In our testing, around 1.5 lb (0.7 kg). Past that it starts to collapse under its own load. Because it’s all friction-based, the wider lower sections may hold a bit more, but not by much, and the friction can ease off over time with heavy use.

How many sections does it have? Ten. That gives you a lot of flexibility to dial in almost any length between collapsed and fully extended.

What’s it made of? Durable, lightweight carbon fiber, with a comfortable grip for long shooting sessions.

Can I take it through TSA in a carry-on? Generally yes. It’s a compact accessory and packs small. That said, TSA rules change, so check the current guidelines before you fly.

Can I really get drone-like shots with it? For “above the crowd” and “looking down on the scene,” yes. The extra height plus a 360 camera gets you aerial-style perspectives without an actual drone. No, it won’t clear a treeline, but it covers a lot of the shots people buy drones for.

Will it hold my camera steady when fully extended? It’s stable held upright. Fully extended and horizontal you may see a slight bend with a heavier camera, but it doesn’t meaningfully hurt the shot. Keep it to 360 and small action cams and you’re fine.

Is it lightweight? Very. It’s 365g (12.9oz) of carbon fiber, light enough to hold up for a long time without your arm complaining.

How long does it extend, and how small does it pack? From 36cm (about 14 inches) collapsed out to 3m (9.8 feet) fully extended. That 14-inch packed length is the whole reason it’s so easy to carry.

Which cameras work with it? Officially the Insta360 ONE X2, ONE R, ONE X, and ONE. The standard 1/4-inch screw mount also means it pairs with plenty of other action cams, including a GoPro with the right adapter.