How is the Little Giant Ladder?

Is it all its cracked up to be? $360+ is kind of steep but I'm thinking of getting my dad one for Father's day

It's heavy, but it is the bomb when you need to reach high on stairways or if you want to have one ladder that will do it all (sorta).

I love mine, but it is one of eleven different ladders I have, so it only gets used when lugging it around is the only way to reach where I am working.

One of the things we noticed was that our alum ladders DO flex like they show on TV.
I live in a ranch style house so I won't need super long ladders.

Should I get the shortest Little Giant?

I still find the Little Giant style ladder flexes when fully extended.  It is heavy too, but very handy, especially if you have to transport it in a car.

The design was actually from a German company.  Little Giant just manufactures it.  If you go to
Home Depot,  they carry an identical one made by a company called Gorilla.  Made in China, they
run half the cost of the US models, but they are exactly the same design.

Thanks for the tip.

I found Lowes carries the Werner, and Home Despot carries the Gorilla.
Both are the same aluminum 13' telescoping design, rated for 300 lb.

$99 is a much better price.

As a rule aluminum step ladders suck times infinity. Aluminum extension ladders do flex, which is annoying, but normal.

If you have a ranch style house, you really need a eighteen foot fiberglass extension ladder for getting up on the roof.

If you have a split level with a stairwell that is challenging for a regular step ladder, than get the Little Giant. If not, a good six foot fiberglass step ladder would be cheaper, lighter, and easier to store.

The ads always show the little giant used as an extension ladder, but that is not practical and is actually dangerous for someone not accustomed to using ladders. The "use it as two sections of scaffolding" suggestions are pretty lame after you have tried it once.

It excells in two areas.

Set up on uneven ground or stairs.

Used as a step ladder when you need to get up so far that you want to stand on top of the thing with one leg on each side of the ladder. It is very stable and you can stand on it higher than you can on an eight foot fiberglass step ladder.

The way I use my ladder, I would not trust a cheap knock off. I trust my life to the Little Giant several times a year, putting me into spots where a sudden fall would be disaster.

My dad (a contractor) has had 2 of those Little Giant ladders for about 18 years now.  They get used on a fairly regular basis.  Mostly their use is for the uneven A frame positions, like on stairways or a slope.  For these jobs there is no equal.

The fully extended makeup is floppy and your better off just grabing a regular extension ladder.  The Little Giants take too much hasle to go fully extended, and they do flex a lot that way.

Durrability wise, like I said, weekly use for a long time.  Expense wise, you can buy a good step ladder and a good extension ladder for less than a Little Giant, so unless your going to spend a LOT of time on ladders, I'm not sure I would buy one.

With my arm extended up all the way, I'm a few inches from touching the gutter on my roof. So I'd say a 13' ladder would probably work. I may avoid the Little Giant and the imitations altogether seeing how its real usefulness is limited.

I finally bought one a couple weeks ago after hemming and hawing over one for a couple years at trade shows and seeing them in infomercials.

They are a little heavier than they are made out to be on TV, but I did get the $400 one, not the $360 one they have on TV, which weights 12 lbs more.  It''s a little heavy for frequent use around the house, but I needed the slightly longer one unfortunetly.

I don't think I'd trust a chinese ladder to hold my ass 15 feet off the ground.

they are very heavy, I carry them all around large buildings. but they are the only ladders that I would even consider doing my work on. Im a window tinter. our company has like 8 of them some are as large as 12ft in the fully collapsed form. the best part of them is when your working on something a long time you can just sit on the top and the ease at which 2 people can work one on each side. Oh and working in odd areas where you need to tilt the thing to one side.

USAF has one on every KC 10 acft.

they are the shit.

Mt Hunter

Used them in the Navy.  Best damn ladder I have ever used.

The company I work for has about 100  of them.   Short, long, fiberglass, the installers usually have 3 of  them in their trucks.     I have one myself  works well for everything but still need to "steal" the 24' ladder of the rescue truck when I need to get to the roof  

Quoted: USAF has one on every KC 10 acft. they are the shit. Mt Hunter

Navy has them on P-3 and C-130 aircraft.  In 10+ years of useage I've never seen one break.  And we use them hard.

Fritz

Quoted: USAF has one on every KC 10, KC-135, C-130, C-17, etc... they are the shit. Mt Hunter

Fixed it for ya, and they ARE the shit!

Quoted: Quoted: USAF has one on every KC 10, KC-135, C-130, C-17, etc... they are the shit. Mt Hunter Fixed it for ya, and they ARE the shit!

I don't think so. I've been using these ladders for the last 9 years I've worked on aircraft for the AF. I've never seen one break and they're super sturdy. One of these would be great for household use, but they are pricey.

Its a bitch to carry.

I'm a contractor and I would be lost without the ones I use. Worth every penny in my opinion. Mine are about 7 yrs old and they still function as if new.