Posted: 7/16/2011 12:03:22 PM EDT
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i ended up buying one of these off one of those daily deal type sites last week.... http://extendastep.com/ came in today. thing is DAMN well made. i was worried it would have some flex and bounce extended but it's as solid as any ladder i have used in past. rated for 330lbs and weighs about 30lbs. fits in the back of a truck or car with ease. I am seeing LOTS of possibilities for something like this. hell it would have been damn nice to have in the patrol car during our last tornado. anyone used these things. |
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On a more serious note, that wouldn't be a bad thing to keep inside a personal vehicle or even a squad car. I know that our agency has wished it had a ladder on more than one occasion.
You should abuse the hell out of it and let us know if it still works... but then you could be out 200 dollars. |
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can't afford to torture test it. but i did haul my 250# fat ass up the roof with no issue. very little flex with me on it. only thing that i see as a con is you need to make sure each section locks properly but it's pretty obvious if they don't. i figure this could be real handy for scaling walls etc at times when carrying a full size ladder is simply not possible.
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Quoted: My weight hovers around 195 to 200. I'm all bone. I had this same ladder fail once. 17f and snow/ice. It collapsed one rung. If my knees were locked I would have been in bad shape. can't afford to torture test it. but i did haul my 250# fat ass up the roof with no issue. very little flex with me on it. only thing that i see as a con is you need to make sure each section locks properly but it's pretty obvious if they don't. i figure this could be real handy for scaling walls etc at times when carrying a full size ladder is simply not possible. Also you can hit the 330# limit if you are moving fast. In my case it was coming down with a 80# bag of QuickCrete on one shoulder being followed by many angry red wasps. The ladder did not fail, but it was seriously stressed. That high pitched sound aluminum makes before it fails. As you mentioned the tornado outbreak, Yes I think it is a good piece of gear. Just remember to keep your knee's bent when using this type of ladder. |
| I have played with them in person, but didn't ever fork over the cash. The guy at the store said a lot of RVers buy them. They look like they would be sweet for jobs that needed multiple ladders, as they would be fast to offload and set up, with not much space required to store them. |
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Quoted: Quoted: My weight hovers around 195 to 200. I'm all bone. I had this same ladder fail once. 17f and snow/ice. It collapsed one rung. If my knees were locked I would have been in bad shape. can't afford to torture test it. but i did haul my 250# fat ass up the roof with no issue. very little flex with me on it. only thing that i see as a con is you need to make sure each section locks properly but it's pretty obvious if they don't. i figure this could be real handy for scaling walls etc at times when carrying a full size ladder is simply not possible. Also you can hit the 330# limit if you are moving fast. In my case it was coming down with a 80# bag of QuickCrete on one shoulder being followed by many angry red wasps. The ladder did not fail, but it was seriously stressed. That high pitched sound aluminum makes before it fails. As you mentioned the tornado outbreak, Yes I think it is a good piece of gear. Just remember to keep your knee's bent when using this type of ladder. i don't think i'd use this for heavy work. i'd go for a traditional solid frame ladder. right tool for the job
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I've used this one, it was solid and didn't seem to have any more flex than a regular ladder.
http://www.portalladder.com/ladder/index.asp |
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My boss and I use ladders all day long.I asked him about this ladder.(he bought one years ago I'd heard him mention it) It's not a heavy daily use ladder just a quick easy stuff around the house type.But he would use it in a pinch to flee a burning house or save someone on the 2nd floor.YMMV
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| I use one of the little giant ladders. It is capable of being a step ladder or extension lader. Max Height for the step is up to 10 ft and the max height for the extension is up to 20 ft. You can get them with different height capabilities.This is the heaviest duty that I could find. It collapes to around 5 ft. not quite as portable but is heavy duty. If you have 2 of these you can use as a mini scafle up to 10 ft off the ground. |