If I had to save some money on the purchase price of a 25-45ft pole would I be better off with a heavier pole that’s stiffer or a lighter pole that isn’t as ridged? Which choice would be less fatiguing to work with fully extended?
I’d rather have a slightly heavier but for sure stiffer WFP. Hence the reason the CLX stays in my equipment room and the thicker, heavier, but stiffer XTEL Hybrid pole is in use everyday.
Hey Seth,
Your post about your heavier but more ridged hybrid pole on another thread is the reason I started this thread. Also I saw a new aluminum pole that just came out on a video and it appeared to be one of the stiffer choices out there. Affordable because it’s heavy. I think it’s called the Brodex.
Brodex - Water Fed Poles - Water Fed Poles / Systems
<iframe width=“560” height=“349” src=“YouTube” frameborder=“0” allowfullscreen></iframe>
It is pretty stiff…
Chris,
What would you rather work with a Brodex or a lighter whimpier pole?
Is this much flex undesirable?
I had acquired this pole for a great deal and I haven’t tried any of the other of the big name poles - Is this more flex than what the others have? It’s crazy light, and anything up to 30’ the pole is a champ. But in this video it’s up near 40’+ (seven 6’ sections extended) and it’s waggin like a dog.
[video]- YouTube
The stiffer the better. I have the simpole love it stiff light weight and durable
It may be stiff and durable but light weight?
Of the current pole offerings, doesn’t lightweight mean carbon fiber construction, which is inherently rigid?
I had a 50ft fiber glass pole, it was heavy and wobbly, it wore me out, I would say a stiffer pole is less fatiguing, weather it is light or heavy.
Just because it’s carbon fiber doesn’t necessarily mean it’s light(I had one, sent it back). It still may be lighter and stiffer than hybrids and fiberglass.
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I started WFPing with a 30ft Unger TelePlus window washing pole. I got an Extel Fiberglass pole and never used it more then a couple times because the window washing pole was stiffer and therefore easier to work with. Eventually I purchased a SL-X pole. That was a nice change.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]<O:p</O:p[/FONT][/SIZE][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]When a clamp on my SL-X broke I was forced to use my aluminum window washing pole. I hoisted it up and thought to myself “This isn’t that bad, it’s not that heavy.” Then it started to bend and whobble and that made all the difference, because I thought I was going to die. I think the rigidity of the SL-X pole may be an even greater benefit than its light weight. Not sure though.<O:p</O:p[/FONT][/SIZE]
If you want a pole that is much stiffer than the CL-X but is even lighter, then the SL-X pole would be far better suited for your needs. Whilst the CL-X poles are extremely popular they are only our entry level pole. They provide great lightness but certainly not rigidity on the level with a full carbon pole. Personally I have only ever used the CL-X poles for testing purposes as I prefer the rigidity of full carbon for my work.
Hey Alex,
What if you made an affordable pole that was heavier than the CLX pole but more rigid. Do you think it would sell even better than the CLX? Seth’s guys seem to prefer that option.
Will Seth’s guys pickup the R&D, prototype, and tooling costs?
Depends on how high you will be cleaning. 3 stories and down, prolly lighter. But 4 stories on up prolly stiffer. Sounds to me like you may need 2 different poles…
I would be against making heavier poles as my whole pole design ethos has been based upon the lightest weight possible, hence the Super-lite2 which still holds the title of world’s lightest production WFP and it is also the most rigid. Whilst rigidity is important, in my opinion light weight is slightly more important. I remember several years ago switching from the old Universal fibre glass poles that were heavy but fairly rigid to the more flexible but much lighter Xtel poles. The result was a dramatic decrease in fatigue and I quickly knew that I would not return to anything that heavy - for me in that situation it was much better having a slightly more flexible pole (X-Tel) than the more rigid but heavier pole (Universal). With the production of poles even lighter than the X-Tel range and much stiffer than the Universal we are really entering the ‘Golden Age’ of WFP. Almost any pole (but not quite all!) on the market now are better than what was on offer just 5 or 6 years ago.
For me then I know, without doubt, that extra weight is more fatiguing over the length of a day than a slight drop in rigidity. Having said that I also will not compromise on rigidity and hence the best-selling SLX range and also the new Super-Lite Xtreme which is very very light and also very rigid.
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