Guys come on.......
This makes no sense, first off how can you compare a surface on one pole with one no seen as its been rejected? How do you know it's even any where near the same, as the poles are made in completely different places with different technologies.
Secondly, SLX's are notorious for pole wear! The instructions even acknowledge this along with all with the 'black hands' users get. So you guys are saying one method was rejected to be replaced with something that is even worse?
Spruce you seem an intelligent guy with a lot of real world experience, can you explain the logic behind this?
You asked
I have an older 40 SLX (for the odd job) and 25 SLX. Black hand syndrome are the norm on these poles. My son uses the 25 SLX and we have sprayed the outer housing with engine laquer a couple of times to reduce the carbon dust with minimal results. The black carbon dust isn't coming from the outside of the pole. If it isn't coming from the outside of the pole, its coming from the inside which we haven't laquered. Despite that black hands syndrome, the SLX25 is over 3 years old and still has plenty of life left - can't ask for much more.
We have 2 newer SLX's (1 a year old and the second 18 months old although been in service also about a year) and both of these poles were of different construction to the older poles. They are a new version and have smaller pole diameters. Son in law has 1 pole, which TBH is abused and mine is well cared for (pole hose cleaned before every opening and when putting away in the van to move to the next house, especially when the ground is damp/wet.) From my part its a total waste of time, but I don't have black hands at all. SIL complains about his black hands but it's minor compared to the older SLX25 pole.
What Alex has said about the construction method changing to produce a better pole have been born out by our experience over time. Don't get me wrong, I like your clamps, but I'm not convinced about the rest of it, really put off by the slagging off on this and other forums. I notice that Gold has corrected your conversion from metric to imperial which you had wrong on Gardiner poles.
Unfortunately, getting your facts right is so important. If you can't get that right, then what else didn't you get right I ask myself. Doubts are a very difficult to dispell once formed.
This isn't personal so please don't take it as so. About 18 years ago Black and Decker launched their new jigsaw that had a pendulm action on the jigsaw blade along with their new Dewalt aquisition. This was big, but when I asked why the pendulm action was such a step forward on this jigsaw, not one of their marketing men or their product managers could answer the question. Then came a load of BS in explanation. I knew the answer as I had worked for Bosch for many years and we had good experience with pendulm action jigsaws, (Bosch were the inovators of this technology) but none of the BS came close to the answer.
Our power tool managing director in South Africa openly stated that he had no technical knowledge of the product and didn't know how to use most of it, but that wasn't his job to know, just to make sure that product was marketed and year on year sales targets were met. I had the utmost respect for our MD, but I'm getting the same feeling about your company. You and Mike are on here pushing and marketing your product in the best way you believe, but you haven't convinced me that your know too much about the technical aspects of your product or the technicalities of how its made.
Sorry if I'm wrong.
PS. A couple of posts have been posted and answered while I was writing this.
