[mlscontractcleaner]

New poles, Gardiners mostly as they seem VERY popular, are getting lighter and lighter and more rigid but are they as strong and robust as we'd like???

I only ask after being told by a window cleaner that he's had TWO Superlites snap on him in a wind

Like I've said before, I use fishing poles up to 16m long and they too have become far easier to use due to weight reductions and improvements with rigidity and balance BUT these improvements have come at a cost. Not in strength as that seems to have improved too, but in money, with some of the best poles costing £3,500+

I fish with a pole that cost me £2,500, far, far more than even my best WFP but the same length

So, is the carbon quality in my fishing pole superior to that of my WFP and will these lighter, more rigid WFPs last long enough to make the outlay worthwhile??

[Pope vader]

where would you get a fishing pole that length from

[mlscontractcleaner]

Any decent fishing tackle shop mate. They're used in coarse fishing and are basically modular poles tapering down to a fine tip with the top one, two or three sections containing a length of elastic to which your line connects to. No need for reels!!

[Pope vader]

from what i remember about fishing poles the end is really thin,  how do you attach the brush heads

[mlscontractcleaner]

  I don't clean windows with it mate I fish with it 

Do you really think I'd part with £2.5k of my hard earned cash on a flagship fishing pole and chuck the first few sections to attach a brush

No, no, no, this bad boy is my baby; the tools of my match fishing "trade"; far more important than work

[Pope vader]

lol  dime bar   

so how do wc clean with fishing poles then 

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I have an SL2 and although the lightest option it is very fragile, if your careful with it it will last a long time but if not handing it with kids gloves it is easily damaged.  The SLX's are very robust and will last a long time if taken care of.  The extreme poles are nearly as light as the SL2's but seem just as strong as the SLX.  I've seen the test versions of the extreme's and they seem to be hard wearing as well.

The extreme is an interesting design and is as much a cross between a telescopic and modular pole that you can get.  The main length of each section is a reduced wall thickness to that the clamping points are only at the top and bottom.  This lightens the pole and I believe from looking at the design will reduce wear as when the pole is closed there will be voids between the sections as opposed to carbon rubbing on carbon or indeed carbon grit and carbon.  The only downside that I can see is that you can only use full lengths of pole (although on the 48ft version the bottom of the pole is fully adjustable).

This range of poles is unbelievably rigid and light.  The only reason I see for having the SL2 (modular) now it for very long runs of windows at the same height.  You can't extend a 48ft modular pole in less than a minute but you can with an SLX extreme.

Simon.

[mlscontractcleaner]

They buy cheap power type poles and chuck the top three or so sections and then simply attach a brush and hose.

Hey presto you have yourself a cheap modular WFP

[mlscontractcleaner]

I have an SL2 and although the lightest option it is very fragile, if your careful with it it will last a long time but if not handing it with kids gloves it is easily damaged.  The SLX's are very robust and will last a ling time if taken car of.  The extreme poles are nearly as light as the SL2's but seem just as strong as the SLX.  I've seen the test versions of the extreme's and they seem to be hard wearing as well.

The extreme is an interesting design and is as much a cross between a telescopic and modular pole that you can get.  The main length of each section is a reduced wall thickness to that the clamping points are only at the top and bottom.  This lightens the pole and I believe from looking at the design will reduce wear as when the pole is closed there will be voids between the sections as opposed to carbon rubbing on carbon or indeed carbon grit and carbon.  The only downside that I can see is that you can only use full lengths of pole (although on the 48ft version the bottom of the pole is fully adjustable).

This range of poles is unbelievably rigid and light.  The only reason I see for having the SL2 (modular) now it for very long runs of windows at the same height.  You can't extend a 48ft modular pole in less than a minute but you can with an SLX extreme.

Simon.

I can't be doing with using kid gloves; I use a 55ft Ergolite for high stuff which is light enough to use without doing your back in, can be shortened easily and is robust enough to let me treat it like a tool of my trade and not a china ornament. I'd be going through too many broken sections if I had a Superlite

[AuRavelling79]

Before I went SLX I used a fishing pole as a modular and went to about 35ft with it. It was nice and light but did occasionally snap when pressing a window shut - easy to repair - just slide the offending section in on itself, tape it up and repair it with epoxy on the weekend. Still got it.

But about 4 years ago I bought an SLX30 with a 5ft extension which I use for my higher stuff and I bought an SLX22 which I use as an SLX 18 about 3 years ago.

Neither of these have ever snapped when shutting windows.

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

I gotta say it's only the SL2 that I think is delicate.  The entire SLX range seems to be very rugged.  When I got the SL2 there was nothing above 30ft that I would consider light enough to use long term without doing an injury.  How heavy is the ergolite 55 out of interest.  

Simon.

[mlscontractcleaner]

I've not weighed it; I'll do it tomorrow for you.

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

Very kind of you sir.

[Jeff Brimble]

Aw shucks, I thought this was a really good topic  and would get a few more educated replies than it has, maybe the quality guys have gone  

[niceandclean]

I have an SL2 and although the lightest option it is very fragile, if your careful with it it will last a long time but if not handing it with kids gloves it is easily damaged.  The SLX's are very robust and will last a long time if taken care of.  The extreme poles are nearly as light as the SL2's but seem just as strong as the SLX.  I've seen the test versions of the extreme's and they seem to be hard wearing as well.

The extreme is an interesting design and is as much a cross between a telescopic and modular pole that you can get.  The main length of each section is a reduced wall thickness to that the clamping points are only at the top and bottom.  This lightens the pole and I believe from looking at the design will reduce wear as when the pole is closed there will be voids between the sections as opposed to carbon rubbing on carbon or indeed carbon grit and carbon.  The only downside that I can see is that you can only use full lengths of pole (although on the 48ft version the bottom of the pole is fully adjustable).

This range of poles is unbelievably rigid and light.  The only reason I see for having the SL2 (modular) now it for very long runs of windows at the same height.  You can't extend a 48ft modular pole in less than a minute but you can with an SLX extreme.

Simon.

Simon, you have the MK1 SL-X, how does the quality of the carbon compare with the new extreme?

[edward1]

 simon
so, does each section have to be fully extended on the extreme pole .or can a section be opened half way.

thx

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

The carbon looks more like the recent slx range, no laquer but it is apparently better quality hi-modulas.  However the pole feels very strong.  I didn't take the pole apart so I don't know how much each section weighs, but the pole as a whole extended feel very light and well balanced (lightest tele I've held).  You can squeeze the sections hard as well and they wouldn't crumble as an sl2 would.  I can see this being a hard wearing pole.

I'm gonna have the 2 smaller sizes when they come out I think that they are that good.

Simon.

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

Each section that you extend you have to extend fully.  I've being trying this over the last couple of day and surprisingly with the compact sizes of the slx 18 & 25 it doesn't really cause a problem.

On the 48 extreme you can adjust the bottom section to any height so if you wanted an extra foot you could do that, but only with the 48, the 18 and 25 are full sections only.

Simon.

[Alex Allen]

I have an SL2 and although the lightest option it is very fragile, if your careful with it it will last a long time but if not handing it with kids gloves it is easily damaged.  The SLX's are very robust and will last a long time if taken care of.  The extreme poles are nearly as light as the SL2's but seem just as strong as the SLX.  I've seen the test versions of the extreme's and they seem to be hard wearing as well.

The extreme is an interesting design and is as much a cross between a telescopic and modular pole that you can get.  The main length of each section is a reduced wall thickness to that the clamping points are only at the top and bottom.  This lightens the pole and I believe from looking at the design will reduce wear as when the pole is closed there will be voids between the sections as opposed to carbon rubbing on carbon or indeed carbon grit and carbon.  The only downside that I can see is that you can only use full lengths of pole (although on the 48ft version the bottom of the pole is fully adjustable).

This range of poles is unbelievably rigid and light.  The only reason I see for having the SL2 (modular) now it for very long runs of windows at the same height.  You can't extend a 48ft modular pole in less than a minute but you can with an SLX extreme.

Simon.

is the diameters smaller?
sound like they are smaller and with thinner walls
have they had to make it thicker at the ends for the clamps to fit?

if it is like that
it wont be more rigid than thicker poles with a larger diameter
might appear that way if its light, but it wont be
it also sounds like its been made for the extreme brush only
stick a vikan on it, tell us what happens

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

When the poles are delivered I'll stick a vikan on one and take a video of it so that you can all see what happens.  As far as rigidity I got a good feel from shaking the things (not the 48ft) fully extended and there really wasn't that much flex, I'd say no flex in the 18.  Putting a brush on 3 times the weight might change things a little.

The diameters are the same as those listed on the slx.

Any photos or video of the tekbuck pole?

It's good to see all these new poles coming out, but I do think gardiners are onto an interesting idea here with the main length of pole being slightly slimmer.

Simon.