The 'good ol' Harris pole states that it is ''5 metres''.
That isn't the combined length of the poles laid end to end when they are separated and stripped down.
It is the length of the pole when it is open and fully extended. Guess what? I measured it.
And it is exactly 5 m long. Thank you Harris for being clear.
Water fed pole suppliers should, in my mind, just clearly state the length of the bare pole when it is fully extended. Bare. With no goosenecks, elbows, brushes or anything else.
Forget 'working reach'. Let the customer work that out for themselves based on their personal circumstances.
By all means call a pole that is 20 feet long (6.09m) a 'Big Bertha 8'
Or a pole that is 30 feet long (9.144m) a 'Bigger Bertha 97'
I happily assume a Mazda 323 is not 323 millimetres long, and a BMW 535 is not 535 miles long.
I see nothing wrong in calling a pole an '18' when it's extended length is an inch over 17 feet. As long as the specifications show the actual length.
Now so far in my searches I haven't seen anyone else but Gardiners have a clear easy to read pole specifications info page.
And to the credit of the Gardiners website they do clearly give this 'extended length' measurement.
I've checked an SLX22 and it is exactly 6.39m as stated. Thank you Gardiners. That is just under 21 feet. Not 22.
Closed length is shown as 4'9''. The one I measured is 4'10''.
Weight is shown as 'approx 1150g'. I weighed it at 1300g.
Quite a difference to be honest. Checked scales against a litre of water = 1kg. That's the five sections with clamps and the end cap. Still a big difference in my mind though. But it does say approx.
Perhaps other people may want to actually measure and weigh their window cleaning poles and post the results. (If their saddos like me).