The 17ft is a better all round pole,saying that the 21ft and the 17ft are to bendy over 12ft.To be honest the old orange version of this pole was of better quality if you ask me,it was far more ridgid and better built.All they needed to do was improve the clamps slightly,I would say that £249 for that pole is way way over priced for the quality of material as they don`t last 5 minutes if used daily.