[matt]

£1 a month is fantastic, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have bigger budget for an important piece of equipment.

but thats not the point, even though its a advantage

the point of the pole is its so light and easy to use

[dai]

I understand and agree about using a pole that is light as possible.

My point is that something like the SL-X is still a small outlay relative to the money you will make from it.

Better to look at what that piece of equipment can return, rather than the cost of the equipment alone.

Ewan, I have just ordered a new SL2, but my every day pole will still be the Harris, It's cheap, light and does the job, and most importantly, I don't have to worry about breaking it.
Have you ever tried one?

[ftp]

Crikey Dai, that's going to cost more than your van! 

[Window Washers]

£1 a month is fantastic, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have bigger budget for an important piece of equipment.

I dont normally stick up for matt, but what is the point of buying a pole at say £500 when he pays £21 it does same job that would be business madness or a taxable expensive would it not ?

By the way I have never used matts pole nor seen what it looks like

[Nathanael Jones]

This thread got me looking at a few website at the prices of 24' poles, as my dad is currently looking for a new one.

24' isn't much,... its a height I used to achieve from ladders, so well below the height where you can charge a premium for the work, and its low enough that you'd imagine it wouldn't be a huge engineering challenge to produce a good one, yet the weights of most 24' poles aren't anything to write home about. But my research so far has shown that unless you look at the glass fibre extender poles, you're still paying BIG money for a very basic bit of kit.

The harris pole is my tool of choice for lower work at the moment. Its light, rigid enough, cheap, and almost indestructible. Also I'm told another section can be added to bring it up to 21' (26' reach). Heat shrink the base section and it looks professional enough too!

[ftp]

I had a quick look at the Facelift site and a carbon pole of just over 30' is £764 plus the vat - seems a tad expensive to me.

[Darren O]

ftp if you cant afford one dont buy one but then again if its gonna last a few years at least its money well spent ftp you seem to have a hang up with facelift poles.

[pjulk]

Re: Poles. You get what you pay for. or do you.?

I think you do get what you pay for.

I payed for a £15 pole and i got a £15 pole.

I payed for a £400 pole and i got a £400 pole.

I think i got what i payed for.

[Darren O]

Some people on here cant get there head round that you can use a pole day in day out for over 2 years without it falling apart like i said before my pole isnt imaculate its got loads of scratches but it still works as good as the day i bought it is it over priced probably but wouldnt swap it for anything  how many people have you heard on here complaining about there Facelifts not many.

[collins82002]

brought my first pole yesterday at the show 28ft so if its bad then i will learn from that, its heavyer than i thought but thats going from trad to WFP.

[ftp]

ftp if you cant afford one dont buy one but then again if its gonna last a few years at least its money well spent ftp you seem to have a hang up with facelift poles.

No, i don't have a hang up with Facelift poles, i've been slightly dissapointed with the wear issues on my SLX pole and am wondering what to go for next time. If the Facelift does indeed outlast anything else out there and by a considerable margin then i want to know why, i expect Alex would want to know too. Price wise then it makes no sense to buy one unless it truely is an indestructable pole because the SLX is far cheaper. We have a couple of members who have both poles so i tend to listen to their posts rather than someone telling me "my pole's better than yours  "
 Is your pole used daily for just about every job? That's what i'm asking - trying to find out why owners think it's so good.
I think a 30' SLX at £387 is a lot of money but a 34' Facelift at £764 is a huge difference. If it lasts three times as long then it's not so bad.
If Gardiners can produce a carbon pole and make profit at £387 then why can't Facelift do the same? Same materials surely?
Which is what this thread is all about - do you get what you pay for?

[Alex Gardiner]

ftp if you cant afford one dont buy one but then again if its gonna last a few years at least its money well spent ftp you seem to have a hang up with facelift poles.

No, i don't have a hang up with Facelift poles, i've been slightly dissapointed with the wear issues on my SLX pole and am wondering what to go for next time. If the Facelift does indeed outlast anything else out there and by a considerable margin then i want to know why, i expect Alex would want to know too. Price wise then it makes no sense to buy one unless it truely is an indestructable pole because the SLX is far cheaper. We have a couple of members who have both poles so i tend to listen to their posts rather than someone telling me "my pole's better than yours  "
 Is your pole used daily for just about every job? That's what i'm asking - trying to find out why owners think it's so good.
I think a 30' SLX at £387 is a lot of money but a 34' Facelift at £764 is a huge difference. If it lasts three times as long then it's not so bad.
If Gardiners can produce a carbon pole and make profit at £387 then why can't Facelift do the same? Same materials surely?
Which is what this thread is all about - do you get what you pay for?

When we set out with the SL-X project our aim was not to make a pole that outlasted an Ionics/Facelift/Brodex Carbon pole (although they will last just as long if used in exactly the same way and the same amount of use). Our aim was simple to make the lightest, most compact, most usable telescopic WFP in the world. I believe that we achieved this and despite competitors recent attempts have still achieved this goal. Achieving this does not mean that we have made a cheap or everlasting pole because unfortunately we are working in the real world.

I personally feel that the game has only just started with decent poles. Just over a year ago the SL-X project lifted the bar for serious poles, it didn't answer all questions and it wasn't cheap. We have just seen the first 'salvo' of response to this with the 'Hydra/Fusion/Glyder'. I personally am looking forward to the next 12 months to see how the 'bar' can be further raised. The issues that I still think can be improved on are weight, rigidity, size and wear factor. The one area that will not improve is price as carbon is only going one way - up.

Do you get what you pay for? Most times yes, but it does depend on your priorities. For instance if I speak to a client who prioritises wear above all else, I usually recommend they go to Brodex for an aluminium pole. For each priority there will be a different answer.

My priority when spending my money has to be weight and size.

[ftp]

Very true Alex, but things have to be built to last. My first leisure battery lasted nine months and packed in, a bought a much dearer one after - i used it for half a day thursday and forgot to charge it thursday night - it lasted untill 2pm yesterday so obviously that's on the way out too.
 Trouble with me is i want everything good price, top quality and it has to last for years, anything that lets me down gets me very angry.

So far your products go a long way to meeting those three requirements and try as i might i can't find an alternative that suits me. 

[poole bay]

great pole ,great price, great weight, i can go on i use them weekends with my mate and for what they sale them for is great  regards carl

[pingu]

Have got to agree with ftp here...

Various points of the SL-X annoy me no end...I despise the clamps, the wear rate does give me some concerns...but tommorow I shall be working again and guess what..the SL-X will be the one that is making me money...as it has this week and will again next week etc, etc.

I suppose that we all want a pole that is all things to all men and will last forever without a blip...Just not going to happen to be honest.

I work my gear hard, to me it's a pole and I do not want to carry it as though is wear some precious object...it's a tool, just like the facelift and the 2x2ft g/f dinky pole I have...just a tool...

So....in conclucion...when my SL-X needs replacing..I shall cut the whole thing down and make a super lite mini pole...

The SL-X is a pole that does do many things and reach many heights...it on account of it's lightness has saved much wear and tear on my body...

So the question for any product is would I buy another one...oh yes...and the customer service shown by Gardiners to me when I really needed it..was outstanding...

So the combination of the 2 say...I will buy another SL-X...unless of course he gives me one

Cheers
Dave.

[macmac]

It's about priorities, what are they?

Mine are= anything that makes my working life easier, faster, more profitable.

My facelift is good, infact a superb pole. Does it last well? yes! It's problems are=

1. It's approx 7ft long when collapsed (24ft).
2. All facelift poles are approx 3ft shorter than the stated advertised length (so a 30ft facelift is only 26-27ft long in real terms. where as the slx are ACTUAL LENGTHS).
3. It's heavier, less rigid than the slx.
4. It's far less usable than the slx for every day work.
5. It's knocking on twice the price of the slx.

Now, if the facelift was twice as good as the slx it would be worth all the extra money, no question of that for me. The trouble is it's not, it's not even AS good as the slx IMO.
I've used both poles for long periods of time. I own both poles, i can use them both if i want to, any time.
I choose the slx out of choice, not because i own one & not the other.
IMO the SLX is just Sooooooooo Damn usable, I haven't had any issues with exsessive wear either, although i do now have to admit that i have cleaned it once!
The once "wierd" clamps are now my preference, there are things you can do with these clamps that you can't with convensional ones.
The slx is a very profitable pole for me, there are things I can do with this pole that i can't with the facelift, at it's current price I personaly would be happy with 12-18 months use from it. When my top section does wear out then i'll just buy another top section, problem solved.

Tony

[Darren O]

ftp i will say it again i use my 24ft Facelift on 95% of my work and nobody said the Facelift was the best pole out we are just saying it last well.When i bought my Facelift the SLX wasnt out if it was i would of bought that instead because of all the good reports about it but saying that if i had to buy another pole tomorow i would buy another Facelift because of what ive read on here the SLX dosent seem to be robust enough but its only a new pole and no doubt inprovements will be made over time.

[Alex Gardiner]

ftp i will say it again i use my 24ft Facelift on 95% of my work and nobody said the Facelift was the best pole out we are just saying it last well.When i bought my Facelift the SLX wasnt out if it was i would of bought that instead because of all the good reports about it but saying that if i had to buy another pole tomorow i would buy another Facelift because of what ive read on here the SLX dosent seem to be robust enough but its only a new pole and no doubt inprovements will be made over time.

Facelift poles are definitely quality. Regardless of any other points they are well made and  I consider them a benchmark to beat!

[dai]

Crikey Dai, that's going to cost more than your van! 

Your right there mate, nearly three times as much.

[windowswashed]

A good pole is one that you can use day in and day out and will save you time, energy, pain/strain and hassle. This is what is worth paying for.

Of course if the pole is that good and is used for more and more work it will wear - unfortunate fact of life. The strain on my body has become the most important issue in my work.

I used to use as my main pole a six section 31ft Universal, it weighed about 6kg and was relatively cheap, it lasted well -  I still have it in my garage in usable condition. Would I ever use it again? No way although it is cheap and lasts, it is a killer on the shoulders and neck.The old Universal pole lasted a long time in my hands, but I could never go back to them as the strain on my body is more important than saving 50p a week in depreciation costs.

Whatever you end up investing in it should be to improve your working life, whether that is a cheap decorating pole or an expensive 'off-the-shelf' pole. You do get what you pay for, if you pay for old technology you will get a damaged body.

Have to agree totally with Alex with the above mentioned. A decent pole allows me to work quicker, easier and puts less strain on my joints which is a major benefit as I suffer from chronic arthritis. I don't consider saving some money on cheaper, alternative poles that have wider diameter base sections, unbalanced, overweight and less rigid, value when comparing value for money over health issues. If you have your health, look after it and consider that one day you may not have the option of using cheaper poles.

The reason Facelift carbon poles don't slip and last longer than the SL-X is because it's not just carbon. It's a composite just like the Xtel hybrid pole. It is carbon with some composite on the outside of the pole making it very hardwearing unlike the Xtel hybrid. I tried hacksawing one down to reduce the pole length and found it hard going whereas hacksawing an Ionics ergolite pole was very brittle, like paper.