[♠Winp®oClean♠]

It works for me & for the huge benefit that I enjoy from it I'd buy one every 6 months if need be. I use the slx above any other pole, it earns me good money easier & faster.

If you want a pole that's gonna last you 3 years thay are available but the trade-off is not for me.

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

If you use a pole every working day for a year you will prob have to replace it. Why would this one be any different. I thought the whole point of the better poles was that it made work easier and faster to do.

[AuRavelling79]

If you use a pole every working day for a year you will prob have to replace it. Why would this one be any different. I thought the whole point of the better poles was that it made work easier and faster to do.

I think two years on a "used every day" basis is ok for an SLX; but the carbon content in the thinnest three or four sections should not justify commanding such a high price IMHO.

[Jeff Brimble]

If you use a pole every working day for a year you will prob have to replace it. Why would this one be any different. I thought the whole point of the better poles was that it made work easier and faster to do.

Not quite, my £249 F16 is 5 years old.

[luther1]

I went through £100 fibreglass poles every 3 months when i first started. If an 18ft SLX lasts me 6 months then i'm happy,as stated before,less than a days money for some of the big players!I agree what MB and Sunshine have said too.The pole is priced (imo) cheaply anyway and does make my day a whole lot easier. As soon as i buy one i order another from the next batch!

[Window Washers]

I went through £100 fibreglass poles every 3 months when i first started. If an 18ft SLX lasts me 6 months then i'm happy,as stated before,less than a days money for some of the big players!I agree what MB and Sunshine have said too.The pole is priced (imo) cheaply anyway and does make my day a whole lot easier. As soon as i buy one i order another from the next batch!

its a shame I do not think these poles are made for people that employ, I have been carefull with my pole costing me good knows how much trying to keep the ware down, yet under a year and need new sections, will I pay £300 for sections, I think I will try something else and see what happens to them poles.

Is a shame as the pole is lite, makes your hands black not good and ware if you dont be carful is mental, could be wrecked in a month I recon. I think the replacement market was not looked at to much hence the over inflated price for three sections and stocking of the pole to buy new is totally on reasonable (god knows why, maybe it is money to stock who knows). Have to say this pole has changed alot by our comments and alex using it, hopefully he will listen again and lower the price on fixing a pole that does not last a year with normal ware  : how ever cheap some think this pole is nothing is cheap if it needs fixing, wiping, baby sitting, bathing ect all the time.

I would not mind once a year paying a couple of hundred quid to replace sections and to replace all my poles with slx but as others have said this is looking like not going to happen.


Maybe someone should call Alex and find out why and what is going to happen then post the reply.

[ftp]

Ian, at what point do you consider your pole to be worn out?

[luther1]

I do agree that £300 for new sections is steep,but £200 for a pole to be used every day for at least six months is a no brainer isn't it? My £500 30ft Facelift only lasted me three months, however, they replaced it for me foc with the new revised model. Some aspect of goodwill is always appreciated.

[Window Washers]

Ian, at what point do you consider your pole to be worn out?

when it annoys the hell out of me, it spins round after tightening, you every day have to mess about with it this is when a pole that was cheap starts to cost money and becomes not cheap.

I would be very warey of the secondhand market of an slx, because by the sounds of it, you can use uit for 6 months is starts playing up, maybe 5 months sell it and buy a new one.

new cost say 500 in cluding vat sell £300 6 months old at best 12 months,  replacement sections £300 for 3 maths not good there if you understand what I am saying.

I could save £100 and get a new pole, someone is making losing and gaining

[ftp]

Thing is, I can't see how it can spin? The clamps can be tightened loads. Have you got the latest plastic clamps?
The first SLX had the bike clamps - when the carbon wore out under the clamp you simply removed the clamp, chopped an inch off and rebonded the clamp again.
The second version has the funny half sawn through the shaft arrangement - if you have one of these ask for the upgrade to the plastic clamps. These are easy to fit and eliminate the carbon to carbon clamping system.
The poles will always wear but are unlikely to spin like the old x-tel type poles.
With a bit of workshop maintenance I'm sure these poles can last a lot longer than people think.

Still far too expensive for the spare sections though.

[Window Washers]

Thing is, I can't see how it can spin? The clamps can be tightened loads. Have you got the latest plastic clamps?
The first SLX had the bike clamps - when the carbon wore out under the clamp you simply removed the clamp, chopped an inch off and rebonded the clamp again.
The second version has the funny half sawn through the shaft arrangement - if you have one of these ask for the upgrade to the plastic clamps. These are easy to fit and eliminate the carbon to carbon clamping system.
The poles will always wear but are unlikely to spin like the old x-tel type poles.
With a bit of workshop maintenance I'm sure these poles can last a lot longer than people think.

Still far too expensive for the spare sections though.

the prblem is if I tigthen the clamp to stop it spinning, I have to use my body weight to get the pole to extend, making having a light weight pole a very bad idea as I weigh more than a pole does, it strains your shoulders and upper back. so when it does this I would say pole is near on time to replace, either with sections or new pole, and as most on the time it is three section that are out this is where the problem is, shame as I do not want to have to use 2 pole to do one job.

[ftp]

Take the sticky markers off. The first sections to wear out completely will be the top section then the second and so on. The third won't wear out before those.

[R W C™]

Thing is, I can't see how it can spin? The clamps can be tightened loads. Have you got the latest plastic clamps?
The first SLX had the bike clamps - when the carbon wore out under the clamp you simply removed the clamp, chopped an inch off and rebonded the clamp again.
The second version has the funny half sawn through the shaft arrangement - if you have one of these ask for the upgrade to the plastic clamps. These are easy to fit and eliminate the carbon to carbon clamping system.
The poles will always wear but are unlikely to spin like the old x-tel type poles.
With a bit of workshop maintenance I'm sure these poles can last a lot longer than people think.

Still far too expensive for the spare sections though.

Theres only so far you can tighten them, im at the point i have to use pliers to tighten it.
Ionics glyder soon i think, i bet there rubbing there hands reading this as im sure there reading it, as they always seem to jump on people when the y mention Reach and Wash  

[ftp]

Pliers 
Which clamps have you got?

[ftp]

It is possible of course that the clamp itself has worn too - cheap as chips - honest!

[R W C™]

The newest ones

[ftp]

http://www.gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/acatalog/SL-X_Clamp_Bodies.html


Why don't you guys speak to Gardiners and ask for advice?

[matt]

Ionics glyder soon i think, i bet there rubbing there hands reading this as im sure there reading it, as they always seem to jump on people when the y mention Reach and Wash  

you will be able to use the logo them, i would start to look at yacht mooring in the south of france if i were you 

[davids3511]

So davids3511, what did Alex say?

Alex didn't speak to me, one of his staff relayed his message. Basically to quote 'the price is the price', the top section is reinforced so more expensive. They didn't explain why the full 18foot pole is so much cheaper. When I asked if the top section of that is not reinforced I did not get a clear answer. I think the basics of their argument was that it is expensive to service and supply the section sales.

What they said is fair enough and I can't really remember it word for word now but they did struggle to justify it to me. I think if Alex had spoken to me himself things would have been much clearer. However, it's not a case of him refusing to speak to me, I didn't ask directly for him.

He did come to an agreement with me over price as I was buying 3 sections so fair play to him for that. I don't want to go into that on a public forum as I don't think that would be fair to Alex but also feel it would be unfair to him not to mention it in passing.

[niceandclean]

My SL-X will be 2 years old in March, i have one from the original batch. I have used it at least 5 days of the week, apart from a few weeks holiday. I use it for near on all of my work and it has never let me down. It went back to Gardiners for a service after about 10 months, they fitted a new top clamp and sent it back. As for wear, it still looks good to me. I give the clamps (bicycle ones)a tweek every morning and they last all day. The Gardiners logo is still visible on the base section, and the red markers are also still visible. I changed the pole hose about 2 weeks ago, just because i had loads in the unit, and the end cap along with the tennis balls. Now i think my pole has been very very good value for money.
My guys have a new 30ft SL-X each, and we have changed the clamps twice, then upgraded them to the newer stronger ones. We have stripped the poles down twice as the clamp glue has come away and they have had to be re-glued. The top two sections of the poles do seem to be wearing quite quickly, and the sticky marker tape has come away. All three poles get flushed through at the end of the week, and the pole hose is always wiped when being put back in the van. Imo, the original poles were/are a better pole, the clamps are much better (i know many moaned about them) they are stronger than the plastic ones. I know we have discussed this here before but i think the carbon quality is a lot better on the original (i may be wrong, i am only a window cleaner), in fact my original and the latest version feel like two very different poles. If mine packed up tomorrow, i think i would probably buy another, just because of the great service that we have always had at Gardiners, but then again, i may just give the Glyder a try?