Customer Reviews

Xtend & Climb 785P Aluminum Telescoping Ladder Type I Professional Series, 15.5-Foot

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased the 12.5 ft. 225lb. model for my father 2 years ago for Christmas. Bought that one on Ebay for $179. After seeing the quality of his, I always thought I would like to have one for myself. Since I am 6'1, and around 205lbs., when I saw this model, which I think is new, at $199 at Amazon, sold by Target, I just had to go for it. I liked the 250lb. rating, and also the extra 3ft. of height. It is a little heavier than the 12.5ft. model, but if you need a little extra height it is a better deal. If you are under 200lbs., and don't need the extra height, you may want to just purchase the 12.5ft., 225lb. rated model. It will be lighter to carry around. In any case, with both of these models, be careful when extending, and especially make sure you keep your fingers out from between the steps when releasing each section to bring it down. It will definitely pinch your fingers real bad! Aside from that, it is a great alternative to a full blown extension ladder. When fully collapsed it takes up very little room, and it's great to have if you have a two story home, or anything else that requires more than a step ladder to get the job done. In my opinion the Xtend&Climb products are superior to the Telesteps line in quality and construction.

### UPDATE ###

My boyfriend was able to study and "repair" the bottom two rungs - putting in METAL parts to replace the "Gum ball" engineering Xtend-n-climb are so fond of. Not an elegant solution to have to redesign a product you paid over two bills for.

ALSO of import:

A fellow that we work often (sub contractor) with saw how I was setting up my ladder - having the buttons facing the climber (for the convenience of adjustments), but as he pointed out - the feet are prone to kicking the button (which are made of cheapoo soft plastic with a simple friction connections - not even plastic threads!), so he suggested the the buttons be placed facing away from the climber. Perhaps, if you were to only use this ladder with the buttons facing the wall - maybe it would last. I don't know for sure.

### END UPDATE ###

My boyfriend and I run a business where we need a ladder often during the week. Before we got this ladder, he would have to logistically figure out when he needed to put his roof-rack on his car and strap down the extension ladder. Sometimes, we'd be sunk at an account when surprised with the need for a ladder when we didn't bring one. Roof racks and ladders cut down gas mileage, so we wouldn't want to always lug it around!

But when we got this puppy that all changed!

We could tuck this ladder behind the driver seat and always have a generous 15' ladder with us (which is enough for almost every need we have!).

Yes it is a bit hard to extend this ladder. But there is a trick to it! Turn it upside down and extend the bottom parts out first until you get it up about 5'. Then simply turn it over (I spin it over almost), then extend it the rest of the way. No complaints from me here with this method.

BUT, after a few months of use the plastic sliding button/lever on the bottom right rung started popping out! We've put it back in and it would pop out again! Worse still was the fact that after a few times, the mechanical components of the works inside fell out and inside the bottom right leg of this ladder! There was no way I or my boyfriend could see to fix it! So we taped the bottom rung closed and hoped this was an anomaly. Our 15.5' ladder was now a 13.5' ladder.

See pictures of how we taped off the rungs.

But unfortunately, the second rung's button at the right also popped out and its works fell into the legs as well - no conceivable way to repair. So we had to tape that off. Now the once 15.5' ladder is now an 11.5' ladder!

I wend to Xtend & Climb's website hoping for a FAQ or customer support info about this. There seemed to be none. This it seems is a disposable ladder.

So here we are. We still use it because fortunately it's only the bottom two rungs that are now worthless. It makes this ladder very heavy for just 11.5', but we still get use out of it. But if one of the works fails in the middle somewhere, we'll have to scrap it out for its aluminum at the local recycle center.

We won't be buying another though - not if it's still made of PLASTIC!!! Yikes! That's no way to make a ladder Xtend & Climb! Plus, please have some support! (We didn't buy this from Amazon BTW - at that time Amazon didn't sell it).

If they came out with a new model that didn't self destruct, we would be all over that. We are forgiving people. We would give this another chance since it's so convenient. But since there is no way to know if Xtend & Climb has address these issues - and from the looks of the ladder's pics they still use PLASTIC!!!! - there's no way we'll be buying another one.

In the construction business for 45 years. I can raise a 30 foot ladder by myself and need help extending and retracting this one. Latches are difficult to push and raise at the same time. When closing the parts move too fast to get fingers out of the way completely. GREAT CONCEPT.... just needs refining.

I have been in the home inspection business for years and have been using a 12' telescoping ladder daily since day one. Finally, after 7 years, my old ladder (Telesteps brand) was getting worn from the years of daily use. I decided to give the Extend and Climb 15.5' ladder a try since the Telesteps only made a 14.5' ladder. Big Mistake! The ladder is brought down by flimsy plastic slide latches that don't feel strong enough for the weight of the ladder. Even after the first use they felt ready to break off when trying to collapse the ladder. They are near impossible to operate on the bottom 2 rungs making collapsing the ladder almost impossibly difficult and dangerous. I have already hurt my fingers twice on this ladder and made an ass of myself in front of my clients wrestling with this ladder trying to get the bottom 2 rungs to collapse. I don't know if mine is a defect or if they are all like this. All I know is that I am disappointed and wish I had stuck with the Telesteps. I would caution anyone looking at this ladder to stay away unless you absolutely must have a 15.5' telescopic ladder for occasional use.

I purchased the 15.5' 300 LB ladder for my job as a residential insurance adjuster. Prior to this ladder, I had used a 28' Werner extension ladder which I lugged around to each home I inspected. This ladder is much easier to carry, and extends fairly easily when you get the hang of it. As for pinching fingers, it could be easy to do if you don't watch what you are doing, but I have yet to get a digit in the way when collapsing the ladder. It feels extremely sturdy, even the portly roofers that I encounter are surprised at how sturdy it is. I still use the extension ladder for two story access in most cases, but this one can't be beat for ease of use and portability. The only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is due to the fact that it seems like it could be just a little easier to extend and retract, and the red stickers that tell you the ladder is not secure should be painted on, as about 6 or 7 have peeled off and have been lost, but there is a green dot that is painted on to tell you that it is secure.

I loaned my 16 Foot Aluminum Extension Ladder to a friend to get up to an air conditioner that was being replaced on top of our condominium. Foolishly they tried to lower the air conditioner through the hole with a rope and it fell, crushing the ladder. That is how my possession of this Telescoping Ladder began. I never liked the size of the aluminum ladder leaning on a wall in my condo but it was the only place I could store it. Since it was in two pieces, it was 8 feet long when closed. I always wanted a telescoping ladder but felt the price prohibitive. Now I had an excuse to buy one and I am glad I did. It arrived within two days and it is perfect for my needs. The trick is that you really have to concentrate on how you extend it and HOW YOU COLLAPSE IT. It only took my first time to get a little part of my hand caught between rungs, luckily it had not been extended very far, it was just a wake-up call. You really have to extend it carefully and even more carefully collapse it. It is very sturdy and well built. For the person who is methodical and thorough it is a perfect ladder; if you are in a hurry and used to just leaning a ladder against a wall, well, you might think twice. It is great how little room it takes, not obtrusive at all. It is also a ladder you would not loan out since it does take quite a bit of effort to use it correctly. Certainly nothing you would allow a child to use. I highly recommend it to people who are not in a hurry!

Thirty six pounds doesn't sound like much, but for an 80 year old trying to extend it isn't easy. This seems like a heavy duty ladder, but not for home use. I find it difficult to use for only 8-10 feet. If you extend it from the top section, then you have the lower portion still blocked. If you extend it from the bottom, you need to raise all that weight. Also not easy to retract since the weight binds the catches. On second thought, I'd give this item only two stars.

I have owned several different Telescopic Ladders. This one by far is one of the best I have ever owned. It is the strongest, most sturdiest telescopic ladder I have used. It is a little heavier than the others but well worth it. I can honestly say I feel just as secure on it than I do on fiberglass ladders. Even though it's at 15.5 feet you do not get the bend you normally would get when half way up the climb.

The rubber feet on this one is strong! I have found on others that the rubber feet end up getting torn through with the weight you put on it. The strap is a very nice touch if you will be having it laying in the bed of a pick-up truck. It won't open up on its own with your turns.

The only downfall I can find (only reason why I give it 4 stars instead of 5) is how difficult it is to completely collapse it. To not injure yourself you have to use your thumbs to collapse it. Because of the weight of the ladder this becomes a strengthing task. The last two rungs are fairly difficult. I have found that laying it down and collapsing it is the way to go but this is just a heads up to the rest of you.

I bought this ladder for my solar site assessment business so I could reach 1.5-story roofs, and even get up to a higher perch on 2-story homes, even if I can't reach the roof. I actually bought it to replace my Little Giant, which was too heavy and klunky for me (I'm 5'2"" / 105#).

It is definitely way better than the Little Giant. Much lighter, although I still prefer my 12' Xtend&Climb 770, and I use that one whenever it's sufficient. The 785P is obviously heavier than the 770, and its sections come down faster when you're folding it up, especially after lubrication (when it gets sticky or dirty, I apply WD-40). I've slammed my fingers a few times, so now I lay it on the ground for the last few sections, or if I have a helper, I ask them to hold up the top so it comes down more slowly.

My biggest pet peeve on this ladder is the thumb slides. They are thumb-shaped, which would be fine if I had infinite friction on my thumbs. But I much prefer the slides on the 770, which are a bit more rectangular, so I can get some force behind them. I really wish the mfr. would have stayed with that design for all their ladders.

It is a sturdy ladder, and I haven't found a better one in this length.

There are two things that I don't like about this ladder. The first is the fact that it has stickers on each side of each rung with red and green safety dots. These dots let you know if each rung is properly locked in place as you extend the ladder and within ten minutes of taking mine out of the package the stickers began falling off. Not a huge deal if you make sure each rung is locked as you extend it, but still, pretty annoying. The second thing I don't care for is a bit of a design quirk, if you have the ladder fully extended and try to lower the top rungs, they won't close. This means you pretty much have to start lowering it at the bottom rungs which can make for a tall first step if you need a short ladder.

That said, everything else about this ladder is well made and sturdy. It's light, compact and easy to move and set up. The feet are sturdy on soft dirt or hard concrete and won't mar a floor. If it weren't for the two things mentioned above I would have given it five stars.