Hi All
I’ve posted a video on youtube of my SLX Extreme review, here is the link if you want to view it, sorry if it’s a bit of a woffle.
http://youtu.be/uB39sYzR8XkAnyway here is what I think after just over 2 weeks of solid work with them.
The poles are super rigid and light, when you pick one up for the first time you get the feeling that something is missing because the pole is sooo light. However that said the pole is also very sturdy as well the carbon fibre surface seems harder than any previous slx so this should make the pole much harder wearing. Because of the make up of the pole as explained in the video I don’t think as much dirt will get caught up between the pole sections, I personally think that this will drastically reduce wear but only time will tell. I haven’t yet got the famous black hands from carbon fibre pole usage with this pole.
I don’t think the design of pole will appeal to every body because you have loose the ability to extend each section of the pole incrementally, but after using it for a while I have to say that it is a fair trade off, I couldn’t imagine going back to a standard SLX. You can work around the problem of a four to five foot pole length adjustment because you are shedding 30+% weight, and most of the time the lack of adjustment isn’t a problem at all.
I did some simple rigidity tests comparing the pole to an SLX 25 mk1, a Universal 30 (6 5ft sectons) and a Hxtel same size as the universal. I put a 450gram load on all and the mk1 slx came out just ahead of the extreme, however I believe that the mk1 is about 50% heavier than this pole, and with no weight or SL brush weight the extreme was ahead by a long way.
The extreme brush was a nice surprise as well. I wasn’t expecting much as the brush is so light, but I have to admit that it cleans better than the previous SL DT brushes I have been using, even on first cleans. You get a nice rinse through the brush as you scrub and the scraper is effective as well. I have noticed that when using hot water the bristles can foul the jets, but I’ve just trimmed a few bristles a little shorter and the problem is solved.
For the past 2 weeks I have noticed a reduction in the time it has taken to do certain jobs. Especially the larger commercial jobs and UPVC cleaning jobs, I find that I am flying through them, honestly I’ve been knocking off large amounts of time and the jobs are coming up perfect. I’ve also had more energy at the end of each job, some jobs I always have a nice glow (sweat like a pig) at the end, but these jobs with the extreme pole brush combination I’m not glowing at all.
I did have a problem with the pole hose quick release connections and hot water, but this was rectified by just changing the pole hose to aqua adapter pole hose. The PVC hose was disconnecting from the quick release brush connecter when the pole was being extended or when the pole hose would catch on something. This would only happen when the water was very hot (60C) though.
All in all I would say that if you are serious about wfp and want to work as fast and efficiently as you can then this is the best combo. I think that the extra outlay on the poles will be cost effective due to time saving on work. It’s yet to be seen but I think that due to the design that the poles will last longer as well, therefor better value for money.
Simon.
