Hi David, just to add to what's been said here already, I have 2 poles, a 18ft and a 30ft. With the 18ft I've been able to reach everything that I used to do using a double 12ft ladder fully extended, I got the 30ft because of some commercial work that I used to use a double 16ft ladder on, turns out i could've got away with a 24ft pole for that work, but its nice to have a little extra for any new work.
The 18ft is fine for all downstairs and 1st floor work, i've even reached some 2nd floor windows at full stretch. The 30ft pole i got from Gardiner pole systems, its a great pole, but i'd hate to use it all day, i'd say only use it for half an hour and then rest or change to a shorter one for a while.
Tim