[stevieg]

I am in the market for a new 30 foot carbon. I hate the lateral clamps and see that facelift still use the better,easier,more durable,long lasting clamps! What i would like to know is are the actual poles any good as i have had 3 poles in the last 3 years from various manufacturers and they have all worn out very quickly.

[ChumBucket]

I think you've answered your own question from your experience of the other Three poles. Gardiner "smart" clamps are superior to any other clamp out there IMO. If your pole doesn't have smart clamps then be prepared to change it more often than one that does.

[stevieg]

Errr,how do you know that,that wasnt one of the poles i was talking about?

[ChumBucket]

Errr,how do you know that,that wasnt one of the poles i was talking about?

How do I know what?

It's pretty much down to physics that because of a lesser amount of friction via the smart clamp features that the tube sections will wear at a reduced rate, plus, again because of the spring loaded action of the smart clamp, a pole featuring them will remain clamping tightly until the very end of any given section's serviceable lifespan.

So, IMO, if you want the maximum amount of life from a pole then get used to lateral smart clamps. You list reasons why in-line clamps are better, I disagree with them all. My all day pole- an SLX 25 is Five years old and still going strong. Smart clamps retrofitted approx 2 years ago have undoubtedly extended the life of the pole and still I have no spinning sections.

[nathankaye]

Ive been using a 26ft reach carbon facelift, all day five days a wk since june last year. Yes the ease of the clamps are really good and very rarely snag and come undone. However, I have had to tighten many a times, even used silicon lubricant spray as the pole narrows due to clamps and spin. So ive rebuilt the layers back up. Now ive wrapped tape round the three tabs under the clamp (dont kno technical name of it) and now lasting much longer. The carbon pole itself is good however, sturdy n light.

[the king]

the facelift carbon tubes r very good but the clamps have very little adjustment my pole pheonix x did not even last a year it was wore out lol

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Stevieg, have you tried a Gardiner pole?
I didn't like the wrap over clamps either. However, once I tried a Gardiner pole I was hooked. I've been wfp now for eight years and boy have I had some bad poles in that time. All of them bar the first one, which was the worst pole by far, had the inline type clamps. I liked the way the operated by they needed constant adjusting to maintain their grip and within a short time wore out. None of those original poles lasted longer than a year. I went through four poles in two years, then found  Gardiners. Haven't looked back. Been brilliant. I have an SL-X 18, it's my workhorse and a 25 for my occasional longer reach stuff. Clamps no longer bother me as they work so well

[stevieg]

Yes i have,hate them!!!!

[Richard Stevenson]

Steve you won't win this argument!  ;

[M & C Window Cleaning]

I wasn't try to be clever Stevieg. I was genuinely wondering if you had given them a go is all, because as I said I really didn't like the clamps at the start on my first CL-X pole. But I did get used to them. Then I tried the SL-X and to me anyway there was another big difference in feel. By then I had gotten used to the Gardiner clamps and the new clamps were even better and didn't forever need adjusting. I tried out the inline clamps on one of my old  poles the other day. I used to love them as I stated earlier. But they felt right awkward having used the wrap over type for so long. 

But if you don't like em, you don't like em