[Philip Hanson]

Choosing a Waterfed Pole can be a confusing issue.  There are many available, and all have their pros and cons.  Here is a little review based on my own experience:

I have used aluminium, Fibreglass, Standard Carbon Fibre and Ergo-Lite poles.

Aluminium
Usually cheapest.  However, they tend to flex a great deal.  I also found the the thinnest sections have a tendancy to bend permanently in high winds, making them very difficult to extend and retract.  The one I used had 2m long sections.  I found this to be a problem as I could not reach the clamps, and extending them is difficult.

However, since the pole sections have a lot of contact with each other, the prfiles are often thinner than the same length of CF or GF poles, making them more comfortable to hold and use.



Glass Fibre
Reasonably cheap, and have the advantage that they dont freeze your hands in cold weather.  They are fine for use upto about 30ft, but anymore than that and they are too flexible. (though not as much as Aluminium)  I use a 30ft Standard GF most days, and once you are used to the weight (~6kg) it is fine.  The profiles are wider though, and if you have small hands it can be uncomfortable.



A 30ft GF pole comes in 5 sections of 6ft, so the clamps are in easy reach (even for me at 5'4")


Carbon Fibre
More expensive then Glass Fibre (approximately twice as expensive) and are slightly lighter than GF.  But their real advantage is that they are much more rigid, and do not flex anywhere nearly as much as GF.  For this reason, it is possible to get a 60 ft carbon fibre pole and still be able to control it(though the sections are 12ft long and will need to be extended on the ground)

Ergo-Lite Poles
The Health & Safety Laboratory conducted studies into the safe use of waterfed poles, and made several observations and recommendations to manufacturers to make them easier to use.  They included:

-They should be as Light as possible
-The profiles should be as thin as possible, making them easier to grip
-The clamps should be easily reachable
-They should flex as least as possible

In response to these recommendations, Ionic Systems designed the Ergo-Lite pole range

These are made from a higher specification of Carbon Fibre which is stronger and more rigid.  As a result, the profiles do not need to be as wide, and there is a ~30% reduction in weight compared to standard carbon fibre.

As an example, 40 ft standard Carbon fibre weighs 6.95kg and has mostly 8 ft section.
40ft Ergo-Lite weighs 5.25kg and has all 6ft sections.

The fact that the profiles are thinner makes them much easier to handle.  Once you have used an Ergo-Lite, you won't want anything else.  The only downside is the cost.

45ft Standard Carbon Fibre = £646+VAT
45ft Ergo-Lite Carbon Fibre = £895+VAT

I suppose if you want the best, you have to pay for it.  Start saving!

-Philip