[Alex Gardiner]

The only way to test a product fairly and accurately is to leave 'opinions' out of it.

This is why when we test and assess poles we just test the bare pole (minus brush, hose and gooseneck). The test then needs to be carried  out  in a measured scientific 'back-to-back' way, with accurate statistics that can be converted into clearly understood results.

I have not seen the tests in PWC yet so I am not sure how they have carried them out, but the % figures quoted earlier seem to be far too contrived and 'rounded' off to be an accurate measurement figure, but I may be wrong!

[AuRavelling79]

Yep they reckon you can't use fishing poles. Funny that 'cos thats what I like to use -especially the ones around sixty quid. :

I use a fishing pole too.

But ... if I employed anyone I wouldn't let them have one because they do break (but are easily repaired) if not treated carefully. (OK maybe I would let a girlie use one if she promised to treat it gently! )

[Count Phil]

To be fair though, there is a picture of all the poles in the test, all placed next to an e2+. You can easily tell how they performed, and they were quite nice about the facelift pole etc.

It was ionics ionics ionics, but of the poles tested it was the best one. They were quite balanced about what they said and the e2+ was the best there by along way. And they did PAY for the mag. You should treat it as an advertisement which it is. And I think the photos of the poles were genuine and the e2 did win fairly. Maybe they could have had more poles, but maybe that wasn't in the budget.

[Majestic]

The way they rated them was on

Rigidity
Weight
Handel Diameter
Ease of use
Robustness
Cost

[Majestic]

They also did a peice on add on work  Gutter cleaning and by chance its a system supplied by Ionics the upkeeper www.upkeeper.co.uk.

Unfortunatley your water fed pole wont help you here .

Omnipole do a add on to there power pole so you can clean gutters.
Also Omnipole do a gutter cleaner but it was not mentioned

[drakestar!]

u got 3 copies in my door & 2 ended up in the bin! why send 3?

[rp cleaning services]

The poles on trial section,winners, ionic ergolite(yawn)look at the prices £1027,£1.681 and still they cannot get there brushes right,my friend use the ionics brushes and he changes these 3 times a year,i use tucker and i have not changed these for 3 years,i agree they are good poles but if i was ionics i would invest money in research to get a better brush,but then they would not make much profit if the brushes lasted years.i hope in the next magazine they do a trial on brushes.The rating for the tucker pole 65% ,if it had the new pennel clamps it would have come out at 80%,my opinion.

[Moderator David@stives]

Out of fairness to Ionics the new E2 pole is probably the best "telescopic" pole on the market,
 I tried one out a few weeks ago and i was very impressed, the best pole i have ever picked up.

You cannot compare it with a fishing pole as they are both different concepts.

p.s Ionics have got a new brush now, I was impressed with that too.

Dave

[rp cleaning services]

dave, my friend as the new brush,he as been using it 6 weeks and it as started to curl up at the ends,i agree about the pole and i would probably invest in one if they sort there brushes out.

[matt]

It was ionics ionics ionics, but of the poles tested it was the best one. They were quite balanced about what they said and the e2+ was the best there by along way. And they did PAY for the mag. You should treat it as an advertisement which it is.

thats the point, its a advertisment mag for ionics and ionics companies, look though the mag, its all about ionics / ionics companies

the point  is, people paid good money for a "magazine for window cleaners" NOT a brochure about ionics products

the dig about fishing poles not being suitable despite what "suppliers" ( gardeniers )  say, what a cheap shot and not needed

i liked the "the plan" about Jack and his round, he brought a "600 L thermo pure system" and a trafic van, "this is not a radom choice, as this package is currently the most popular combination of system and van with a window cleaner changing from ladder to wfp" ( copyright PWCmag )
inside 3 months he is making more then he used to even with the extra outgoings of £ 545 for van and system finance, thats right, in 3 months  : : interesting indeed, also who did they ask what was the most popular system for people changing over, ionics by any chance

the "lift off" article, which doesnt make the Vikan sound like a good brush, i guess ionics dont sell the vikan then

the first few issues of the mag were ok, yes sure they we "Leaning" towards ionics ( fair enough, they own the mag ) BUT as its gone on, it just looks like the ionics advertising team sit and write the articles themsleves

once again, a case of a certain person trying to run the WFP industry, that cannot be healthy for most

 

[Old_Master]

Was the PowerPole mentioned at all? 

[NWH]

Van tank,pump,hosereel,flow controller if wanted,pole. job done for well under a £1000 if you choose average poles.

[Dean Aspects]

Was the PowerPole mentioned at all? 

Poles tested are
Tucker 45ft pole(alu)
Facelift 44ft (c/f)
Brodex Ecolite57ft (c/f)
Unger CarbonTec
Original Ergolite E1
Ergolite 2 and 2+

The benchmark pole being the E2+

Dean

[Old_Master]

So no PowerPole - How amusing - we have only sold 4000 of them!

[stuart@skypole]

Alex,

That is the problem opinions left out we all have them and that is it, your idea of a test is not the same as mine,

im not interested in how well at x angle the pole reacts, and i believe that most window cleaners dont either, im interested in what a pole works like how it handles out on the most important thing the job of cleaning windows.

sorry this sounds like a dig its not,

after all if you speak to people they all recommend different poles as they have there own opinion.

rgds, stuart

[Dean Aspects]

I can understand why the test for rigidity is done at the angle it is for the purpose of the test but the poles are never used at that angle so i believe an upright test with a standard weight on all poles would be better although the angle of the pole would be slight depending on pole and then how do you measure the angle when its 40ft in the air... i havent thought this one through have i
leave it to the pro's

Dean

[Neil Williams]

Well what did you expect from ironics?
Someone the other day (on a different thread) said about Reubin having not been a window cleaner but a great salesman, well this is ironics through and through.
They produce a sales mag for ironics which people pay for....brilliant
If British Airways did a survey/test on the favourite way to fly who do you think would come out top? I bet Virgin would be bottom because they would rig the questions in such a way so that they did come bottom.
As for Omnipole, no surprise there in view of testing and submitting the results because ironics know that Omnipole will fight back, so why risk the bother. Leave them out of it and therefore no direct damage done. Some indirect damage by not mentioning them but hey worth it in the long run.
Personally no matter how good their poles might be (if they are) i personally would never buy from them because of all this false hood.
As an after thought. Who last year during the water shortages put up the most resistance to the authorities? Who said they were doing it on behalf of the average window cleaner? But who stood to lose the most if the water ban came was enforced?
They don't care about us out there on the streets. All they're interested in is themselves. Try ringing ironics for some general wfp advice if you don't use their systems and see what help you get try the same with Brodex, Omnipole, Gardiners for some advice. Having tried it you can rule out the first one for helpfulness.

So I'd like to call this thread a view on ionics, and so far 2 have backed them to the hilt (no surprise on the one) and just about everyone else is not too pleased. Says it all really.

[dai]

It read like an Ionics brochure to me.
How long will it be before Unger teleplus users are regarded as cowboys? Dai

[NWH]

NOW,is there any need to use them these days with the amount of poles on the market.Tele plus,yeeeeeeeehaaaaaaa.LOL.

[matt]

It read like an Ionics brochure to me.
How long will it be before Unger teleplus users are regarded as cowboys? Dai

]

dont start them off dai, next mag will have a guy in a cowboy hat holding a unger pole