How to choose a ladder

How To Choose A Ladder

Ladders, from the wooden ladders of the past to the wide variety of metal ladders available today, have always been one of the most important tools surrounding people’s needs in their domestic life and professional work. How to save on trial and error and find the most suitable ladder from the wide range of telescopic ladders, step ladders, industrial ladders and fibreglass ladders on the market is a question to be considered.

What you should know before buying a ladder

The support that ladders provide to users in climbing is so important that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 500,000 people are treated for ladder-related injuries, with 300 of those deaths occurring each year, so it is essential to take ladder safety seriously and have a reliable ladder that is absolutely accident-free in your use, even more so than all other hand tools such as hammers, spanners, drills, etc. The quality and correct choice of ladder is directly related to your life.

Ladder selection factors

To help you better and more quickly understand how to choose a ladder for your work tasks, we have listed 5 selection factors for ladders: height, performance level, material, cost and aditional value.

Height

People often have the misconception that calculating the max safe reach height of a ladder is a simple mathematical formula of one plus one (personal height + ladder height), but in fact the reality of use is much more complex and needs to take into account many factors, for example, straight ladders are used against a wall and lose some height when they are tilted.

To not complicate the calculations, authoritative ladder standards such as ANSI give the formulae directly:

Step ladder: ladder top step height plus 4 feet/ 120cm
A-Frame ladder: ladder height plus 4 feet/ 120cm
Extension & telescopic ladder：ladder height minus 1 foot/ 30cm

If you need to clear a 10 feet high roof gutter on your house, a 7 feet step ladder or A-Frame ladder is usually sufficient; if you prefer a telescopic or extension ladder, you will need about 11 feet. Just remember it is important not to stand on the last three steps of telescopic & extension ladder, as it is very easy to lose your balance and fall.

Performance level

Light Duty Manufactured	Heavy Duty Manufactured	Industrial Manufactured
BASIC DESIGNS	ROBUST & DURABLE	MOST DURABLE
Home performance	Commercial grade	Professional performance
Household daily, clean doors, windows, range hoods, air conditioners, curtains, etc; hang picture; get items from closet, cabinet, etc.	Home use and business use, DIY, decorating, painting wall, repairs, clean gutter & roof, outdoor work.	Fire, electricity, telecommunications（only FRP ladder）；outdoor maintenance activities.
Step ladder >	Telescopic ladder > Fiberglass ladder >	Fiberglass ladder > Industrial ladder >

Material

Aluminium alloy

Lightweight, good toughness, not easy to break, strong plasticity, ladders made of aluminum are rich in styles and beautiful in appearance, like this en131 telescopic ladder:

Stainless steel

Not easy to rust, 2 times harder than aluminum, and cheaper than aluminum, more suitable for household products, for example, this stainless step ladder:

Steel

Good plasticity and low cost, ladders made from steel are variety of styles & good value for money, so it’s basically manufactured into home ladder, such as the iron step ladder:

Fiberglass

Strong, durable, resistant to ablation and insulated, ladders made of it do not conduct electricity when clean and dry, making it the right choice for electrical work and working near electrical wires.

Cost

In terms of raw materials and plasticity, environmental protection, recycling value, etc., the price trend for the same product is FRP > aluminium > stainless steel > steel

Additional value

Different types of ladders will also have certain similar characteristics, and when you want a lightweight ladder, there are actually many options.

Multifunctional to meet multiple needs

The multi-purpose ladder has the most combinations of shapes that can be turned into different ladders according to different needs and place.

Its locking mechanism is easy to use and securely locked. It can be used for home and engineering.

Convenient storage, easy to carry

Retractable ladder can be transformed from a large ladder into a small ladder, saving space at home and convenient to take out, in car or on bicycle, the typical ladder is telescopic ladder.

And basically all household step ladders are designed to be stored well and light to carry.