Home Improvement Product Reviews

A Versatil Essential for the Homeowner, December 1, 2004

By 

D. Jensen – See all my reviews

  

Like another reviewer, the ‘Little Giant’ infomercial piqued my interest about this type of product. I was in need of an extension ladder in the 20ft range, but didn’t really want to deal with storing it. The idea of meeting this need with a unit that stores in a compact space was appealing, and I could get rid of my eight foot step ladder to boot. I found the Werner MT-22 at Lowes for 8 plus tax. Little Giant didn’t really lose a sale because there was no way I was going to pay 0 for a ladder no matter how well made or versatile.

The ladder is everything I expected. It works great as an A-frame stepladder. Although it is heaver than the 8-foot stepladder I’m retiring, it is also less bulky which is a good trade off when manuvering it to where I need to use it. It is also useful outdoors as a taller stepladder. The feature to allow it to be set up on stairs is a great plus.

The main reason I wanted a new ladder was to get a long enough extension to reach the eaves of the half-story of my house. The MT-17 was not guite long enough so I went for the 22. The main disadvantage is having to manuver it into position while it is essentially fully extended. Again, the slight disadvantage in setup is compensated for by the ease of hauling it out of the garage to the area where it will be used, and not having to store a standard extension ladder. I expect I’ll only need to use it in this mode three or four times a year so the storage problem is actually more important than ease of setup.

I haven’t had a chance to use it in the scaffold support mode, but I did do a test set-up, and it appears that it will work well for this purpose.

The ladder is sturdy and well-constructed. It is very stable when properly setup, and I was comfortable and confident while using it. I highly recommend this product.

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One half the price of the Little Giant, June 29, 2004

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I. Leong “mhz500″ (Taylors, SC United States) – See all my reviews

  

As a contractor, I use a lot of ladders.

COSCO was the first to clone the Little Giant Ladder about five years ago. Apparently, Little Giant’s patent was still in force for the hinges. I own the COSCO 17FT Worlds Greatest Ladder and used it for a couple of years, but I needed something longer.

In January 2002, I purchased the Type 1 22 FT Little Giant from Amazon.com. The only difference was the hinges and a few annoying braces in the climbing area of the two narrow extension pieces of the COSCO. The COSCO is made in Korea. The Little Giant is made in USA. Both functions flawlessly to this day.

I found the Little Giant cloned at Home Depot as the Gorrila Brand ladder at Home Depot. for the 13 ft model and 9 for a 21 ft model. The ladder is essentially a China made copy of the Type 1A Little Giant.

My last purchase is the MT-13 Werner. It appears to be another clone of the Little Giant Type 1A, also made in China, probably by the same company that makes the Gorilla. I know this, because both brands include a bonus set of brackets for making the scaffolding with an almost identical blow molded polyethylene case. The brackets are identical and marked Patent Pending.

I would recommend the MT-13 and the MT-17 in the Werner Brand, but I still prefer the Little Giant in the 22 ft model. It is a lighter by five pounds than the 22ft Werner but cost about 0 more.

Since all of the original Little Giant patents have expired, the hinges on the Gorilla and Werner models are identical to the Little Giant.

Of all of the models, the MT-17 would be ideal for most home owners. It will go to the second floor window of a two story house. The 22ft model will go to the roof of a two story house, but only for one with a slab foundation, not one with a basement or a crawl space.

The 17 FT model is a good balance between weight size and function. The best deal would be the Werner MT-17. The quality of materials and assembly of all the models appear nearly equal.

One reviewer noted that these ladders were hard to extend. The best method is still the method of extending the ladder using the procedure described in the Little Giant Instructional Video. Since the methods are copyrighted by Little Giant, the clone manufacturers cannot use them with their own instructions sheets, videos or manuals. Accordingly, I cannot include the Little Giant Procedure in this review.

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Just the right ladder for a single story house on a slab…., November 22, 2004

By 

I. Leong “mhz500″ (Taylors, SC United States) – See all my reviews

  

As a contractor, I use a lot of ladders.

COSCO was the first to clone the Little Giant Ladder about five years ago. Apparently, Little Giant’s patent was still in force for the hinges. I own the COSCO 17FT Worlds Greatest Ladder and used it for a couple of years, but I needed something longer. The only flaw in the COSCO are the angular steel braces on the inside of the ends of the center hinged section. These are a bit annoying, when you are using it as an extension ladder.

In January 2002, I purchased the Type 1 22 FT Little Giant from Amazon.com. The only difference was the hinges and a few annoying braces in the climbing area of the two narrow extension pieces of the COSCO. The COSCO is made in Korea. The Little Giant is made in USA. Both functions flawlessly to this day.

I found the Little Giant cloned at Home Depot as the Gorrilla Brand ladder at Home Depot. for the 13 ft model and 9 for a 21 ft model. The ladder is essentially a China made copy of the Type 1A Little Giant.

My last purchase is the MT-13 Werner. It appears to be another clone of the Little Giant Type 1A, also made in China, probably by the same company that makes the Gorilla.

I would recommend the MT-13 and the MT-17 in the Werner Brand, but I still prefer the Little Giant in the 22 ft model. It is a lighter by five pounds than the 22ft Werner but cost about 0 more.

Since all of the original Little Giant patents have expired, the hinges on the Gorilla and Werner models are identical to the Little Giant.

Of all of the models, the MT-17 would be ideal for most home owners. It will go to the second floor window of a two story house. The 22ft model will go to the roof of a two story house, but only for one with a slab foundation, not one with a basement or a crawl space.

The 17 FT model is a good balance between weight size and function. The best deal would be the Werner MT-17. The quality of materials and assembly of all the models appear nearly equal.

One reviewer noted that these ladders were hard to extend. The best method is still the method of extending the ladder using the procedure described in the Little Giant Instructional Video. Since the methods are copyrighted by Little Giant, the clone manufacturers cannot use them with their own instructions sheets, videos or manuals. Accordingly, I cannot include the Little Giant Procedure in this review.

The 13ft. (Actual length is 11ft. 13ft is an OSHA rating, since extension ladders have overlaps.) ladder is ideal for a one story house on a slab or a trailer. When I first used it to get on a roof of such as house, I thought it was a little short. However, after using it several times, I found that it was ideal. The key is to place the space between the top and the second rung at the edge of the roof. I know that ladder makers recommend a grabbing length of three feet above the roof edge, but you would have to go around the side of the ladder’s length above the roof. This “grabbing length” is a little arkward to me. Since the top of this and other Little Giant clones have flared tops, I prefer my method. I can stoop dowm and climb directly onto the roof, while keeping my center of gravity very low. The same can be done, while getting off of the roof. So the 13ft. ladder is just right. The thing I really like about this length is easy handling. It balances well, when fully extended and makes a compact package that fits nicely into a car trunk of even some compact car. In the step ladder mode, it is probably the sturdiest and safest that you could ask for.

For the price, the Werner MT’s are the best deal. Best of all, the MT-13 is only at Lowes.

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