Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I do a lot of major renovations to my home and wanted one of these for a long time. It has some very good features, but it is NOT a good replacement for your standard aluminum A-frame. The good news is that (1) it is rock solid and very stable; (2) the ability to set the two sides to different lengths is extremely useful, for stairs but also in many other applications; (3) having rungs on both sides is handy; and (4) it does replace a short extension ladder. These are all major strong points. However, the weaknesses are VERY annoying if you use your ladder a lot. The very first thing you will notice is, this thing is much, much heavier than your old aluminum A-frame. Not heavy to the point that you will need help with it, but heavy to the point that if you're doing a job that requires frequent re-positioning, it will get annoying by the end of the day. You will end up using your light Werner aluminum ladder. Look at it this way... they didn't put wheels on the high end models for no reason (but they don't help that much). The next problem you will notice is that if the ladder is set even moderately high, you can't easily operate the hinge at the top of the "A". This means that if you have to fold the ladder to move it to the next location, or to manuever it through stud framing, you either have to collapse the legs or tip the ladder (awkward at best). Compared to the speed and ease of folding a standard ladder, this gets old in a hurry. It's not a problem if you change a light bulb once in a while or paint for a weekend every few years.... but if you are using your ladder frequently, you will use find yourself using your "old-style" ladder, as it is much more convenient. Next, I have to mention that the rungs are downright uncomfortable. The surface of the rung that you stand on is much smaller compared to a normal ladder, which you will feel if you spend significant time on the ladder. This IS going to annoy you sooner or later. Finally, I should mention that there is some real danger that you can get your hand pinched as the legs slide closed if you're not careful. Because the ladder is heavy, there is some risk of getting hurt, so be careful with this. All in all, the Little Giant design has some real advantages, but it does not replace a standard aluminum A-frame and for most work, I find it to be pretty inconvenient.