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Best Extension Pole Review

Moving to a new house or renovating your old one? Some amount of painting will always be involved in these cases, like your ragged floors or tattered walls and ceilings. We traditionally use paint rollers for these chores. But when you need to reach places where your height won’t allow you to, such as ceilings or roofs, we usually rely on ladders to go up and paint, which can be both painful for the back and a little bit risky in some cases. That’s where extension poles for paint rollers can come in handy.

Extension poles extend the paint rollers to any desired length and allow you to reach high places like the ceiling without the need of a ladder. It comes in varied lengths, 12 inches to 10 foot and beyond are available. The longer ones can be a bit heavy and require good hand strength, but other than that it reduces physical labor and lessens the chances of a backache from ladder use. There are lots of different aspects to this seemingly simple wooden sticks, that you need to be careful about when you buy one, and that’s what this article is for. We will guide you in your mission to buy the best extension pole for painting and also list some of our favorite roller poles that we consider the best.

10 Best Extension Poles Review

Mr. LongArm 3212 Pro-Pole Extension Pole

Mr. LongArm is a company that has a proud history of more than 70 years, of producing high-quality products to help with household chores, and they are one of the bests when it comes to these types of products. Mr. LongArm 3212 Pro-Pole Extension Pole can extend up to 12 feet, depending on the type of work.

It has a fluted handle that makes holding this extremely long pole very comfortably. It is a light duty product, with 1”-1/6” composite fiberglass handle with 7/8” inch tube built with anodized aluminum slider.

The end is universal nylon threaded and the connector tip is made out of plastic. With this ultra light build material, the products are super easy to work with. Although, in some rare cases they are prone to breaking.

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DocaPole 6-24 foot Extension Pole

When it comes to extending, this one is literally head and shoulders above most in the market, it extends all the way to 24 feet! It is a retractable extension pole.

It has a dual tip combo which has all the functional requirements that you’ll need, the metal tip will do even the longest task without wearing; the multi-angle tip, which attaches to the metal tip provides over 180 degrees of rotation which helps cleaning or painting edges, upper portion of ceiling fans or if you are in a creative mood, even aerial photography!

It has a 6 foot retracted length, so it’s easily storable and transportable. It can be used with any screw-on attachment, preferably from DocaPole itself, but with any other things from the market as well, things such as paint rollers, dusters, cleaning brushes, retrieval hooks etc.

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Wooster Brush SR091 Sherlock GT Convertible Extension Pole

The Wooster Brush SR091 is quite special in many ways, but it’s all at the tip, just like any other extension poles. It has a R042 Conversion tip that makes all the threaded tools compatible with it.

The pole can change tools almost instantly with the fiberglass reinforced lever, just one push does the work. It has a special bayonet grip tip that holds the Wooster tools tightly in place, which makes working with it very easy and comfortable, with no occasional annoyances of twisting and loosening.

The hexagonal aluminum inner pole is there to prevent it from twisting and the rugged fiberglass outer pole also adds to the toughness of the product. With the Wooster, you can be sure that this product won’t wear out on you for many years. It adjusts itself in 6” increments with just a touch of thumb and locks securely.

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Purdy 140855661 Power Lock Professional Grade Extension Pole

The Purdy also has a long history as a company, it started it’s ventures in 1925. The Purdy 140855661 is one of the most versatile tools when it comes to household works, because of it’s awesome custom adjustment feature, that allows the pole to be locked at any length.

The locking mechanism is also very well designed, and it lasts way longer without any occasional annoying budging and breaking than most leading pin lock extension poles on the market. The universal tip on this one can be used with the quick connect system of Purdy or any acme threaded frame that you have.

It has a shock absorbent rubber base grip to prevent fiberglass blow out, which is a case with lots of extension poles on the market that poses a risk on the user. The price is a bit high though for this one.

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Unger Professional Connect & Clean Telescopic Pole

The Unger Professional telescopic pole is a three-stage pole, with reach ranging from 90 inches to 20 feet, which makes it useful for all sorts of work. You can have high access without a ladder and easy access to difficult places that involves careful handling.

The pole is very light in weight since the build material is anodized aluminum, it’s also really strong. The locking cone feature of it is there to ensure a secure fit for tools like brush or squeegee and the standard cone and threaded tip fits any other Unger attachment. The price is a bit high but the functionalities make for it.

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Mr LongArm 6624 8 Feet to 24 Feet Professional Grade Bulb Changer Extension Pole

Another one from Mr LongArm, this one is a professional grade bulb changer extension pole, designed specifically for this task.

While the collapsed length is almost 8 feet, making it a bit difficult to store, it extends to almost 24 feet, according to the catalog, but it actually doesn’t extend that long. Its plastic made and imported quality product. The extension pole is from alumiglass.

The product is professional grade and works wonderfully. And although the product is a bulb changer extension pole, it can be attached to many other tools and perform various types of chores. The price is quite high with this one. Although the design leaves a lot to be desired, it still is one of Mr LongArm products, and the quality control is just what you expect it to be.

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Ettore 43012 REA-C-H Extension Pole with Click Lock Tip

The Ettore 43012 is another 3 section REA-C-H extension pole, just like the Unger Professional, but the functionalities and the features are quite different with this one.

It’s a pole with an aluminum tubing which gives it great durability, unlike the easy to break build of Unger. It extends or retracts very easily, due to the quick open/close tapered clamp design it has, effectively and completely removing the need for ladders. The pole is fluted for strength and better gripping, say bye-bye to wrist pains and other annoyances.

The fluting also makes it easy to grip even when it’s wet, there’s a hang hole in the grip, making the storage very easy. Works with multiple tools. It’s also quite cheap.

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Shur-Line 6570L Easy Reach Adjustable Extension Pole

The Shur-Line 6570L is a short extension pole compared to the other ones on this list, it extends only 2 and a half feet to 5 feet. But this one is specifically geared towards work that requires this length, and the short size makes it quite easy to hand or store.

The usage of this pole is very easy, due to the depressing thumb lever mechanism used for lock and release. The pole glides without any pushing, very smoothly and without any effort at all. The threading is 3/4-5 acme thread that can fit a variety of Shur-Line attachments.

This one is used primarily for painting jobs. The pole can glide in both direction and the lock can be used in multiple positions, making it very useful for detail painting in high places. The price is also reasonable.

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Unger Aluminum Telescopic Pole with Removable Cone and Universal Thread

Another one from Unger for this list, this one is a telescopic pole with removable cone and universal thread.

The pole can extend to almost 11 feet, giving the precise ‘telescopic reach’. It works with various types of attachments, any threaded or press fit cleaning tools, so it can be used for various types of work. The retracted length is only 4 feet, so it’s quite easy to store as well.

The unit is lightweight, but the aluminum build makes it quite strong and long-lasting. With this product, Unger claims guaranteed satisfaction, and we can also vouch for it. But there are some problems reported by a few users, such as the not so ‘universal thread’. But overall, with this product, Unger keeps its head up high.

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Premier 4′ – 8′ Extension Pole w/External Twist Lock

The last one of this list is from Premier, a moderately long one, with 4 feet of retracted length and 8 feet when fully extended.

This one has an external twist lock that makes locking it at any length quite easy. The pole is made out of heavy duty stainless steel and fiberglass and the tip is threaded metal. But few users have complained that the pole is weak, and can break with heavy duty work.

The twist lock works when twisted clockwise. The pole tip is standard threaded and works with almost any kind of tools. The grip is also quite secure and easy gripping, makes working for long hours easy and ‘not painful’. The price is really cheap as well.

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Things You Have to Know

The extension pole is a really simple tool, on a hindsight. It’s pole that can extend or shorten and used for reaching high places. Pretty simple, right? But even this simple tool has some intricacies, that you need to know or else you risk buying bad products that will break, budge or leave you with a long piece of useless tool you don’t know where to store. So here’s a short buying guide for you, or rather things you have to know before buying an extension pole.

Length

Of course, for an extension pole, the first thing to check is the extended length. The market has products of differing length, and each of them is good for specific things, even when they claim to be usable for all types of work. That’s why you need to know what you need and buy the length according to your need. Buying too long of a pole will leave you with unnecessary load, that you can store nowhere.

Locks

Some poles lock at specific lengths, some of them can lock at any length. Sure, locking at any length is great, but the other ones are important as well. Some products even lock in both directions.

Threaded Tips

The tip is the most important when versatility of the pole is concerned. Most poles claim to be universal threaded, that means workable with any snap-fit attachments, but few really stand up to the claim. You need to carefully check before buying, that the tip is strong and works with all the tools that you’ll use.

Materials

Extension poles are made of different materials, heavy duty or light duty depending on the material used. The light duty ones are not very sturdy, but they are light, which is really important for your wrist health. And the heavy duty ones will last you quite long, but you won’t be working with them for hours. The light duty ones are our recommendation; they are mostly made out of aluminum alloys or fiberglass.

Grips/ Handles

Lastly, the grips or the handles are quite important for your hand as well. You don’t want callouses on your hands, that’s why padded and comfortable handles are important. Also, if you want to hang them on the walls, check if the handle has a hang hole at the end. There is also damp resistant grips, useful if you work with paints and other liquids.

How Can You Use Extension Poles?

This simple tool can be very versatile, depending on the type of tip used and your creativity as well. For example, let’s look at the second one on our list, the DocaPole 6-24 foot Extension Pole, which can not only be used for normal household chores but as a GoPro for a camera as well, taking pictures of high places and whatnot.

But mainly, extension poles are to be used for household works, that typically requires a ladder? You want to dust your ceiling? Ladders are so painfully bothersome to set up and work with, aren’t they? That’s where an extension pole will save you. You want to paint the window close to the high ventilator in your house? Just attach a paint roller to the tip of your extension pole.

Things like cleaning, dusting, painting, clogging, squeezing, brushing and many other types of chores at the high places can all become minute’s work with this simple tool. That’s why extension poles are required and must have items for any households.

The Best Extension Pole ‘For You’

As we’ve discussed in the Things you have to know section, what is the best extension pole, depends on a lot of factors such as length, grip, tip, locks etc. But what is the best product for you? Well, that depends totally on what kind of work you’ll do, or how you’ll use the extension pole.

If you are a painter, one with a multi-lock positioning and 8-12 feet of length will be ideal for you, for example. As having too much length will give you wrist pains from added weight, after long hours of painting, and multi-lock positioning can be really good for detailing.

If you want to clean, something really long and sturdy in build is for you. Cleaning is heavy duty work, requiring heavy duty equipment. That’s why look for poles that extend to 20-24 feet when they are fully extended.

Also, the budget might be a concern, even though extension poles are not a pricey product, you don’t want to spend too much for a product that will not give you your money’s worth. That’s why know fully what you want to do with it and research plenty beforehand.

Conclusion

Extension poles are not a novelty product, but we still think buyers need careful guidance and quality information so that they don’t get fooled in the market. On that mission, we sincerely hope that our article will do just that, and help you choose a good quality extension pole that you’ll be satisfied with.