North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

> Richard wrote " tripod ladders are safer than 4 legged ones on uneven ground".  This was exactly the argument I had with another member who endorsed tripods for the same reason.  On sloping ground going in more or less a consistent slope the Little Giant design is actually more stable because you can adjust the length of one side of the step ladder and have 4 points of contact instead of 3. 

 

However, on uneven ground where there are a lot of bumps there can be some advantage to the tripod but this is unusual because the LG system balances reasonably well with 3 legs touching anyway.  I have been on a ladder almost constantly (during the day, of course) since Jan. 3,  on all kinds of unlevel ground, and have not needed to place a flat stone under one of the legs for stability once.  Sometimes I do have to take some extra time turning it to find the most stable position, though.

 

I live on my ladder because, as I've stated here before, 6 months of every year I am on one, pruning fruit trees every working hour of every working day.  

 

Several companies have copied the Little Giant design, and while it's worth it for me to buy the original, for most people any knock off would be adequate. If you're doing a lot of pruning it is much faster to use a ladder that you can climb up and down both sides, which greatly increases your range every time you climb it.