Aluminum Vs Fiberglass Ladder – Which One Is Best For You?

We all know of wooden and bamboo ladders, but these days ladders are made of much stronger material, like aluminium and fibre glass. Ladders of these materials are best used appropriately, else they’ll do you harm rather than good. The right ladder, therefore, can save you not only time to finish a particular task but also money. But how do you know which is better for your kind of work? Mentioned here are the top 4 ladder reviews that you can choose from and a buying guide regarding aluminum vs fiberglass ladder.

Here’s a quick comparison:

Review of four ladders:

1. DeWalt DXL3810-06 6-Feet Fiberglass Stepladder: This stepladder comes with a 250 kg capacity that brings several practical benefits to the user.

Features: Its Mega Step feature afford 25% more standing space on each step than usual. For better user performance when working with electricity, utility, construction or at residential sites, this stepladder’s metallic aluminium top can be relied upon.

The top is designed to have a hardware tray, a magnet tray, tool slots and a drill. It is built to be sturdy enough to accept all the rough use by heavy duty users by having an impact absorbing bottom bracing. It also has a shoe in the shape of a boot that is absolutely safe, slip-resistant, has an very wide foot pad and gives enhanced protection to the exterior rail of the lower ladder.

Pros:

• It is very stable, even at the highest rung.
• The magnetic top shelf is highly useful.
• Though heavy at 500 lb, yet it can easily be moved around.
• Extra wide treads give enhanced comfort.
• The fibre glass rails are specially coated to resist weathering.

Cons:

• A pail shelf would have helped immensely.

2. Louisville Ladder FS1506 300-Pound Duty Rating Fibreglass Ladder: There’s a large number of stepladders on the Internet these days, so choosing the right one for you might be very difficult. You need to know which features of ladders are priority to you. If you feel that durability, safety and good multi-functionality are important to you, go in for the Louisville Ladder FS1506. If you do a lot of low height or medium height tasks in painting or electric channelling, this will be ideal for you. 

Features: This ladder can take a load of 136 kg on either side. Made of sturdy fibreglass and aluminium, the Louisville Ladder surprisingly weighs just 9 kg and its dimensions are 40.9″ x 22.6″ x 72″.

This company works to assure the highest standards of safety and quality by complying with OSHA and ANSI standards. This ladder has slots for paint, drills, fasteners and hand tools. It encourages user productivity as one doesn’t need to get off and on the ladder to get one’s tools.

Pros:

• It is sturdy, convenient and safe to use. Being highly stable, it provides stability while climbing the ladder, something essential for painters and other professionals.
• It has a multi-functional top because it encourages the worker to perform better on every task.
• Since fibreglass is non-conductive, you can use it while working on electric channels as no electricity will pass through the ladder.
• Workers can use this ladder confidently even while using vibrating tools as it is slip-resistant and has grooved steps that help give better traction. Slip-resistance comes from the company’s patented design, Da Boot.
• Being lightweight, it can be moved around easily and storage is also easy.

Cons:

• Being a ladder ideal for low to medium height tasks, you will not be able to use it for jobs to be done at higher levels.
• It needs to have better inbuilt control measures.

3. Finether 12.1 FT Heavy Duty Aluminum Multi Purpose Folding Extension Ladder: This ladder is ideal for use in libraries, supermarkets, bunk beds, trampolines, fruit picking, maintenance of homes or buildings, attics, interior decorating, etc.

Features: Its dimensions are 15.4 feet when fully extended and weighs just 13.2 kg. It is lightweight, made of aluminium. It is also rust-proof and can be used for a variety of reasons. It has safety locking hinges and has received European Safety Standard EN131 certification. This folding extension ladder can be stored and carried easily. It can carry a total weight of 150 kg. It has 16 rungs.

Pros:

• This extension ladder is known for its sturdiness, quick and easy assembly and for the fact that it is very light.

Cons:

None

4. Flip-N-Lite 300-Pound Duty Rating 6-foot Stepladder with Platform: The twin objectives of making the Little Giant the stepladder it is was to be both safe for users and affordable.

Features: The Flip-N-Lite 300-Pound Duty Rating 6-foot Stepladder is lightweight and opens easily by using just one hand. Plus, it is comfortable to use, has deep rungs built for stability and safety and a safe and large platform for standing. It is slim built and has a heavy duty build, despite this it is perfect to climb up and down for both novices and seasoned professionals.

Its dimensions are 14. 25″ x 12″. It offers total foot support so that users do not suffer any foot pain and tiredness, plus they are comfortable while working on the rungs. It is slim and very light, and easy for anyone to use. It can take weights up to 136 kg. It meets all standards of safety and product quality, such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI). For extended safety, it also has high handrails and an inbuilt tool tray.

Pros:

• Its standing base ranges between a comfortable 4 feet and 8 feet.
• Can safely be used on staircases or any other uneven surface.
• Lightweight and portable.

Cons:

• It isn’t entirely stable as it is likely to tip over when used at its full height.

It is too heavy to be carried around.

Aluminum vs Fiberglass Ladder – A Buying Guide

Given below is some guidance to choose between aluminum vs fiberglass ladder – the right ladder for your specific purpose.

Let’s begin with aluminium ladders.

The pros and cons of aluminium ladders:

Pros: The most popular ladder range these days, aluminium ladders are light and easy to carry around, durable and affordable. So, you can easily set them up, bring them down and move around, making them indispensable for innumerable jobs. These qualities make them the hot favourites of tradesmen and woodworkers.

Besides, they don’t catch rust when exposed to moisture or water. These properties ensure that your investment in an aluminium ladder will go on for a very long time and remain in pristine condition. Aluminium ladders are usually used as extension ladders.

Cons: They are highly conductive, so they should not be used near electricity sources, which limits its use. It is also a good conductor of heat, so if it has ever caught fire, it should be thrown away as its strength and structure could be vastly affected.

The pros and cons of fibre glass ladders:

Pros: Fibre glass ladders can easily be used if you’re working near sources of electricity. They are safer in general than aluminium, chiefly because of their sturdiness and rigidity and their non-conductive properties. So, it doesn’t matter if you have this ladder near live wires. These features make such ladders more expensive than their aluminium counterparts.

Cons: Fibre glass ladders are very heavy and dense, making it inconvenient to move around. Plus, the cost of fibre glass is exorbitant, which is a strong deterrent to buy this product.

Which one is safer? Fibre glass ladders are by far the safer of these two kinds of ladders due to their non-electrical conductivity, heat resistance and high level of sturdiness.

What is the working length of a ladder? The working length of a ladder is usually 11.5 inches. 

Conclusion

Now that you are acquainted with the features of the best ladders, choosing one shouldn’t be any problem.