Tripod ladder - worth it?

Emily_Joy

We have a 3 tiered garden. The boundary is mostly hedges - there is literally about 2 meter of wood panels. The ground is uneven to say the least. Browsing online it appears the tripod ladders designed for looking after the hedges. Is it a good investment? Any real life experiences and advice on which one to buy are very welcome.

MikeJXE

No ladder is a good idea on uneven ground

Cut the hedge to a manageable height you can reach standing on the ground 

twopenny

I did what Mike said in one house/garden. There were still probs getting into the middle of the hedge.

Never heard of tripod ladders so looked them up and - no way in a million years would I use one.

I  a normal step ladder, light or heavy either would do. Used both. I think the heavy one did better. It also opened into an ordinary ladder that could be rested against a thick hedge.

I took the hedged down a lot. Now's a good time to do it.

Love a hedge, the birds roost and nest giving lots of pleasure. But getting it manageable is the trick.

As it's 3 tiered is it not flat by the hedge?

As it's 3 tiered could you step cut the hedge? If you get someone in to do that and trim it back to manageable it's only a one off payment.

I really can't see any safety in the tripod ladder. Two ways of falling

Emily_Joy

I am a member of a community farm with access to pick-your-own. I used tripod ladders there going as high as 2 meters on a regular basis to pick fruits (mainly plums, mulberries and damsons). I am pretty confident I can use it. Nope - it is not flat by the hedge at all! The garden is on a natural slope. Each tier is about 3 feet up from the previous one.

greenbee

I have a henchman tripod ladder with adjustable legs. Love it. Far more stable than the step ladder. I also use a ‘normal’ tripod ladder with a spike on the front leg for tree pruning and fruit picking. 

Dustyevsky

I use a couple of builders' trestles and scaffold planks. These give a much longer 'run' than a ladder, but obviously, they have an upper limit for gradient. A Henchman-type tripod ladder is best for uneven or steep ground.

Dustyevsky

MikeJXE said:

No ladder is a good idea on uneven ground

Cut the hedge to a manageable height you can reach standing on the ground 

The RHS says,"Tripod ladders with adjustable legs are useful when working from uneven ground." 

They have a lot of hedges that can't be cut from the ground alone, so probably know a thing or two about the subject.

While there are long-arm hedge trimmers that can cut hedges from ground level up to around 9' high, those are too heavy for some people to manage.

alicef

We have a Henchman tripod ladder that we use in the orchard - one leg adjustable.  It's a very, very stable ladder and I feel really safe working at height.  Having said that - our orchard ground isn't hugely uneven - for that you would prob. be looking at a fully adjustable ladder.

Emily_Joy

@greenbee @alicef Thank you do you feel that Henchman ladders will last? I didn't have any hesitation investing in Miele washing machine that will probably be with us for about 15 years, but I am a bit worried about spending that sort of money on a ladder How do you choose the height of the ladder? I think the hedges are roughly 9'-10' tall...

alicef

@Emily_Joy  We've had the Henchman ladder for about 8 years now and it's absolutely fine.  It's made from aluminium, so as well as being very light, (I can easily carry it and set it up) it won't rust, I've left it outdoors over a number of days when pruning the orchard, (having said that we store ours in a workshop when not in use).   I think ours is the 3m version, which is fine for our orchard trees as they are on half standard, (or equivalent), rootstock.  A fully adjustable would be heavier.  

It isn't a cheap purchase - so maybe go and find a stockist and try them out, have a think. 

Nearlyold

MikeJXE said:

No ladder is a good idea on uneven ground

Cut the hedge to a manageable height you can reach standing on the ground 

Tripod Ladders are built specifically for use on uneven ground such as in orchards etc. They are far more stable than standard ladders (a tripod is inherently more stable compared to a 4 or 2 footed ladder)