Carbon fiber pole saw

[Bounce]

I just bought this new carbon fiber pole saw. This thing is amazing! It is sectional, just like the traditional fiberglass ones with male and female ends that secure with a spring loaded button. It comes with two 6 ft poles and one 4 ft. The blade is a Samurai blade. Excluding saw scabbard, the whole thing weighs 3 1/2 lbs, and is super stiff and rigid without any of the wobbly noodle business. Should be sturdier than the aluminum poles too. It should be perfect for crown cleaning jobs, which are my bread and butter. The downside is that it was $450 (from Wesspur).

 

[Bounce]

 

[MasterBlaster]

It looks great...sometimes, you just gotta spend some bucks for the good stuff!

Does TreeStuff carry that?

 

[cory]

Carbon fiber pole, great idea!!

The spring loaded button looks extremely shoddy. I don't like the connections on traditional poles at all because they become sloppy quickly as the hole becomes egg shaped (wallered out) from use. One-piece, 12 or 14 foot poles are where it's at imo but I can't find them anymore and I'm down to my last 2, when they get backed over I'm outta luck

An easy manufacturing solution to the shoddy connector is to make the male and female ends threaded and then you would still have the chincy button arrangement but it would only be to keep the poles from unscrewing, instead of being the only thing keeping them joined. The threads would be doing all the hard work of keeping the 2 sections securely connected. And threads would take ages to wear out. Treestuff are you listening

 

[cory]

Oh and btw, the butt end caps that are currently available for poles are essentially useless. The butt ends take a beating and get worn/ground down unless extraordinary measures are taken. I use a wood dowel insert, SS hose clamp and tape to make a durable butt end but I'd prefer to use a well engineered solution that is even more durable- the DIY butt end tends to last about a year.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I can't imagine why they aren't threaded! It seems like the smartest way to design it.

I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for that option.

 

[cory]

+10

 

[Bounce]

The threaded connections is a great idea. Too bad I'm not in contact with manufacturers anymore. I have also had the same problems with the end caps. Was planning to make my own for this thing. Still though, so far this seems to me like the best pole saw ever made.

 

[PCTREE]

Carbon doesn't like to be crushed.......

 

[Bounce]

It seems strong enough, but we'll see. I wasn't planning on driving over them, but I guess it's happened before.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

The manufacturing and cost problem with the threaded part is that it need to be at least twice as thick to make the thread. Both for female and male ends. It will be a little challenging to produce that in a cost effective way.
One easy solution is to use a metal insert/tube for these parts, but the cost goes up too (and it's less cool locking).
Concerning the wear of the junction, I'm not sure that it will last longer. The threads take a lot of stress when they are screwed /unscrewed, due to the big leverage with the cantilever during an horizontal installing.
The screw beginning would be easily damaged if you don't line up perfectly the both parts during the rotation. Not so easy.
The carbon fibers are very strong but the resin, not so much. If the strain is distributed on all the piece, that hold. If the strain is reported only on a point or small area, that breaks.

 

[Burnham]

Sexy pole saw, nonetheless.

 

[flushcut]

A full report will be necessary once they get into production would be appreciated.

 

[cory]

Interesting arguments, Marc.

I still think it would be great to be able to get one piece 12' and 14' fiberglass poles, they are super strong and light enough. The female ferrule can be DIY monkeyed with to make it last as can the butt end.

Nick, what say you?

 

[Bermy]

How about that time when the branch falls on the pole and the whole lot comes down 'kerrwallop'! Will carbon fibre stand up to that scenario?
I bent a section of my Hayauchi...at least you can get spare parts for everything on a Silky...will follow this with interest nonetheless

 

[DMc]

...The spring loaded button looks extremely shoddy....

They look appropriate to me. The aluminum furls on most fiberglass poles is just too soft and thin to withstand elongation with field use and abuse. If the sleeved-tubes have a tight fit, the connection should be much stronger than its aluminum counter part.

Having a feather weight and stiff pole saw would be so nice.

 

[Limbrat]

Fishing rods, kayak paddles and a lot more are made from carbon fiber. I've put carbon graphite fishing rods through some pretty tough tests. For a lot of folks, $400 might be a bit pricey for a pole though.

 

[Burnham]

True dat.

 

[MasterBlaster]

But, if it lasts you forever...

 

[Burnham]

Also true.

But longevity being the question at hand, it can be a hard call, especially with a new product.

The button latch wouldn't worry me a bit. I've never worn one out yet...but I've never been a full time pole saw user either.

 

[SkwerI]

I have some yellow fiberglass polesaw handles that are over 10 years old and they still work well. I've broken a few but at $40-50 each they are quite economical. Breaking a $400 carbon fiber polesaw handle would be devastating.

 

[cory]

The button latch wouldn't worry me a bit. I've never worn one out yet...but I've never been a full time pole saw user either.

They get egg shaped in no time at all.

 

[Bounce]

I put the new pole saw through its paces yesterday. I spent 2.5 hours limbing up 7 Doug firs from the ground instead of climbing them. The saw works great, even at its full length. No noodle effect at all. 17 ft is just as rigid and precise as 6 ft. With that much to do, I was very happy with how light it is. Also, I realized that the poles are not quite round except at the ends where they connect. In cross section, they are more like a triangle with the corners rounded off. It gives them a nice grip and quite a bit of strength. So far, I am very happy with it! Definitely the best pole saw I've ever used.

 

[DMc]

..... Breaking a $400 carbon fiber polesaw handle would be devastating.

As I have gotten older and more careful, it seems all my tools last longer than they used to. Like you, I have some very old fiberglass and wooden poles that have the aluminum button type connectors that are still working fine.

Breaking a 400 dollar poll would be seriously cringe worthy.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Indeed.
Too many hands in the back of my truck. My temperament could not handle rough hands on a 400.00 pole saw.