Berger telescoping aluminum pole

Z'sTrees · Dec 9, 2016

Anyone used one of these? Sherrill sells them and seems to think highly of them. The bigshot works with it so I assume any regular attachments would work too. Any information is much appreciated.

monkeylove · Dec 9, 2016

Sorry, you lost me at Sherrill.

JeffOpar · Dec 9, 2016

I would say stick to regular fiberglass poles. I have used a few telescoping poles over the years and it seems like eventually they will piss you off.

Z'sTrees · Dec 9, 2016

Seems like a different design than other collapsible poles I have seen. the locking mechanism seems akin to a quick release on a bike seat tube.
I have never used anything but fiberglass, I'm just curious if it's any better.
As for Sherrill, I know alot of people here have beef with them. I have only made one small order from them and have no complaints. usually tree stuff gets my business but now they are one in the same more or less. Sherrill is closer, and I pay sales tax for either so what does it matter?

JeffOpar · Dec 9, 2016

I just realised again why I hate Sherrill. I ordered a set of carbon fiber hooks that were "in stock". They were not, I got a message that they were backordered. I am leaving the country soon and 1) called to cancel the order, (got a message)
2) emailed twice to try to get a conformation, crickets....

Screw them.

I got up with Dale Thomas and he got a set of Kiwi Klimbers right out to me. He answered my emails litterally in minutes.

cerviarborist · Dec 10, 2016

I have a 21' Silky Hayauchi with telescoping aluminum poles. I bought it over 7 years ago. It still works great, but I take fastidious care of my equipment. Like any other piece of extendable/articulating equipment, if you toss them around carelessly they won't last.

Personally, I buy equipment with the top priority being performance. I can't make most tools perform any better than they do coming out of the box. I can however control how carefully they're used and maintained, so I let ruggedness and bombproof characteristics take a back seat to performance in my purchasing decisions.

guymayor · Dec 10, 2016

I use the jameson telescoping pole and it's a faithful and trusted tool, essential for light reductions of large trees.

Berger looks like a silky hayauchi copy. It might be good but quite a lot heavier than fiberglass. Agree with Richard re Hayauchi; treat it well and it will treat you well!

peteyt · Dec 10, 2016

I'm pretty intrigued by these poles. also eager for reports. The Hayate blade on a 22' is pretty impresssive, especially with lower weight. I've had my Hayate for 7 years or so, had to replace all the plastic cam sections at the ends of the poles last year and they lock tight again. It didn't like being run over with the truck, luckily only got one section!

treegongfu · Dec 10, 2016

I've been using a two section telescoping painting extension pole for my bigshot pole for a few years. it works well.

The only shortcoming is it has a little too much flex on higher shots.

Sam Barnes · Dec 12, 2016

Z'sTrees said:
Anyone used one of these? Sherrill sells them and seems to think highly of them. The bigshot works with it so I assume any regular attachments would work too. Any information is much appreciated.

The BigShot head works well with the Berger Poles. Other fiberglass pole adapters will work with a slight modification. The holes in the adapters are manufactured to work specifically with the pin connection on fiberglass poles. The hole on the adapter can be enlarged slightly(1mm or so) to work with the Berger poles. We are currently in the process of modifying our pole saw head adapters to work with fiberglass poles and the Berger line up. Pruner heads can also be used, but again the adapter will require slight modification to work.

guymayor · Dec 12, 2016

Won't enlarging the holes on the adapter make more 'slop' when using fiberglass poles? Why not get Berger to grind down the pins to match the established size, or grind down the pins?

Z'sTrees · Dec 12, 2016

Sam Barnes said:
The BigShot head works well with the Berger Poles. Other fiberglass pole adapters will work with a slight modification. The holes in the adapters are manufactured to work specifically with the pin connection on fiberglass poles. The hole on the adapter can be enlarged slightly(1mm or so) to work with the Berger poles. We are currently in the process of modifying our pole saw head adapters to work with fiberglass poles and the Berger line up. Pruner heads can also be used, but again the adapter will require slight modification to work.

Good info, thanks.

seanlarkin · Dec 12, 2016

guymayor said:
Won't enlarging the holes on the adapter make more 'slop' when using fiberglass poles? Why not get Berger to grind down the pins to match the established size, or grind down the pins?

Hey Guy,

We checked for that when coming up with the mod, going through a number of samples until we got it right. We've not noticed any "slop".

Thanks!

-Sean

Redtree · Dec 13, 2016

I use a windsurf mast for my big shot. carbon fibre 8 foot section. (Half mast) extremely stiff and light. As for pole I use the hyauchi but I don't telescope it any more. I just use what sections I need. Keeps it light. Like with ladders, aluminum will always be lighter than fibreglass. And carbon fibre will always be lighter than aluminum. With my four part hyauchi, I attached a standard Marvin pruner to the end so I have two of the small ends. One with a saw and one with a pruner. It took some trouble shooting to make the Marvin solid on the pole. I did try the silky pruner head but doesn't hold up like Marvin. Works great initially but a little over complicated in all its parts and a bit Micky mouse. The hyauchi pole sections fail every couple years so I've probably had five poles over the past decade. A small price to pay for lightweight function.
I pondered using the end half of a carbon window washing pole but that plan is no longer necessary. It was recently brought to my attention that a carbon pole is on the market. Has anyone tried this?. I will get it but just heard a month ago. I haven't had to deal with sherrill a lot but I thought they were good until I heard otherwise here. The carbon pole is available in their catalogue. I think it's the 2016 catalogue. I've been anticipating this carbon pole as much as I anticipated the battery stihl chainsaw before I got it four or five years ago. Like going from a trailer to a chipper, once I get the carbon, I'm sure I'll never go back. Of course the carbon may need to go through some research and development but in ten years it will be the standard. Like the battery powered climbing saw. I'm anticipating the next generation of that from stihl. Which by the way beats the husky by wattage alone. Amps x volts = watts = power. Look at Home Depot. Not just husky brand. The wattage of their 16" saws which should be 6" is a joke. Go stihl. Go carbon. Hurry up arboriculture and stop tracking behind mountain climbing and window washing. Actually I believe this is starting to happen (arboriculture equipment leading its own way) so I should watch my big mouth.
The next step is getting 20% - 30% of the weight off the Marvin head. Come on Marvin. Update. My arms hurt. Love that Marvin though.

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guymayor · Dec 13, 2016

Thanks Sean I might just check it out. I am not as nice to my hayauchi as Richard so the 2nd section keeps bending on me, Cost to replace the 1 section is $100+ so there it sits.
So yes I'm inclined to check out the Berger but first where is this carbon fiber thingy? The only thing I don't like in the Jameson fiberglass telescoper is the 14' limit; not sure about the weight issue cited by Redtree. Ladders?
I add an 8' section per need for some cuts when the wiggliness is not a deal breaker. But I am happy to see tools evolve!

seanlarkin · Dec 13, 2016

Hey Guy,

From my own personal experience (keeping in mind that I ride a desk, and am not a tree guy), I've used the Hayauchi and the Stealth to take care of some trees at home, and I definitely felt the difference in both the weight and rigidity between the two. And that was only trimming a few branches on 4-5 trees. Tree pros using the polesaw for most of their day would surely notice the difference way more than I could.

-Sean

Redtree · Dec 13, 2016

What is the Stealth? Carbon? Googled it. Sherril site says it's yellow but it appears black in photo so sherrill may want to use a descriptive word like 'fibreglass' or 'carbon fibre'. Kind of important difference around hydro.
the evolution of windsurf masts goes like this. Fibre glass was replaced by aluminum for weight reasons. Then aluminum was replaced by carbon fibre. The carbon fibre is the stiffest and lightest. Guy, Ladders? you ask. Yes an aluminum ladder is lighter than an equal sized fibre glass ladder. The only guys that carry aluminum are usually hydro guys or electricians but I know an electrician who still carries the aluminum A just for weight reasons on certain tasks. And it is very notable that we must be very careful about where we wave around that conductive aluminum pole. Hydro lines should be discussed and their presence is enough to go with the hydro labelled yellow pole. Wow, I just googled it. Be careful with carbon. Apparently it conducts just like metal. Contrary to what we might assume. I assumed it was insulated. CARBON IS A CONDUCTOR.
If you google carbon fibre pole pruner, ArborMAX shows up. When I get home from Florida tonight I'll look to see if that's what is in the Sherrill catalogue.

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RopeShield · Dec 14, 2016

Guy easy to repair or stitch back together. might not telescope but still useful. I break one almost every year and they are all still being used.

Z'sTrees · Dec 29, 2016

Bought the berger pole/bigshot kit. The pole goes from 6ft to 10.5ft. The clamp is secure and the pole seems rigid. Now to make a saw head work, the berger one is kinda pricey...