Im a electrical contractor and live on ladders. Harbor freight is just as good as little giant or Werner I have all three don’t prefer one brand over the other
Thanks for the video... but you're comparing a old model little giant ladder (that's no longer manufactured or sold, and hasn't been for many years), to a brand new 2019 HF ladder. That's like comparing my 2004 Nissan Titan to a 2019 Ford F150.
One thing I'd like to point out, that model of little giant looks very old, the newer models look like the Franklin, albeit with newer features like wheels and stuff, or more specifically, the Franklin is probably a copy of one of the models of actual little giants... My local Costco has the little giant newest model (MegaLite 17) for 130$.
I bought the Little Giant Megalite 17 at Costco last week on sale for $99.99. Looks like the newer model is much improved over the older model in this video. Plus, there are some new models with leveling feet, which look pretty nice too.
That is a really old Little Giant model or what? Little Giant has been made for 40 years! All the ones I see today have 300Lb weight limit, have wheels and other accessories too. Not a fair comparison!!
You're right, in a few ways this comparison is apples to oranges. The difference in collapsing the 2 units, that is, the HF seemed smother and easier to collapse, is because the LG unit is older and has been used. Probably if both units were sprayed with WD-40, they'd be equally smooth and easy to collapse. Also, Costco is right now running the LG Model #17 (listed as 15') at $119.99, for store pickup. It's the unit you describe, 300#, with wheels and tip. I haven't compared the 2, but I'd bet the LG is stronger aluminum and better quality than the HF.
Hmm, I just got the little giant (havent used it yet) today, but found out my inlaws bought me the franklin for Christmas. Now I am not sure which one to keep. They both are $100 right now.
Nice review , glad to see that you had been posting again , you should keep it up , also you need more edited in tiny explosions in your reviews like back in the day that was the best , btw i still use the pen and the harbor freight pick set you sent me from your giveaway in fact i used the pick set in the video i posted yesterday lol , anyway long comment short MORE HARBOR FREIGHT REVIEWS PLEASE , its been a year already post something else
Of course you have to hit the knobs harder to get them to go back in...that’s what happens over time. It’ll happen to that Franklin if it hasn’t happened already. I’m glad you’re trying to do a proper experiment but you’ll notice from any good experiment, they never test a new one against a used one. Even though you can get a new one with a defect in it, it’s less likely than marking something down about wear and tear when it’s clearly been used a lot. I know it cost a lot of money to do a true experiment but at least throw the used factor into it when comparing something. Go watch Project Farm to see how good experiments are done. He never uses used when comparing products, unless he’s testing a product that’s supposed to help something that’s used. And he tests a lot of Harbor Freight tools and sometimes they do very well against the top name brands
Just got a 17 foot Little Giant ladder. It has safety rails that can extend vertically and horizontally. It has leg levelers for uneven ground, very clever design. 290 dollars at their website. Very stable and safe.
Love my Franklin 17' ladder. Got it for $89 with coupon and it is a really well built ladder. Very useful. Harbor Freight did well with this one. Some of their tools are not that great nut this ladder it as good as the high dollar brands and at a better price.
I actually have the 17 foot that I got from harbor freight and I want you to extend it to all positions cause I can't extend all those positions, please show all positions please one day.
Several years ago I bought the Little Giant 22' ladder at a promotional demo at Sam's Club. I got a kick out step (also works as cross brace to split ladder into 2 step ladders), a aluminum telescoping scaffold for when you split the ladder. A leg extension for uneven surfaces. All of that was around 360.00 at the time. This was when Little Giant was the only ladder of it's kind at the time. All of it still works like new. That Franklin looks like a good deal, the only thing is the quality of the aluminum. Poor aluminum will crack under stress over time.
All aluminum cracks from stress overtime. It’s due to fatigue. Reducing the stress or increasing material area will delay it but it will eventually happen no matter what
Un fair comparison. In multiple ways. The longer ladder had more/heavier reinforced areas. Hence it was a bigger ladder. Rated for a higher hight. But i did like the ammo box cleaning stand. 2 spacers between the box and the cradles. And moved the hinges. Lid goes back on lol.
Their life time warranty is garbage!! I had their ladder one of the legs twisted inward, after using it as a scaffold. I call customer service they had me take pictures send it to two department and they said it's not under warranty but if I want I could send them the section that is damaged and they could examine what happen (shipping would have cost 45.00) or I could just but the section from them for 120.00 This is back in the early 2000's when the ladder is 399.00
I'll take the Franklin over the old or new little giant. It's not like I use this thing on a daily or weekly basis. Some people get caught up in brand names the way women do with purses and shoe...SMH
I like that Franklin ladder better and you pointed out some good areas on the Franklin compared to the Little Giant. Harbor freight has 10% off til Monday and 20% off if you're a inside track member. You can't beat it with a stick for President's Day sale 2022. Thanks for sharing.#PEACE ✌🏾
It's nice to walk into H F even at their $139.00 price it does the job and uses the lighter weight aircraft aluminum, pro or not look at what it does like the name brand one
I am here because I fell using a Franklin 17’ straighten out as an extension ladder. Luckily I was not seriously injured. It was fairly new, not used much or damaged. I had it leaning on the gutters with about 3 feet of ladder above the gutter. The hinges were 2 feet below the gutter. I climbed nearly to the roof when it folded like both hinges didn’t fully lock and I ended on my back on top of the ladder. Now it is bent and I am bruised, sore, out $100 but thankfully in better shape than the ladder is.
Thanks for the video. I am concerned that the HF description says the ladder supports "up to" 300 lb. "Up to" is usually a weasel-ly marketing deception allowing that the reality may be less. Hopefully the duty rating of the ladder is more definitive. Also, did you (could you) compare the width of the narrowest rungs of the ladders?
I think you are comparing a current style Franklin to an old version of a Little Giant (LG). I have a Franklin just like yours and it's a pretty good ladder, but my Little Giant Xtreme is in a different class. The LG is a much more versatile, better built and is a far more stable ladder than my Franklin. While I think the LG ladders are somewhat over priced I think they make a superior ladder to a Franklin or Werner.
@@PineBrookHills As an A-frame ladder I really like the LG, but the other day I extended it out and when I climbed up about 12' it bends and bounces too much and i'm worried about kick-out. Little Giant needs to fix this problem.
I like Harbor Freight's Franklin, but today's models of Little Giant blow the competition away with much better features (including, wheels, levelers, twist levers etc).
@@markbrinton6790 My LG Megalite 17 I bought from Costco last week says designed and engineered in the USA, made in China. At least, that's what the sticker on the ladder says.
@@speedlever interesting, all 3 of mine, one of which I bought 2 months ago at Lowe's says made in USA. Wing enterprises is the founding company, and I've literally been in their warehouse and production facility, many times doing IT work, and I can assure you they are made in Springville Utah. So that is very strange.....
Interesting comparison? How about you compare the Little giant Mega Lite $150 vs Franklin 140? This LGL It has the Air Deck ability! Guys make sure your doing fair comparisons! Current model and trim level! Also how would you possible think Franklin could be better than Little giant! 1. You didn’t show how Franklin rivets on their rungs vs welding on LGL 2. The wheels!! LGL has wheels! 3. Better feet on LGL feel the difference in feet pad quality! 4. Craftsmanship, engineering, innovation is way better on LGL 5. Personally I love the Quantum Little Giant or new Epic! They have built in levelers! Or Lowe’s has the Leveler LGL Thanks for helping Little Giant gain more business cuz loyal customers found your review and pointed out your interesting review.... doubt anyone is paying you for this review lol 😂
I wouldn’t buy or use any thing from Harbor Freight. It’s the dollar tree tool store. I wouldn’t even recommend a house wife to use their tools, she would end up breaking it and possibly get injured after it’s 2nd use!
Not a fair comparison. That’s an ancient version of the Little Giant Ladder. The design and welded frame brackets are much improved today over this early model.
Im a electrical contractor and live on ladders. Harbor freight is just as good as little giant or Werner I have all three don’t prefer one brand over the other
Thanks for the video... but you're comparing a old model little giant ladder (that's no longer manufactured or sold, and hasn't been for many years), to a brand new 2019 HF ladder. That's like comparing my 2004 Nissan Titan to a 2019 Ford F150.
I bought the Little Giant 18' Model 16517-002 at Lowes today (Black Friday) for $89.
The Franklin 17' is $98.99 at Harbor Freight today.
Do you know if they will sell it for that price today
One thing I'd like to point out, that model of little giant looks very old, the newer models look like the Franklin, albeit with newer features like wheels and stuff, or more specifically, the Franklin is probably a copy of one of the models of actual little giants... My local Costco has the little giant newest model (MegaLite 17) for 130$.
I bought the Little Giant Megalite 17 at Costco last week on sale for $99.99. Looks like the newer model is much improved over the older model in this video. Plus, there are some new models with leveling feet, which look pretty nice too.
That is a really old Little Giant model or what? Little Giant has been made for 40 years! All the ones I see today have 300Lb weight limit, have wheels and other accessories too. Not a fair comparison!!
You're right, in a few ways this comparison is apples to oranges.
The difference in collapsing the 2 units, that is, the HF seemed smother and easier to collapse, is because the LG unit is older and has been used. Probably if both units were sprayed with WD-40, they'd be equally smooth and easy to collapse.
Also, Costco is right now running the LG Model #17 (listed as 15') at $119.99, for store pickup. It's the unit you describe, 300#, with wheels and tip. I haven't compared the 2, but I'd bet the LG is stronger aluminum and better quality than the HF.
Price now for the Franklin is $149.99 and what the store is a 15ft not 17ft read the HF reviews
Hmm, I just got the little giant (havent used it yet) today, but found out my inlaws bought me the franklin for Christmas. Now I am not sure which one to keep. They both are $100 right now.
Nice review , glad to see that you had been posting again , you should keep it up , also you need more edited in tiny explosions in your reviews like back in the day that was the best , btw i still use the pen and the harbor freight pick set you sent me from your giveaway in fact i used the pick set in the video i posted yesterday lol , anyway long comment short MORE HARBOR FREIGHT REVIEWS PLEASE , its been a year already post something else
Of course you have to hit the knobs harder to get them to go back in...that’s what happens over time. It’ll happen to that Franklin if it hasn’t happened already. I’m glad you’re trying to do a proper experiment but you’ll notice from any good experiment, they never test a new one against a used one. Even though you can get a new one with a defect in it, it’s less likely than marking something down about wear and tear when it’s clearly been used a lot. I know it cost a lot of money to do a true experiment but at least throw the used factor into it when comparing something. Go watch Project Farm to see how good experiments are done. He never uses used when comparing products, unless he’s testing a product that’s supposed to help something that’s used. And he tests a lot of Harbor Freight tools and sometimes they do very well against the top name brands
Just got a 17 foot Little Giant ladder. It has safety rails that can extend vertically and horizontally. It has leg levelers for uneven ground, very clever design. 290 dollars at their website. Very stable and safe.
Love my Franklin 17' ladder. Got it for $89 with coupon and it is a really well built ladder. Very useful. Harbor Freight did well with this one. Some of their tools are not that great nut this ladder it as good as the high dollar brands and at a better price.
So they’re very comparable with a slight price difference. Like I used to say when I danced in Vegas....... 20 bucks is 20 bucks.
I actually have the 17 foot that I got from harbor freight and I want you to extend it to all positions cause I can't extend all those positions, please show all positions please one day.
Several years ago I bought the Little Giant 22' ladder at a promotional demo at Sam's Club. I got a kick out step (also works as cross brace to split ladder into 2 step ladders), a aluminum telescoping scaffold for when you split the ladder. A leg extension for uneven surfaces. All of that was around 360.00 at the time. This was when Little Giant was the only ladder of it's kind at the time. All of it still works like new. That Franklin looks like a good deal, the only thing is the quality of the aluminum. Poor aluminum will crack under stress over time.
All aluminum cracks from stress overtime. It’s due to fatigue. Reducing the stress or increasing material area will delay it but it will eventually happen no matter what
I would worry about aluminum stress fractures in aircraft, not so much for a ladder.
Un fair comparison. In multiple ways.
The longer ladder had more/heavier reinforced areas.
Hence it was a bigger ladder.
Rated for a higher hight.
But i did like the ammo box cleaning stand.
2 spacers between the box and the cradles. And moved the hinges.
Lid goes back on lol.
Stowing dimension.
W.24" x H.55' x D.7.5"
178" Full hight.
W.39" - H.51" A fram lowest.
W.63" - H.85" A fram highest.
Weight 34.lbs
Little Giant is the better ladder. Have tried the imitators.
The little giant has a life time warranty.... if it brakes you get a brand new one.
is your ladder driving a vehicle... that is the only way it could brake.. If it breaks the warranty would get you a new one... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Their life time warranty is garbage!! I had their ladder one of the legs twisted inward, after using it as a scaffold. I call customer service they had me take pictures send it to two department and they said it's not under warranty but if I want I could send them the section that is damaged and they could examine what happen (shipping would have cost 45.00) or I could just but the section from them for 120.00 This is back in the early 2000's when the ladder is 399.00
If it breaks the warranty is invalid to you because you're probably dead lol
What about if it breaks?
I'll take the Franklin over the old or new little giant. It's not like I use this thing on a daily or weekly basis. Some people get caught up in brand names the way women do with purses and shoe...SMH
I like that Franklin ladder better and you pointed out some good areas on the Franklin compared to the Little Giant. Harbor freight has 10% off til Monday and 20% off if you're a inside track member. You can't beat it with a stick for President's Day sale 2022. Thanks for sharing.#PEACE ✌🏾
I just picked up 2 Franklins for $99ea (On Sale) List $140 in 2021. Nice review.
how long are they actually fully extended, not reach height, like laid on the floor and measured
The HF is now $149 and no coupons. HF is no longer a good deal on anything.
Heard that the HF 17’ ladder is only 15.5’. You never measured it.
Thanks! Great video.
and after all no demonstration on how high it is.
Harbor freight rocks.
I prefer my Gorilla ladder
Thank you for the review, this helped me buying a ladder!!! Plus I love the Father Son video 😃
Glad I could help!
great price easy to set up.
Echo!
It's nice to walk into H F even at their $139.00 price it does the job and uses the lighter weight aircraft aluminum, pro or not look at what it does like the name brand one
I am here because I fell using a Franklin 17’ straighten out as an extension ladder. Luckily I was not seriously injured. It was fairly new, not used much or damaged. I had it leaning on the gutters with about 3 feet of ladder above the gutter. The hinges were 2 feet below the gutter. I climbed nearly to the roof when it folded like both hinges didn’t fully lock and I ended on my back on top of the ladder. Now it is bent and I am bruised, sore, out $100 but thankfully in better shape than the ladder is.
the Harbor Freight is 17 ft ladder and the Little Giant is a 22 ft ladder.Not apples to apples.
Thanks for the video.
I am concerned that the HF description says the ladder supports "up to" 300 lb. "Up to" is usually a weasel-ly marketing deception allowing that the reality may be less. Hopefully the duty rating of the ladder is more definitive.
Also, did you (could you) compare the width of the narrowest rungs of the ladders?
I think you are comparing a current style Franklin to an old version of a Little Giant (LG). I have a Franklin just like yours and it's a pretty good ladder, but my Little Giant Xtreme is in a different class. The LG is a much more versatile, better built and is a far more stable ladder than my Franklin. While I think the LG ladders are somewhat over priced I think they make a superior ladder to a Franklin or Werner.
I agree. Your Little Giant isn't anything like the one I have. All the things you mention are heftier on my Little Giant.
@@PineBrookHills As an A-frame ladder I really like the LG, but the other day I extended it out and when I climbed up about 12' it bends and bounces too much and i'm worried about kick-out. Little Giant needs to fix this problem.
Good to see you back!! I hope all is well. Trevor
Thanks!
That last part, lol!
Josh edited this, I had no idea he was filming. I will get my revenge LOL!
I like Harbor Freight's Franklin, but today's models of Little Giant blow the competition away with much better features (including, wheels, levelers, twist levers etc).
Awesome. Thanks for doing this video.
Since they are both made in China I would buy the franklin.
Same thought we had.
You both should educate yourselves, little giant ladders are MANUFACTURED and MADE in Springville, Utah.
@@markbrinton6790
My LG Megalite 17 I bought from Costco last week says designed and engineered in the USA, made in China. At least, that's what the sticker on the ladder says.
@@speedlever interesting, all 3 of mine, one of which I bought 2 months ago at Lowe's says made in USA. Wing enterprises is the founding company, and I've literally been in their warehouse and production facility, many times doing IT work, and I can assure you they are made in Springville Utah. So that is very strange.....
mark brinton
I can’t explain that discrepancy either. I would post an image of the sticker but don’t think I can do that in the comments.
Little Giant seems to be a better ladder, but not $100 better than the Franklin.
I feel like unless you are buying something like the Little Giant Revolution they are all cheap and unsteady.
Interesting comparison? How about you compare the Little giant Mega Lite $150 vs Franklin 140? This LGL It has the Air Deck ability! Guys make sure your doing fair comparisons! Current model and trim level! Also how would you possible think Franklin could be better than Little giant!
1. You didn’t show how Franklin rivets on their rungs vs welding on LGL
2. The wheels!! LGL has wheels!
3. Better feet on LGL feel the difference in feet pad quality!
4. Craftsmanship, engineering, innovation is way better on LGL
5. Personally I love the Quantum Little Giant or new Epic! They have built in levelers! Or Lowe’s has the Leveler LGL
Thanks for helping Little Giant gain more business cuz loyal customers found your review and pointed out your interesting review....
doubt anyone is paying you for this review lol 😂
Do you have a ladder fetish or something? Settle down. You sound like a Little Giant spokesperson.
Just fyi the little giant looks like an older generation. All in all I think the harbor freight letter looks like a pretty good deal.
Correct! The Little Giant we tested is a few years old, but has had very little use.
Great vid. Thanks guys.
The Harbor Freight ladder is JUNK plus that is a old gen ladder from Little Giant
Diamond Carwash exactly and Little Giant is still better! 🤑🤔
I wouldn’t buy or use any thing from Harbor Freight. It’s the dollar tree tool store. I wouldn’t even recommend a house wife to use their tools, she would end up breaking it and possibly get injured after it’s 2nd use!
Not a fair comparison. That’s an ancient version of the Little Giant Ladder. The design and welded frame brackets are much improved today over this early model.