No Roof Rack? No Problem!
A set of ladders is not something to take chances with. Especially if you intend to use them regularly.
In this BPS Telescopic Multi-Functional Ladders review, I’ll also be delving into BPS Access Solutions reviews, because the brand behind the product is just as important for after-sales support.
When I was shopping for these, it was telescopic ladders I knew I needed.
I needed a set of ladders that’d fit in a van for transporting without a roof rack. Extension ladders were out of the question!
The Need-to-Know Specs of the BPS Telescopic Ladders
- Certified to EN 131 Standard
- Right off the bat, that tells me they’ll have wider rungs than I’m used to, and have been tested for strength and sturdiness.
- Splayed leg base for added stability. The base width on the 4.1 BPS Telescopic Ladders is 0.58 m.
- Easy to use and sturdy spring locking levers
- “Push-in” hinges
- Multi-Functional –> The model I’m reviewing here is the 4.1m BPS Telescopic Ladders and that has two configurations. Use as an extension ladder or step ladders. Different heights are available, with optional extras to include things like step platforms too. I didn’t get any but it’s good to know I can expand the functionality if I need to.
- Welded rungs instead of riveted – That, I like!
- Rubber anti-slip feet. I find these to be up to the job on near-level surfaces. There are leveling mats you can get if, for example, you’re working on soft ground in the garden where there’s a chance of the ladders sinking into the ground.
- Made of aluminium, not fiberglass. Aluminium’s lighter in weight and it’s only really electrician ladders that need to be fiberglass because that’s non-conductive. Aluminium is conductive, but I don’t work near live electric cables so that’s not a concern. The weight is…
- These weigh 13.6 kg – light enough for me to lug around gardens, transport them between clients gardens, and compact enough to toss in the van. The closed height is 1.27 m. Not the smallest of ladders on the market, but compact enough.
For the sake of quality, I wanted British Standards.
Turns out, that’s no longer a thing. BS EN 131 is now just EN 131. BS 2037, and BS 1129, (also referred to as Class 1 and Class 3) ladders aren’t available any longer. It’s this European Classification that’s resulted in changes to the designs…
And I think I like it.
As The Ladder Association describe the changes,
“EN131 improves ladder safety by making ladders wider, stronger and sturdier”
The Features of the BPS Telescopic Ladders that I like
The hinges at the top are super easy to lock and unlock the ladders. And they’re strong! That’s imperative because when these are set up as an extension ladder, these are the locks holding them together – keeping them upright, with you on them!
(You’ll hear me call these buttons or something in the video review/demo later – it’s the hinges I’m talking about. I hadn’t noticed the embossed warnings on both side legs stating to “lock hinges firmly”).
D’uh.
It’s also a nice touch to have the usual safety warnings embossed subtly instead of covering these with colourful warning stickers.
The push-in hinges felt fiddly at first, but I soon got the hang of it.
For the 4.1m BPS Telescopic Multi-Purpose ladders, there’s four (two sets) of these push-in hinges from the fourth rung.
The fully extended height as an A-Frame ladder is 1.99m.
Without extending them, the minimum height is 1.2m.
I can see me using these mostly as step ladders (the traditional A-Frame ladder setup) with the extension, but it’s good to know if I need to reach higher heights, I can.
As an extension ladder, it reaches up to 4.13m. That’s not the working height though because the top three rungs are for holding on.
Not for working from. For the working height, I’d say these are working at 3m. Not 4m.
General safety for using any ladders is not to overstretch. For what I need them for, which is mainly around gardens, the height of these is plenty sufficient.
That’s why I’d say they’re ideal as a set of ladders for gardeners.
I’d also add that the splayed leg design at the base of the ladders gives me more confidence in the steadiness of the ladders too. That’s a neat feature.
Worth noting for these is that if you are going to be working on soft ground in the garden, BPS Access Solutions have additional leveler mats and other accessories to go with these to make them practical on all ground conditions.
I didn’t spring for any extras and now that I’ve gave them a whirl, I’m confident I made the right decision. Given the grip of the rubber feet that’s already on these, I think they’ll hold up just fine.
Besides, if I need to use them on an unstable patch, it’s easy enough to set them up on a bit of board.
I did look at the larger 4 x 5 and 4 x 6 configurations, but figured I didn’t need the extra height.
And I was factoring for the closed height. This model is just the right size to fit snug IN the van. For me, that’s important because I like to keep my work van low key for security reasons. I don’t even have signage on it.
BPS do have other models of telescopic multi-functional ladders with work platforms available as optional extras. Those, I’d reckon, are more suited to different chores like painting and decorating.
With this model, there’s no work platforms, just step platforms available as extras. They’re more like tool trays. In fact, that’s what the 2 x step platform add-on is for. One platform for standing on, the other for sitting your tools on.
My Video Review of the BPS Telescopic Ladders
How to Use the BPS Telescopic Multi-Functional Ladders
When you get these out the box, the first thing I’d say is check the springs and hinges.
Those are the parts you’ll use the most (other than the rungs, but since the push-in hinges hold them up, you don’t want those slack). I find them a bit stiff, but that’s reassuring. I’d be worried if they were loose.
The big red buttons! (what I call the hinges) get pushed in to unlock them.
Unlock to change the position. They need to be locked in place before you get on the ladders.
There’s a loud enough click when they lock into place.
The top hinges take it from the folded position, can be locked in place as an A-Frame ladder, or open the hinges again to keep opening it until it’s fully outstretched to an extending ladder.
The 4 x 4 in the ladder name refers to the sections of the ladders. It’s essentially in four parts.
The bottom four rungs have another section with 3 rungs inside. A set of 4 push-in hinges hold them in place at whatever height you need – up to the max.
To extend them, you need to pull the hinges out and twist them a little, leaving them leaning against the frame. Then raise the section of the ladder up. This is the fiddly bit.
Every rung on the ladder has a hole for the springs to latch onto. Once you reach the height you want, twist the spring down and push it in place to lock it in. Do the same for all four of the ‘push-in’ hinges.
Lowering is the above in reverse. Just release two of the push-in hinges at a time (lowest first), holding it steady, then gently lower them to the smallest height, lock in place, and repeat again with the other two push-in hinges up top.
It’s when raising and lowering them that I appreciate these not being too heavy!
To fold them from the extending ladder setup, just push the top hinges (the big red buttons as I call them) in and fold it together.
That’s it. It’s not as complicated as it looked when I first set eyes on these mechanical looking telescopic ladders from BPS Access Solutions.
BPS Access Solutions Reviews: About the Brand
Buying online is getting harder. Free “next day” delivery doesn’t assure me that a bulk order hasn’t been imported to a UK warehouse ready to send my way.
Call me overly-cautious, but I’d rather spend my time researching a company than trying to do a chargeback later.
Here’s what I found in the BPS Access Solutions Reviews
Trustpilot Reviews
1,200 reviews, 4.8 rating, and they’re a Verified Company.
When there are hordes of reviews on Trustpilot, I like to filter them, and gauge the responses from the company. Here’s what I noticed.
The 1 star reviews were mostly relating to the website and were with regard to stock issues. They do state, on every product page, free next day delivery.
It makes me think that the setup they use means they have to manually update the website when items are out of stock. Doesn’t seem like they bother.
That’s an opinion. Not an observation. I could be wrong.
Judging by the reactions of last minute orders not arriving when expected, I would suggest that if you need something to be delivered the next day, or within a short-period, ring them.
They have a few numbers. The main one is 0333 006 9776. If you’d rather use the local number, call 01959 576568.
The theme of the 3 and 4 star reviews seems to relate to IT issues mostly on the website, but sometimes the phone system not working right, too. I did find out that the company is investing “massively” in upgrading their IT systems. (I’ll get to that later).
IT issues do happen and I don’t think this is one of those companies that tell you that they’re “experiencing extremely high call volumes at the moment” just because it’s now the done thing.
The other issue I saw creep up was about delivery. Not always deliveries being late, but rather, not getting a morning slot or an afternoon delivery slot. Feeling like you have to wait in (potentially) all day.
I can say that for my shipment, I got a text from ___, with a time slot of ____ and the ladders did arrive as expected, the next day, were extremely well packaged and without a single dent in a rung. Good times!
Heavily wrapped in plastic film, not sure it would of done an awful lot but can’t complain.
It is a UK-based family run business!
I find dealing with family businesses to be much smoother than any of the big stores.
My Verdict on the BPS Telescopic Multi-Functional Ladders
The ladders are well-suited to general garden maintenance. There is a smaller version that’s a lighter weight at 10.8kg with a max open reach of 3.01m.
They may get you by, but standard practice when buying ladders is to buy the next size up from what you’ll think you’ll need to avoid overstretching, or venturing onto the top rungs. As mentioned, they’re for holding on, not standing on.
Technically, domestic users can take whatever risks they’re comfortable taking. So could I. Working in landscaping though, it’s almost a certainty that if I had an accident involving ladders and needed to make an insurance claim, the working height and HSE (Health and Safety Executive) guidelines would come up.
The HSE state:
“Don’t work off the top three rungs. Try to make sure that the ladder extends at least 1 metre or three rungs above where you are working”.
I suppose it makes sense. I don’t imagine swinging a chainsaw or a hedge trimmer from the top rung of a ladder would be the brightest idea.
In Conclusion: It’s Two Thumbs Up from Me – A Great Product from an Established BRITISH Company
As a set of compact ladders for gardeners that won’t take up too much space in your shed (or in my case, the van), I’d recommend these.
Same if you need ladders for work use. BPS Access Solutions are trade suppliers, and they’ve been in the industry for over 20 years.
Plus, after seeing one of their job ads describing what it’s like to work at the company, they seem to have good employment practices.
I like the quality of the ladders, and the service from the company – fast delivery, value for money, good guarantee, family business, UK based, and a UK customer service team that turns out to be 10 people who are actually in the office from 8:30am to 5:30pm (weekdays only though).
