Unger nLite Carbon Composite Window Cleaning Pole Review

Unger has long been the market leader of trad tools, could this latest design launch them to the front of the wfp market? We got our hands on their nLite Carbon Composite pole and took it out for a few days, here is our honest review to help you decide if it’s the right pole for you.

Unger poles are for sale in many places, but if you want to buy one we recommend the Window Cleaning Warehouse which always provides great service. You can click here to check out the range of Unger nLite carbon composite poles on their site.

This pole is available in 1.6m, 3.2m, 6m and 8m lengths. We tried out the 6m.

Deflection

Our deflection tests test out how rigid a pole is by testing how much it bends when extended and a weight is hung from it, to measure the whippiness that is experienced when cleaning windows. The less it “deflects” or bends the better it will be to work with.

The Unger nLite Carbon Composite feels quite whippy when you are using it, and our deflection test results echoed this feeling.

When tested vertically to mimic up and down movement, you could see the advantage of the unique shape. Suspended across a 5.85m span it sagged by 30mm in the middle with no weight applied, and a whopping 210mm when we hung a 2.5kg weight from it.

However, when tested horizontally without the benefits from its non-round cross-section, it did not perform well, actually scoring worse than the FaceLift Renegade aluminium pole. It bowed by 85mm with no weight on it, and a massive 285mm with a 2.5kg weight hung from it.

When using it for day-to-day work, you can really feel the flex in the pole, especially side-to-side. This makes it more difficult to control and can add extra stress to your elbows and shoulders as they are trying to take the flex out of the pole.

This whippiness is something that you will often find in carbon composite poles. The Unger nLite 24k is one of the best performers on our deflection test. This shows that this Unger nLite Carbon Composite pole is at the bottom end of the nLite range.

Weight

This is a relatively heavy pole at 1425g.

This pole is only compatible with nLite brushes. We really like these brushes but they are quite heavy, therefore, compounding the weight.

At the end of the day using this we felt more tired and like we had been using a heavy pole.

Ergonomics

Arguably the biggest feature of this pole is the shape of the cross-section. It is not round, or even oval, but kind of egg-shaped, with a flatter end and a pointier end.

On the first few houses, we were unsure which way up to hold this. After a while we both agreed that it felt more comfortable with the writing upside-down, pointy side facing the ground.

With the pointy side up it digs into your palms slightly, but what Unger call “upside-down” felt very comfortable. It is easy to change which way up you use it thanks to its adjustable gooseneck and internal hoses. This shape makes it seem very firm in your hands, and having a thinner bottom end makes it easy on your grip.

Because this pole is only made up of 4 sections it doesn’t feel too wide in your hand.

Clamps

The Unger clamps work well and hold the pole securely and we love the colours.

Because the pole is not round, the clamps do not need to stop rotation. This means that they don’t need to clamp as hard and can prevent wear to the pole, making it last longer.

They are easily adjustable without any tools, and the levers can be rotated for left-handers.

Unlike most poles that have the clamp levers on the top of the pole, Unger has put them on the side. This takes a little getting used to and if you find the pole more comfortable in your hands “upside-down” as we did, then the clamps are more awkward to use. After you open them, they fall back into the closed position instead of staying open.

They also seem to have a sweet spot where the pole can extend freely. If you open the clamps beyond this point they feel like they are starting to close again and drag on the pole.

We really like the extension stop at the end of a pole section. They extend very smoothly, and when they have reached maximum extension there is a reassuring bump as they will not extend any further. We prefer this to tape or a coloured section that you have to look for and you can also over-extend.

Final thoughts

When completely folded down it is still quite long at 1.7m, you may have some trouble fitting it into smaller vans without it being mounted diagonally.

A feature we really like is the rubber base on it. It is nice and sturdy so it will protect the outer section of the pole, it is also a good handle to hold onto when cleaning.

This is a great pole to try, and the shape of it can really help with grip issues some of us face when window cleaning. The full-carbon version delivers where this pole has problems with flex and weight but it is more expensive.

If you buy this pole we think you will like it, and the brushes are very impressive, but we felt tired at the end of the day. In our opinion, there are better poles to buy for your money. It is at the very top end of the price scale for a carbon composite pole, and more expensive than some really good full carbon fibre poles.

The 6m Unger nLite carbon composite costs £262.80 incl VAT. 6m is just over 19 1/2 feet. You could get an 18 ft full carbon fibre FaceLift Phantom from the Window Cleaning Warehouse for £240, or the 22ft FaceLift Phantom for £288.