Yup, you can pinch a finger in these things, and not at the hinge. When you slide the two telescoping sections back in, the rungs come together. Not so bad on the little versions, but on some of the taller ones, its not fun due to the weight of the top section as it comes sliding down. You learn to be careful.

These beasts _are_ heavy, but for that you get the flexibility and sturdiness discussed earlier. I don’t have to carry multiple ladders on my truck. Extension ladders are more convenient for some outside work, but generally aren’t usable indoors on finished surfaces.

I work in the hills in California - many of the houses I work on are built into hillsides, and have crawlspaces that slope from 2′ to 10′. This ladder is great for that kind of work.

The rungs are less comfortable to work off of than a traditional stepladder, but no more so than an extension ladder. If I use it at home wearing sneakers or dockers, its definately not comfortable, but generally I work in boots anyway, so its no big deal.

Finally, I’ve used Gorilla, Little Giant, and Werner versions of these ladders, and to be honest I’ve noted very little practical difference between them.

The Werners are very nice pieces that are very versatile, sturdy and stable. They are readily available at Lowes and are less than $200 each. The only 2 drawbacks to the Werners is that they are conductive and they are pretty weighty.

Abe