Am I the only one who dropped $150 on a fancy pole pruner and immediately regretted it?

I bought a top of the line carbon fiber pole pruner last spring thinking it would make my life so much easier on a big oak job in Austin. First time I extended it, the locking mechanism jammed up with a bit of sap and I spent 20 minutes on the ground fighting with it. My old aluminum one never gave me that trouble, even with the extra weight. Anyone else have a high end tool that ended up being more hassle than it was worth?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliotburns1mo ago

At least you can use it to poke yourself in frustration for free.

janahenderson20d ago

Wait, is @nathanking onto something with that "Stick of Frustration" idea though? Because honestly, I could see that becoming a weird little fad on TikTok or something where people just buy a fancy stick to wave around when they're annoyed. But @elliotburns you're right, the whole thing is ridiculous when you really think about it. Like, imagine walking into a store and paying five bucks for a stick you could literally find in your backyard after a windy day. At least with poking yourself, you're getting some kind of physical release out of it, even if it's just a sharp reminder of how dumb the purchase was. So really, the stick is paying for itself in frustration therapy if you look at it that way.

nathanking1mo ago

Wait, do you actually do that or is that just sarcasm? @elliotburns Because I feel like you might be onto something weirdly therapeutic there - like poking yourself with a literal stick to remind yourself you're alive or something. I can see it now: "Stick of Frustration, $19.99, available on Amazon." But for real, if you're that mad about spending five bucks on a stick, maybe the problem isn't the stick, you know?