Side by Side Comparison of: Kidde

This was for my daughters third floor apartment at school. A bit confusing at first but she was able to figure it out once she practiced putting it in a couple times. She did not deploy it but saw how easy it was once its mounted. Hopefully never gets tested.

I bought this item for my daughter's college apartment. Though I hope she never has to use it, it just gives a person peace of mind to know that she at least has a way to get down from the second floor apartment. I opened the box to inspect the item and it looks well made. It is a one use only product though. It is much lighter and smaller than the chain and steel tubing fire ladder we currently have in our home. The ladder comes out of the box easily and has "ears" that fit over the window sill. It looks like it can be quickly and easily deployed.

A family in our community recently died because they could not get out of their two story home. My husband is a firefighter and was one of the ones to find the family huddled beside the upstairs window. It was one of the saddest things ever. It was a mom and a dad and two kids. The stairwell in their home had burned up and they couldn't get out. If they had had a fire ladder they might have lived. After my husband got home from that call he ordered one of these on Amazon immediately. We recently moved to a two-story home and had not bought one yet. It is not worth risking it. We actually plan on buying another one to have on both sides of the house upstairs just in case we can't get to one. The only other thing I thought about that this latter would not solve is the issue of having small children. Obviously adults could easily climb down this ladder out of a window but toddlers or babies could not. I actually thought about tying ropes to a laundry basket and sticking it in a closet because if I was home alone and my husband was not there and I had two kids at home, I would have no way of getting them down a ladder by myself. But I could stick my baby in a laundry basket and lower him down with rope. That may sound crazy but it's probably what I would have to do in case of an emergency if I was by myself with my kids. Just an idea for other mamas with small children. So grateful they make a product like this to keep families safe!

If you would like some additional info or photo's please comment and I'll update the review with any new info I canThis is a good piece of Equipment to have as part of your fire plan. Just make sure you buy the proper length for the home.I like to have this prepped and ready to go next to the fire masks at all times.Ideally having them in each bedroom where someone sleeps with a firemask would be preferred. This way if there is an emergency their escape doesn't require opening doors and/or navigating dangerous hallways.A possible solution is to have a tote, with a mask, a blanket, a gallon of water and a ladder in it. This way your loved ones have a "fire kit". They can use the water to wet a blanket and either place under the door or wear over their shoulders. They have the mask for smoke and the ladder to escape.Having the ladder is great but what if it's not accessible to you or your loved one because they're separated by the fire or smoke? It's just part of your family fire plan.

As a firefighter this was one of the first things we purchased after we moved into our 2 story house. There is simply no reason not to invest in something so cheap that can save your life. Lord willing you will not need this device but you do not want to be in the position of needing it and not having it. I recommend at least 1 in the upstairs of your housing unit in a place that is easy to get to. This ladder is well made and easy to deploy if necessary so that even kids can do it if left at home and the worst happens. I would certainly recommend this product to others.

Yes it's good. Worth the money. Buy it.

Hope to never have to use this but it's good to know we have it.

Looks like a good product I pray I never need to use it!!

It will work. Hope never to use it...Actually well made...

Well like almost everyone else I wondered if it is possible to re-pack this ladder after it has been deployed (like so you can practice).Well I guess I will find out because mine deployed accidentally while I was hanging it up in my closet.I will post an update laterUPDATE: Amazon is amazing. They are replacing my ladder. It does appear that the ladder can be re-packed, but not with a lot of confidence. I did not practice with it because at my age, I don't like the risk/benefit ratio over a concrete driveway. I don't mind not being able to practice with it; in an emergency I'm sure we will manage. If you really want to practice, I would recommend buying 2. At $48 each it would be worth giving you peace of mind. If you don't like it on the practice run just return the second one for a refund.

Not much to say. Appears to be good quality. Hopefully will never have to use it.

The ladder appears to be sturdy, and made of quality products, though I hopefully will never have to test it out. I have not tested it out, because these really are supposed to be a one-time use only (manufacturer's guarantee), but do trust that it'd work if need be. The metal is a bit sharp, so be aware of that, and store it in an easily accessible place.

What emergency ladder doesn't allow for you to practice? I have kids that I wanted to do fire drills with and so I have to say now this is what you would do to a 5 year old... hm?

wish it came with a carry case a bit bulky compared to another one I bought that was actually a 3 story

I thought this would have been lighter, oh well it's a need for my grandchildren.

A little hard to get in window but better that having nothing.

I bought this for the safety of my daughter (we keep it in her bedroom right next to the window). My only complaint is this is a one time use only ladder. Although she feels safer with it in her room, I wish we could have practiced using it before an emergency situation.

I thought it would be easy enough for my 9 year old to manage but guess I had too high of expectations. I feel I would have to get to them to get this out the window and set up and it states 1 time use which takes away the fire drill. I would have better luck with a ladder outside of their window and helping them out than this.

Didn't fit our porch layout

can only use item once

The small strap is insufficient to hold the three story version together. Simply trying to move it from my bedroom to my closet caused it to twist into a tangled mess. I'd like to return it but I don't know that I can fit it back into the box.

this ladder is for ONE use only..guess I can't tell you how it works since I can't try it out without throwing it out! I didn't see that until I read it on the outside of the box. I think there are others that are good for more than one run!

The product manual suggests to try two times to hand the ladder over your window without deploying it-- just to learn how to do in an emergency. Well, after I attached the assembly outside my window and tried to bring it back, it's unfurled. The release strap seems to be too narrow so that the entire folded ladder can slip through it. I did manage to pull the whole thing back into the room through the window and re-folded it, but they say it is for a single use only, so I am not sure how useful it is now.

Please be sure you understand that this product can not be tested before use. It is a ONE TIME use only safety device. Kind of ironic since all professionals recommend testing your escape plan ahead of time. Think about what you are going to do as young children are afraid to go down it in their panic. Can you carry them and descend?I suspect the manufacturer is concerned about liability if the ladder is damaged and reused so they put their bottom line ahead of your families safety. Too bad.

Just discovered this item is to be used only once. It was in the fine print in a sub page

This is a one use ladder. Hopefully it's a never use ladder, but it should have been clear it is one time only.

Not very practical. Had a few trials and not easy to use.

This ladder is terrible, I would not recommend anyone to get this. It moves entirely too much and doesn't seem safe at all!

I have been doing some research on this and would like to have an escape ladder that really functions well since this is something that I want to have that will do its job superbly to save my family if it is used. I called Kidde since it is unclear why this is one time use only. The answer from the Kidde representative is that if it is deployed, you can try to fold/pack it back but it is likely for the ropes to not deploy again completely and get entangled, in which case the ladder becomes unsafe to use. I wish this could be repacked because I would like to practice using a ladder and have my kids practice so that I know exactly what to do and what to expect. (You can never be too prepared.) During my research, I found out that this is a copy of the X-it ladder X-IT 2 Story (13') Portable Emergency Fire Escape Ladder and Kidde paid $17.4 million to settle the case. (Sad to find out things like this...) X-it ladder tells you to practice and shows you how to repack the ladder. It is more expensive. But if you practice 3-4 times, you get your money's worth, I guess. (I wish there is a product that works well with a good price.)

the instructions say that you can not use it more than once, which makes it even rolling it out the window useless. Just to practice and show how to use it will render the product useless according to the instructions. Either the instructions are wrong or the product is useless.