Confer Plastics7100X Evolution 48" to 54" Adjustable A Frame Above Ground Swimming Pool Entry Ladder with Flip Up and Locking Section for Safety

Love this ladder, but the directions were so difficult to understand that it took several hours to assemble. Luckily it was replacing the same ladder, so we had something to reference to finish the assembly. Also missing some screws.

I'm writing this as a warning to other people who are considering this ladder for purchase. Be prepared to spend many frustrating hours putting it together like I had to. The directions are bad, also the parts do not fit with out modification by the buyer. This ladder is very hard molded plastic, which is fine for it's purpose, the problem is that they left all kinds of excess hard plastic in places it does not belong, like where the seams are between the molds. Or just blobs of "Hard" plastic on a part that has to go into another part. In order for the parts to fit together this excess plastic must be trimmed or filed away. It should have been trimmed by the manufacture before shipping out. That is not the customers job to do. I spent a few hundred dollars on this already, my time is worth something too. I had to get out a big coarse file in order to smooth down parts that had globs of plastic preventing them from fitting together as they should. Then you need to really whack it with a rubber mallet to get it in. I'm not just talking about one or two parts not fitting, I'm talking about 80% or more of them. And they also don't punch out the holes in the hard plastic for bolts to pass through. They tell you to do that with a mallet and Phillips head screw driver. This will not work, a Phillips head will slip all over. You'll need a metal hammer and a good flat tipped hole punch for the job. They should have done this already not leave it for the buyer to do. I called there 800 number and complained to a Bruce in Customer service. All he did was say he was sorry and he understood why I was upset about it. He basically just agreed with me and offered nothing else. I told he I was going to warn others at Amazon about it and he said nothing. It might have been a decent pool ladder if they devoted some effort towards quality control and cared about their customers. The poor customer shouldn't need to do their work for them. I'm not getting a pay check for it they are. I will never purchase anything made by Confer Plastics again. I suggest you do the same.

Replaced the ladder which came with the pool with this one. What an improvement. As long as you can find a good spot outside the pool which is mostly 'sound', there is very little movement. What I especially love are the wider steps and platform at the top. I have issues with one of my feet so the depth/width of the steps work great, plus I can sit on platform a few moments in order to adjust & walk down the other side. The ability to raise the outside of the ladder and lock in place has helped tremendously if I want to get into the pool by myself, as our city requires we remove a ladder when not in use. This meets that requirement. I'm a bit leary of heights, and this ladder is just a bit taller than the basic one that came with the pool, but again, that platform helps with that too...secure footing to stand on and high handles.

I purchased this ladder since I was interested in the style that has the legs that swing up and can lock. My previous ladder had the removable external ladder, which seemed to be a constant pain in the neck to remove and put in the shed.My local pool vendor advertised a similar 'looking' ladder for $250 (I do not know if it is the same ladder), so when I found this ladder at the price, I jumped on it. I read the reviews about the difficulty with assembly, but on the whole, most folks appeared satisfied with the product.Shipping was very fast and within 3 days I had the box on my doorstep. I will agree with others in that the assembly is not the easiest and we had to resort to a heavy handle to bang those steps into their position. Also, the box came with 2 large parts missing - the swing up component. This was easily fixed by one pleasant phone call to the manufacturer who apologized and re-sent the pieces to me.Since I have now used the ladder a few times, here are some of my thoughts/comments:1. The plastic that this ladder is made from is not a very heavy duty plastic. It feels a bit more 'cheap' than my prior ladder. My comment is probably that you get what you pay for. I don't think you would want to leave this outside for a winter if you live in a cold climate.2. The swing up component to this ladder can be a bit of a pain. When I try to pull the ladder down from the upward position, it pulls the whole flat up with it. I have to push the stairs into the right groove to get them to lay flat. This may improve over time, and perhaps it is just that the plastic is 'new' to these up and down movements.3. The inner supports on the ladder are filled up with water. I am sure that this is to give the ladder weight, but it is not nearly enough. I have a 15' above ground pool and when my filter starts running, the whole ladder is pushed slightly onto it's side from the power of the water moving. It won't tip over because the seat prevents it from falling too far over, but again, a bit of a nuisance. As of now I have attached a bucket with a couple of bricks to the outside of the ladder to act as weight, and that seems to be working. I have also read about others who have come up with some homemade weights they have made and placed on the inside of the pool. Seems to me though that something should be improved with the design as one would not expect to have to come up with creative solutions to make their ladder stay in place.4. I find the ladder to be a little bit awkward to get onto and up and over into the pool. It is a little wobbly, although not enough to have me lose my footing.Overall I would rate this product as 'okay' and I do think that you get what you pay for. Had I known some of the items I listed above, I would have thought twice. Given that I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money, I may have still gone ahead with this purchase. Would I buy this ladder again? Yes, if I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I can tell you though that I haven't gotten rid of my old ladder yet.

I am very disappointed with the stability of this product. It is very wobbly and falls over when anyone is on it. Luckily both times we were on the water side of the ladder or someone would have gotten hurt.

Great quality and fast delivery. Easy assembly.