Standing at just 4ft 6” compact height, and 25ft of actual pole length (add 5ft Operator height to get ’30ft REACH’), SPECTRE has all the clamps at chest height (starting just 3.5 ft off the base), making it totally convenient to adjust the length of the pole at all times. Adding our new SHOCKSTOP Insulator Handle, adds an additional 5ft to the SPECTRE master.

SPECTRE : ’RAISING the BAR for RESIDENTIAL’ 

Our goal is to maximise your efficiency.  In seeking to guide you through the decision making process, we want to draw your attention to the fact that you will achieve more time savings and therefore achieve a higher hourly rate by focusing on how to clean FASTER, BETTER, and SAFER on 80% of the windows you clean, rather than you would by focusing on the much smaller percentage of the ‘highest windows’ you plan to clean.

The DESIGN IS ALL ABOUT THE 80:20 RULE: 

We ask you ‘What is the height range of windows that account for 80% of the glass you clean?” This is typically 1-2 stories for Residential and 1-4 stories for Commercial operators.  We then ask “What is the maximum height windows you intend to clean any time in the future?”  With the answers to these two questions, we are able to recommend a pole that is DESIGNED for the 80% of the windows you clean, and able to be extended any time in the future to reach the ‘highest windows you want to clean’.  

To understand this better, consider that only 25% of the glass of a 4 story building is at 4 stories, 75% is 3 stories and below, 50% is 2 stories and below, and 25% of the windows (ground floor) could be cleaned by hand without a water fed pole! 

SPECTRE is a modular two-story telescopic pole system that can be disassembled to clean lower windows, and extended with PLUS A and PLUS B to clean higher windows. 

Remember, you don't need to buy what you don't need today - if you own a SPECTRE, you can reach 55 FEET at anytime in the future.

SPECTRE vs THE REST

Comparing SPECTRE to other poles in the market, typically you will find other Water Fed Pole sellers steering you through the decision making process by getting you to focus on either  ‘price’, or ’maximum desired reach’.  Our observations are that Window Cleaners are typically steered towards a pole that is either;

1. a) CHEAP (basically aluminum, fiberglass, or hybrid fiberglass/carbonfiber), rendering the Operator inefficient as they try and control a pole that is flexing and whipping.  To offset the limitations of a floppy pole, the pole is supplied with smaller brushes with less bristles to reduce the weight at the top of the pole.  This results in the Operator taking more time to agitate and rinse windows. Cheap poles deny you the opportunity for increased efficiency from pole rigidity and larger brushes (explained below).

or b) MAXIMUM LENGTH, typically this is a 35-40ft fixed length pole (focusing your attention on the highest windows you might want to clean any time in the future).  Buying a pole based on maximum length is a misdirection, because only a small fraction (often as little as 2-10%) of the total windows you clean are at that maximum reach.  This steers you towards a longer compact length pole that is completely awkward to use on lower glass, resulting in the need to purchase additional ‘shorter’ poles in the future in an attempt to recover comfort and efficiency.  

ABOUT SPECTRE 

LENGTH : Standing at just 4ft 6” compact height, and 25ft of actual pole length (add 5ft Operator height to get ’30ft REACH’), SPECTRE has all the clamps at chest height (starting just 3.5 ft off the base), making it totally convenient to adjust the length of the pole at all times. Adding our new SHOCKSTOP Insulator Handle, adds an additional 5ft to the SPECTRE master.   

DESIGN: SPECTRE is a 7-section telescopic pole, pulling apart at sections 1 and 4 to give you a shorter, lighter pole when working lower glass.  Sections 1-4 give 19ft reach, and Section 1 on its own gives you 10ft reach.  This is the essential design - a ‘Pole System’ designed specifically for Window Cleaning, pulling apart and extending one story at a time.

COMPOSITION: SPECTRE is made 100% from Carbonfiber, which is easy to say - but there’s more. Each tube is hand made with 8 layers of Carbonfiber, each 1/200” thick ( about the same as human hair) with a laminate plan that is designed to maximise the rigidity of the pole, while discouraging delamination (splitting or peeling).

SPECTRE is made 40% from what is commonly called ‘Intermediate Modulus Carbonfiber’ - its a generic marketing term for the technical qualities of stiffness and actually refers to a ‘range’, and in fact, there is no regulation on the use of these terms. The top 60% of SPECTRE is made from High Modulus Carbonfiber giving additional rigidity where the pole has thinner tubes and wants to flex more under the effect of forces like the Operator pushing the pole up the glass, and gravity, when the Operator is standing away from the building. The top section of SPECTRE is actually 10 layers of carbonfiber to give it additional rigidity.

The inner layers are called ‘uni-directional’ meaning all the fibres are pointing in the same direction as we use the pole - between the Operator and the Window. This gives the pole its ‘modulus’ or rigidity. To prevent the layers all splitting, we use 3K carbonfibre - this is the ‘beauty’ of carbonfiber that everyone can relate to - the woven look consists of ‘tows’ (or ribbons) of fibres woven together in different patterns. The useful modulus of 3K is 50% the modulus of uni-directional because only 50% of the fibres are in the direction of the rigidity we want to accomplish.

Carbonfiber is made by only 6 companies in the world, however, several hundred companies buy the carbonfiber material and make products into sheets that are like a soft fabric. Water Fed Poles are made from pre-preg sheets, meaning the carbonfibers have been laid out and pre-impregnated with epoxy resin to prepare them for assembly and cooking. The best carbonfiber products are made in USA, South Korea and Japan, so these are the ones we import for making our Poles.

After the Carbonfiber is cut to the laminate plan, it is rolled onto a steel mandrel (it’s like a big steel rod that is the inner diameter mold). It is the wound with high tension using a heat proof tape. Each wind of tape is about 1/24” apart and this will later explain the corrugated surface of most Water Fed Poles in the market.

The wound fabric on the mandrel is then ‘cooked’ for several hours in a huge ‘oven’ - and at varying temperatures. This is the process when the epoxy becomes liquid and penetrates between all the layers and fibers, held under the pressure of the heat-proof tape. As the tube cools, the resin hardens and sets, delivering a single piece carbonfiber tube.

After the tape is removed, there are fine lines from the liquid resin in the pre-preg filling the gaps between the layers of tape. We grind all these off to give a perfect outer diameter of non-corrugated Carbonfiber. We do this because any corrugated surface has less grip in a clamp, and more ‘wear and tear’ when being used as a moving part. Other manufacturers do not do this process because it makes the pole last several years longer as a professional tool. The smooth sound and action of our pole is so noticeable if you have ever opened and closed a competitors pole.

ERGONOMICS also play a big part in the design of the SPECTRE pole handle diameter - see the White Paper references in orange at the bottom of this page from (among others) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA.  

POLE RIGIDITY has a huge impact on the efficiency and comfort of the Operator.  Pole Rigidity ensures the full transfer of the Operator’s effort making you more efficient and accurate when cleaning windows.  SPECTRE’s greater POLE rigidity is achieved by using a higher modulus (stiffer) carbonfiber composite.

A higher pole rigidity also means you can use wider brushes, meaning you can clean more glass with every stroke, often delivering an increase of up to 50% in your efficiency.

A higher pole rigidity also means that you can clean ‘impossible’ glass with the MAX-REACH Gooseneck which gives you up to 6ft horizontal reach.  This facilitates the cleaning of windows set back over entranceways, glass awnings over footpaths in shopping strips, glass roofs on elevated walkways, and those nightmare ‘architecturally beautiful deep-set windows’ that would otherwise require a lift to reach.  

POLE WEIGHT is another of the considerations when choosing SPECTRE.  We solved the ‘pole weight’ consideration by designing the first ‘pull-apart’ and ‘modular extension’ Water Fed Pole that is integral in your SPECTRE design. This means you are using the best ‘weight to height’ ratio at any height windows.  We also perfected the first ON-GLASS-RINSE Water Fed Brush (CONSTRUCTOR BRUSH) which means that your pole/brush is leaning on the windows during the full window cleaning process.  The combination of these two designs means you are using the LEAST EFFORT POSSIBLE at all times, regardless of the height of windows you are cleaning.

LONG WORKING LIFE is a real ‘return on investment’ from investing more in a Spectre Water Fed Pole.  With 8 years experience now, and talking to our long time customers from 2011, we can assure you that your Spectre pole can last over 10 years.  Carbonfiber does not need to fail -  and we ensure it will not by making the clamps on SPECTRE easily replaceable  and by sanding the tube sections smooth so they do not wear down (while others glue their clamps to the pole sections and have a corrugated surface of epoxy resin residue from the ‘cooking process’ that will, in time, wear down and effectively render the clamps ineffective).   The science is simple - whenever there are two moving parts, one must be designed to be sacrificial. Whilst we have many customers with clamps still in use for over 5 years, we design SoftWash Systems poles with replaceable clamps ($99/set) so the carbonfiber tubes (the real money) can continue on for a full long life of professional use.  

PROVEN CLAMPS:

SPECTRE is fitted with RHINO-CLAMPS - tried, proven and improved annually since 2014.  There are so many aspects to designing clamps that can withstand forces working at 80ft, and still operate smoothly and effortlessly at 20ft.  

RHINO-CLAMPS are particularly finely-tuned because they need to work with pull-apart sections and non pull-apart sections alike. 

CARBONFIBER, before it is ‘cooked’, is a fabric with a texture much like what a backpack is made from. With this in mind, it is easier to understand how vulnerable carbonfiber tubes are to being damaged by hard surfaces, like roads and paths.  To ensure the long life of your Pole, we add 304 Stainless Steel END DEFENDERS to each ‘handle section’ (for example with SPECTRE, its sections 7, 4 and 1), while we see other manufacturers use rubber and aluminum end caps, which will wear down on roads and paths, ultimately reducing the lifespan of the handle sections.