I've searched, and there never was any consensus regarding which brand was better. At the day job, the other outside sales guy and I have asking for new ladders for several months and the boss finally bought a pair of 8' XC's. We opened one to play with it and I jammed it the first time I tried to close it. It took several cycles to unstick it, and several more before the locks would fully engage. I am at the weight rating, my coworker is way over it, and the 8' reach is useless, so they are going back. Are these things really useful? What size would you recommend? Which brand is better and why? Or, should we just go and get the Werner M15's that me and the fat guy both asked for months ago?