Bergstrom Manufacturing "The Pole" vs. Fiberfish & others

Summed up in one word....JUNK

I got a set and promptly shattered one of the rigid (3/8"?) ones. The other shattered later.

They don't screw together very well.

I still use my gopher pole from Crain Industries, a fiberglas fish tape from

Carl Navarro

Many years ago I picked up a set of screw together rods intended for the chimney cleaner at a yard sale. While I've lost one or two over the years, I've never broken them.

--Dale

Like this? $7.50 per 4 ft section.

I have a gopher pole which I rarely use (but it's extremely useful in some circumstances), along with a fiberfish that I use frequently. What I found nice about "the pole" is that the 5' sections are easier to work with when assembling in the ceiling, and that both the rigid and flexible poles use the same threaded connector, allowing me to attach a rigid pole to a flexible pole. Unfortunately, there are no attachments available, and even if there were, there is no way to attach them - with only a permanently attached bullet tip on the front end.

The manufacturer claims that due to the light weight and rigidity of the pole (it is hollow), a wisp head is unnecessary. Although I found this to be true, a basic pole with no attachments doesn't exactly scream "buy me" when compared to competitors.

For those of you who watched American Inventor recently, I'm reminded of the question posed by one of the judges... "Is your invention a stick?"

I have two sets of fiberglass fish rods that I've been using before different heads were introduced. So I made my own by brazing or epoxying magnets, hooks, etc. to a matching threaded bolt. Since the two sets don't have a matching thread, I brazed a bolt and threaded sleeve together.

I also use twenty each 3 ft threaded 3/4" aluminum poles, but have had them over twenty years. Eventually, I might get a "gopher pole".

I've done something similar with my fiberfish, but the problem I see with "the pole" is that the "front" end is not threaded. This could easily be remedied by removing the front section, but doing so leaves the pole 5' shorter.