X-IT Products X-IT Escape Ladder, 2 Story vs First Alert Two-Story Fire Escape Ladder, 14 Feet

X-IT is the only one of the four whose printed instructions walk you through deploying, climbing, and repacking the ladder, and at 6 lb for the 2 story version a smaller adult or an older teenager can carry it to the window. The First Alert is the sensible choice if you want a ladder in three bedrooms rather than one, provided your sills fall inside its 6 to 10 inch range.

X-IT Products X-IT Escape Ladder, 2 Story

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The one escape ladder whose own instruction sheet tells you to deploy it, climb it, and pack it back up, which is the only way anyone ever learns to use one.

• The instruction sheet actively advises practice, describes two safe ways to do it, and tells you to repack the ladder as it was originally packed, with a repack video and a folding diagram supplied.
• The 2 story version weighs 6 lb, which matters because the ladder has to be carried to the window by whoever is in the room.
• X-IT states the ladder is designed to work on all window sills that allow it to attach securely to the wall structure under the sill, rather than publishing a narrow sill thickness range.

• The published rated load is 333 lb for one person at a time, the lowest of the four here, while the marketing leads with the 1,000 lb test figure.
• The ASTM F2175 compliance claim is the company's own, and the copy of the standard hosted on the site is the 2015 reapproval rather than the current 2023 edition.
• It is sold essentially direct, so you cannot walk into a store, put it in your hands, and check the hook against your own window before buying.

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First Alert Two-Story Fire Escape Ladder, 14 Feet

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A 14 foot steel and nylon ladder with a stabilizer on every rung, reusable so you can rehearse, and cheap enough to put one in each upstairs bedroom.

• Every rung carries a steel stabilizer that holds the ladder off the wall, so there is room for your hands and the toes of your shoes on the way down.
• First Alert states its escape ladders are reusable, so a family drill does not consume the product.
• The published rated load is 375 lb, the highest single person figure of the portable ladders here, and the manual states the ladder is designed for use by one person at a time.

• The user manual states compliance with ASTM F 2175-02, three editions behind the current F2175-23.
• The sill window is narrow: First Alert specifies windowsills between 6 and 10 inches, which excludes both thin modern sills and deep masonry ones.
• The manual also requires a window opening of at least 20 inches wide by 32 inches high and warns against storm windows, which quietly rules out a lot of older houses.

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Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the X-IT Products X-IT Escape Ladder, 2 Story - The one escape ladder whose own instruction sheet tells you to deploy it, climb it, and pack it back up, which is the only way anyone ever learns to use one. Choose the First Alert Two-Story Fire Escape Ladder, 14 Feet instead if a two storey house with conventional double hung windows where you want a ladder in every upstairs bedroom rather than one good one.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Escape Ladders: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).