Well it's no wonder that those ladders failed! Guys trying to work in flip flops or bare feet are just asking for trouble!**** It would also seem to me that most of those ladders were not properly stabilized at the bottom. Yes, some ladders do fail, but most of the time it's because they are being used improperly. Anymore, more than 3 feet off the ground is enough for me. I can still jump that far, barely.:-)