Confer Plastics Step-1X: Safe Pool Access, Dual Handrails, Non-Slip, 400 lbs Capacity - USA Made, White/Blue Treads

We got these steps last year to replace a vertical ladder that broke. I get painful foot cramps that many times brought on by the pressure the rungs of a traditional ladder on the soles of my feet. These steps solved that problem so i would recommend them for anyone who has similar foot or other issues like back problems using a deck ladder. Before i put the stairs in for a second year i wanted to fix the issue some other customers reported where do to buoyancy the front part of the stairs tend to lift up a couple of inches. I the solution that i used was inexpensive, unobtrusive, easy to install and has solved the problem. I used a precut two foot 4inch in diameter PVC pipe, two end caps, 36 inch zip ties and bag of cement. I used pvc glue to affix one end cap and filled cement and glued other end cap and let it set over night. Then turn over the stairs over so the bottom step was faceup on the deck. Drill 4 holes into the riser of the bottom stairs as shown. Measure or simply use the PVC pipe as a guide drill 4 companion holes above the pipe insert the tails of the zip on the bottom hole and back up and out throught the top hole so you can get better leverage to pull the zip tie tight towards you. The 4 zips seem to have done their job and hold the weight securely in place. The zips being on the front bottom riser rather than the blue stair are barely noticeable and the weight is doing its job as the stairs now rest flatly on the pool liner. Otherwise these the family love the stairs, they are sturdy enough to sit on and makes getting in and out of the pool a breeze.

Easy set up. Perfect for my needs of being able to enter and exit my pool. I chose the blue steps and it looks so good in the water. The steps seem to be well made. The hand rails could be a little sturdier but I think they will hold up with the grandkids

The Confer brand is, in my opinion, the strongest steps made for the price, EXCEPT for the rails, they wobble too much. But I would still buy this brand. Just extremely disappointed in the rails because I am way over 75 years, still exercise, BUT when I depend on strong railings to get me in or out of our pool, it's concerning because they wabble so much. Everything else was good. My husband was still able to put it together by himself, which at our age gets a little challenging. If you fill the steps with the sand correctly, THEY DO NOT FLOAT. Tilt the steps to distribute the sand evenly and you should not have a problem. All parts were there when the box was opened.

We cautiously ordered these steps to attach to our deck. We are Seniors and climbing the steep ladder (that too was a Confer that worked well with no issues) to get in and out of pool was getting difficult. These steps solved that issue and make it very easy to get in and out of pool now. As others have said the box arrived all busted up with tons of plastic tape on it having been taped back together several times, when we moved the box the ladder parts were falling out of the box. We inspected the contents carefully and didn't see any damage however one of the side supports has a crack that we didn't see until we assembled it. We hope it does not affect the integrity or strength of the steps. Be prepared to spend some time adjusting these stairs to make them work for your pool. We followed the feedback closely and used the pvc tubes with quick set concrete inside to weigh them down. There are adjustments we had to make to that are not included in the instructions of others. First and foremost after you've made these weights and zip tie them to the steps do NOT expect the steps to stay in place, they are still going to appear to float a little bit until you attach them to the deck which helps keep them in place and really stabilizes the weights. We also had to had two six inch blocks of wood to sit the deck supports on before attaching them as we had to mount them over the dck rail a very easy fix which holds the ladder very steady in place for us. We ordered the White with blue steps-these are SOLID sided there are no flow through holes between the downward supports. So in order to zip tie to the steps you must put your weights on the outside of the steps and drill holes through the sides to attach the zip ties to hold the weights in place. After several installation attempts we also had to drill several more holes in the side panels to help it fill with water faster. Take note Confer put more holes in the hollow sections! You will need a mat under this ladder and it will need to be larger than the 36" x 36" side we ordered as that size will not put be large enough to put the weights on when you attach them. Other complaints were that the hand rails were flimsy-while they aren't the most stable they could be adults will have no problem using them if used correctly for balance when climbing the steps, they won't support a lot of weight but these steps aren't steep (we have knee and shoulder problems and the handrails work well for us) Confer could easily fix the handrails if they would make the hand rails from the same material they make the side of the steps from, or by adding one or two more upright supports to the hand rails. I would NEVER attempt to fill this ladder with sand or pea gravel as the suggested by the company, that would make these steps impossible to remove from pool when winterizing. if you are not prepared to make the concrete fill pvc weights do NOT order this ladder. After taking our ladder in and out of the pool several times to adjust the placement of the weights and drill more holes we realized getting this ladder in and out of the pool isn't the easiest thing to do as you must be cautious not to damage the hand rails as they could probably easily break off if pulled from the sides. This is a GREAT set of steps very sturdy and wide enough to sit on in the pool and wide enough to turn around when going up and down the steps. I just wish Confer would address the weight issues, the hand rail issues and charge a little more if need be. All in all THIS is the BEST option for Steps for your above ground pool especially if you are attaching them to a deck.

I love the fact that these steps are USA made. They look nice once assembled and feel relatively sturdy. However, the manufacturer made assembly by the end user far more complicated than necessary. There are several large multi-piece components which were still together as one piece from the molding process, requiring you to break them or cut them apart. This wouldn't be a big deal if they came apart easily, but they don't. You seriously need pliers, a strong knife and a hammer to get them apart. Then, you have all kinds of jagged/sharp edges to deal with that require sanding to smooth out. Worst part, these are the parts that make up the lower half of the hand rails, so they obviously can't be sharp. Plus, the instructions are missing a few steps, leaving you having to just figure it out. It's not rocket science, but what's the point of instructions if you leave stuff out? Once in the pool and secured to the deck, it's a great set of steps. My only complaint is that the hand rails are not very sturdy, they flex a lot even when my 40-60 lbs children use them when climbing out of the pool. I even added screws in places not listed to assist with this, but it doesn't help much. Would I buy again, yes, but I can't give them a five star review based on the shortcomings.