Eleven models of Little Giant ladders sold at Lowe's, Costco and other retailers are under recall after the company says their Rapid Lock mechanisms can suddenly give way, sending users crashing down. Little Giant has logged 25 reports of ladders retracting unexpectedly, 19 of which involved injuries, and the company says three of those cases included head trauma such as traumatic brain injury, skull fracture, concussion, vision loss, hearing loss and cognitive impairment.
The recalled models include the Adjustable Fortress 2.0, Conquest 2.0, Dark Horse 2.0, Epic, King Kombo XT, Leveler, MegaLite, MegaLite+, Multi, Quantum and Vector, according to Little Giant Ladder Systems. The company says the ladders were sold at Lowe's, Costco and other stores, plus online, from December 2015 through October of this year, for prices ranging from about $100 to $1,000. As NBC 5 Chicago reported, the recall covers roughly 3.6 million ladders and was issued Thursday.
At the center of the hazard is the Rapid Lock, the mechanism designed to hold the ladder's sections in place once extended. Little Giant's notice states that the ladders can suddenly retract if the Rapid Locks are not fully engaged, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Beyond the retraction reports, the company separately says it has received 39 reports of Rapid Locks not working properly, a figure that points to a broader pattern of lock malfunctions beyond the injury cases already logged.
What the Injury Reports Describe
Of the 19 injury reports tied to retracting ladders, Little Giant says three involved head injuries and 16 involved other injuries, including joint or bone fractures, lacerations and bruising, per the same account. The company has not detailed where or when individual incidents occurred; the recalled ladders were sold from December 2015 through October 2026, a period of nearly 11 years.
Little Giant Ladder Systems is based in Springville, Utah, and the recall notice lists the ladders' countries of manufacture as the United States, China, Mexico and Malaysia. There is a discrepancy in how the recalled units are identified: Little Giant's own notice states that only ladders without an orange rectangular QC sticker on the rail above one of the Rapid Locks are included in the recall, while NBC 5 Chicago's reporting describes the recall as applying to models with an orange rectangular QC sticker above a Rapid Lock. The conflicting descriptions have not been independently resolved.
What Ladder Owners Should Do Now
Consumers should stop using the recalled ladders immediately, according to Little Giant, which is urging owners to review the posted recall information and contact the company for a free repair kit that includes warning labels and instructions. Anyone whose Rapid Lock still fails to function properly after lubrication is advised to contact Little Giant for further evaluation, per the recall alert.
If a lock does not function properly after that evaluation, the company says it will offer the choice of a replacement ladder of the same or equivalent model, or a refund ranging from a depreciated value based on purchase date up to the full purchase price for ladders bought within the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
A 2017 recall notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advised consumers to stop using affected ladders and contact Wing Enterprises for a free repair kit with ABS nylon inserts that could be installed without tools.
