I have 2 motor newspaper routes totaling close to 500 papers daily, 5 days a week. Probably 90% of these are delivered with my Pik Stik 48" tool. For my use, estimated life is about 2 months which is approximately 10,000 uses of the pole. I keep 2 in my car so when one breaks, the other serves as backup until I can order a new one from Amazon ( which you can believe I do very quickly!!! ). For what its worth: the weak point seems to be in the squeeze grip which breaks first. Can't say enough good things about this product for without it, my 5 hour route would turn into something more like 10 due to all of the getting-out-of-the-vehicle to place papers by hand. Great job Pik Stik!!!