Little Giant Ladder Systems is recalling about 3,662,000 adjustable ladders fitted with its Rapid Locks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on November 5, 2026. The CPSC says a ladder can suddenly retract if a Rapid Lock is not fully engaged, and that the fall hazard can cause serious injury. The ladders were sold for more than a decade, from December 2015 through October 2026.

The company has received 25 reports of ladders retracting. Nineteen of them involved injuries: three reports of head injuries, including traumatic brain injury, skull fracture, concussion, vision loss, hearing loss and cognitive impairment, and 16 reports of other injuries such as fractured joints or bones, cuts and bruises. Little Giant has also received 39 reports of Rapid Locks not working properly.

What a Rapid Lock does

Rapid Locks are the black or orange locking pieces on each leg of an adjustable Little Giant ladder. They insert into the ladder rungs and hold the height setting when the inner and outer sections are extended. If one is only partly seated, the section it holds can slide when weight goes on it.

Which ladders are covered

The recall names eleven models: Adjustable Fortress 2.0, Conquest 2.0, Dark Horse 2.0, Epic, King Kombo XT, Leveler, MegaLite, MegaLite+, Multi, Quantum and Vector. The brand and the model name are printed on the side rail. A ladder is included only if it does not have an orange rectangular QC sticker on the rail above one of the Rapid Locks. A ladder that carries that sticker is not part of the recall.

The ladders were sold at Lowe's, Costco and other stores nationwide and online at Lowes.com, Amazon.com, Costco.com, LittleGiantLadders.com and other sites, for about $100 to $1,000. The firm, based in Springville, Utah, made them in the United States, China, Mexico and Malaysia.

The remedy, step by step

The CPSC says owners should stop using a recalled ladder immediately until they have reviewed the recall information at littlegiantladders.com/pages/recalls, or through the QR code on the ladder, and contacted Little Giant for a free repair kit. The kit is a set of warning labels and instructions to fix to the ladder. Those instructions tell the user to confirm the Rapid Locks are fully engaged before every use and to keep the locks lubricated.

If a Rapid Lock still does not work properly after it has been lubricated as instructed, the owner should contact Little Giant for an evaluation. If the lock fails that evaluation, the company offers a choice: a replacement ladder of the same or an equivalent model, or a refund. The refund is a depreciated value set by the purchase date, up to the full purchase price for a ladder bought within the past 12 months.

How to reach the company

Little Giant takes calls toll-free at 866-201-9069 from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain time, Monday through Friday, and posts the recall under the RECALLS link at the top of littlegiantladders.com. The CPSC lists the notice under recall number 27-067.

Why it matters this month

November is when many households pull a ladder out for gutters, holiday lights and the last exterior repairs before winter. An adjustable ladder that has sat in a garage or shed since spring is exactly the case the new instructions address: the remedy relies on the user checking that each lock is seated and lubricated before climbing. Before the next use, check the rail for the orange QC sticker, then work through the company's recall page if it is not there.

Electrical, gas, roof and ladder work can cause serious injury. Shut off power or gas first, follow the manufacturer's instructions and local code, and hire a licensed pro for anything beyond your experience.

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