The Best Fire Escape Ladder

Our pick

X-It 2-Story Emergency Escape Ladder

The best fire escape ladder

The X-It is simple to set up, easy to climb, convenient to store, and designed to be reused.

Buying Options

$90 from Amazon

The X-It was superior to the other tested ladders in every category. Our testers figured out how to hook this ladder to the window more easily than others. Its rungs were the easiest to climb, and unlike the competitors’, never got twisted while descending. The X-It folds up into a small, brightly colored bundle for easy storage and retrieval. Unlike some single-use ladders we tested, this can be used for practice (which is very, very important).

Runner-up

X-It 3-Story Emergency Escape Ladder

A longer ladder

This is as easy to use as our main pick, it’s just longer—and more expensive.

Buying Options

$150 from Amazon

If the two-story X-It is not available (or if you need a ladder to reach a third floor), get the larger X-It 3-Story Emergency Escape Ladder. It has the same great hook and rung design as the smaller version, it’s just longer (23 feet, not 13) and heavier (9 pounds, not 6). The catch is a big price increase with the three-story ladder—plan to add about $50 to $80.