I don't know how long this will last and yes I hate it did not come with a pole, but I tried it out in our 10' x 30" pool tonight & was amazed! It came with two other filters to use for more finer debree, but I can't see that I will need them. This was sucking tiny bits of leaves, dirt, tiny rocks and even some sand off the bottom. I was able to remove the filter part & wash it out with a water hose and couldn't believe when I saw that it picked up tiny rocks & sand too. It may not do as good a job on that once the brand new D batteries (5 of them) I put in start to lose some power, but I'm curious to see. I do hate it is going to cost me more to buy a pole for it, but I'm all for doing that to use this comfortably. If you have a larger pool, it may take you a little bit longer to clean using this by hand, but if you don't mind pool maintenance, then this is great. I dislike the way it turns on by twisting the head to "on") but it is maneable. They could really sell the heck out of this item if they included a pole and another way of turning it off and on. I understand why an "on" and "off" switch is not feasible for this whole product is submersible. I'm pleased either way.... our pool is cleaner than it has been since we got it.