Cut Poles

[crvictor]

I vault on an entire line of cut pole at my college.They are all UCS Spirit poles. We have a set(140lb,145lb,150lb,155lb,160lb) of 15' poles cut down to 14' and a set(145,150,155,160,165,170) of 16' cut down to 15'. We also have a few that were originally 16' cut down to 14'6"-14'9". All of these poles are cut from the bottom. The theory behind this is that cutting the pole moves the bend higher in the pole. This intern creates a much faster "ride" when the pole unbends. To me this is very notice able as i jump on cut poles and then switch to regular UCS Spirit poles. The "ride" on cut poles seems fast and really throws you up quickly, where as with the regular un altered poles you have to stay inverted longer.
Has anyone else played around with this idea? vaulted on cut poles? or have any further information?
Also i have broke a couple of these poles latly and they all seem to break unusally within a foot or so of my bottom hand grip. has anyone else seen or broke themselves these "Cut Poles"?

[kev44000]

Alot of vaulters cut spirit poles to lower the sail piece to get in on them. It makes them alot softer, Flex ranges increase .5 to .7 per pole. I do not reccomend this. If you can get in on a 16.5 cut to a 16.1 just buy 16.1 and learn to use them that way. As you go up the transition is easier. As you go up in your series you will not blow thru poles as fast with uncut poles. Also I have never heard of anyone cutting poles a foot or more only four inches or so. My 2cents

[rainbowgirl28]

Cut (altered) poles are illegal for high school and not approved at all by the manufacturers. If someone were to be injured on a pole that had been cut, the coach could face a big liability issue.

[VaultPurple]

I dont really see how cutting the pole from the bottom can give a higher bend. Poles are designed to have a natureal bend, lets just say for comparison the bend is in the middle of the pole. Now you cut a foot off the bottom of the pole, wouldnt that make the natural bend a foot lower and no longer in the middle but lower than the middle?

Thats why I prefer using longer poles and holding down, so I am holding closer to the middle and the bend is relatively higher.


Also the bottom of the poles is stiffer and designed to take the blow of the box, cutting that part off is dangerous and can cause poles to crack.

[rainbowgirl28]

I dont really see how cutting the pole from the bottom can give a higher bend. Poles are designed to have a natureal bend, lets just say for comparison the bend is in the middle of the pole. Now you cut a foot off the bottom of the pole, wouldnt that make the natural bend a foot lower and no longer in the middle but lower than the middle?

Thats why I prefer using longer poles and holding down, so I am holding closer to the middle and the bend is relatively higher.


Also the bottom of the poles is stiffer and designed to take the blow of the box, cutting that part off is dangerous and can cause poles to crack.

The sailpiece determines a lot of the bend, so when you cut a pole you effectively make the sailpiece lower which in theory makes the bend higher. But hey, if you have a flat, low takeoff, it's not going to bend high no matter how much you cut the pole.

Cutting a whole series of 15' poles into 14' poles is retarded. For one thing, the flex number of each pole is not going to change consistently. Let's say you had 10 poles that were all 1.0cm apart. Cut them down a foot and reflex them as shorter poles... there's no way they are still going to be 1.0cm apart.

If you didn't like the way 15' Spirit poles bent when gripping down a foot, you should have either bought a 14' series of Spirits (duh) or tried 14 footers in another brand. 14' poles are always cheaper than 15' poles. And now if you get a guy who needs a 15' pole, you'll have to go out and rebuy all of those poles.

[KirkB]

... if you get a guy who needs a 15' pole, you'll have to go out and rebuy all of those poles.

And good luck trying to sell your custom poles that are illegal for any HS meets and will be "questionable" for anyone older.

You will need to be honest to anyone you sell them to, and tell him that they're "customized". That will reduce their resale value drastically.

Kirk

[crvictor]

If you didn't like the way 15' Spirit poles bent when gripping down a foot, you should have either bought a 14' series of Spirits (duh) or tried 14 footers in another brand. 14' poles are always cheaper than 15' poles. And now if you get a guy who needs a 15' pole, you'll have to go out and rebuy all of those poles.

If you used 14 foot poles instead of the 15 cut down to 14 poles they would not have acted the same. From my expierence the cut poles have a much faster ride, which teaches the vaulter to get into positions on a faster moving pole. Then after a period of time the vaulter is moved back onto normal poles, in our case Gill Carbon Fx poles.
Also why is moving the bend in a pole a bad thing... Essex has incoorporated this theory into the manufacturing of their poles, so why is this such a bad idea? it's seemed to work fo us so far, and really help in the development of vaulters transitioning from 14 foot to 15 foot poles.
just a college vaulter trying to get some more information, not my idea to cut all the poles... im just working with what ive got.

[crvictor]

And good luck trying to sell your custom poles that are illegal for any HS meets and will be "questionable" for anyone older.

You will need to be honest to anyone you sell them to, and tell him that they're "customized". That will reduce their resale value drastically.

Kirk

Thanks for the info... im a college vaulter interested in vaulting, not selling!

[rainbowgirl28]

If you didn't like the way 15' Spirit poles bent when gripping down a foot, you should have either bought a 14' series of Spirits (duh) or tried 14 footers in another brand. 14' poles are always cheaper than 15' poles. And now if you get a guy who needs a 15' pole, you'll have to go out and rebuy all of those poles.

If you used 14 foot poles instead of the 15 cut down to 14 poles they would not have acted the same. From my expierence the cut poles have a much faster ride, which teaches the vaulter to get into positions on a faster moving pole. Then after a period of time the vaulter is moved back onto normal poles, in our case Gill Carbon Fx poles.
Also why is moving the bend in a pole a bad thing... Essex has incoorporated this theory into the manufacturing of their poles, so why is this such a bad idea? it's seemed to work fo us so far, and really help in the development of vaulters transitioning from 14 foot to 15 foot poles.
just a college vaulter trying to get some more information, not my idea to cut all the poles... im just working with what ive got.

The manufacturer designs the poles to bend in a certain place. By forcing them to bend in a different place, you increase the chance they'll break. And a foot is a lot to cut off, most elites only do a few inches.

It's also just more expensive. Just buy 14' ESSX poles next time.