new pole

[Rudym13]

Hey, this season im looking into buying a new pole for myself in hopes of vaulting in the 13's to make it to states. My current pr is 11' 6'' which is jumped at the end of my last season with a 12' 135 lbs Pacer i borrowed from a school when i was told I was blowing through my 12' 130lbs. I'm a little under 110 lbs and capable of running faster than last year. The next pole I have available to me at my school is a 13' 145 which is a considerable jump in weight. If there was one pole that would bridge the gap between my 12' 130 lbs skypole and the 13' 145lbs old Pacer what would it be? Im thinking a 13' 130lbs but im open for advice, company names would be nice too.

[jr]

Call Todd Cooper at www.justvault.com and he can help you with your pole selection.

[PVJunkie]

There are great resources and people to help you with this you just need to seek them out. It looks like you are in South Florida....if this is correct I would suggest you contact Bobby Haeck with BAM Athletics (he is in the Merritt Island area).

If you just need help in pole selection you can call the factories direct. They have the resoruces and knowledge to work through questions like this without the one on one interactions that a local coach might have.

To bridge that gap you need
*12 - 130*
12 - 135 / 140 / 145
12'6" - 140 / 145 / 150
*13 - 145*

That gives you an idea of how many poles you would need to bridge that gap with 5 pound increases in stiffness assuming your grip would increase slightly as well.

[Barefoot]

Rudy...

Did I read elsewhere that you don't have a coach? Before buying poles you might want to find someone who can eyeball you and your needs.

That said... Jumping 11' 6" on a 12' pole, it's probably time to graduate to 13' poles, especially if you can currently handle a 12' pole 20-30 pounds over your weight and if you are still growing and getting technically better.

Assuming you don't have deep financial pockets, you may want to consider 10 pound increments in your poles. But you have to be a little careful with the flex numbers and you want to stay "same brand" as grip heights and relative flex can vary greatly between brands and makes. The 12' pacer has a max grip usually around 11'10", a spirit max grip is around 11'6"... those four inches could mean 5 to 10 pounds difference depending on flex... so any advice you get here is very "ballpark". Again that said... you are a year older, possibly stronger and faster and heavier by track season. SO for a 10 pound series:

A 13' 115 is equal to a 12' 135 at the same grip and I'm assuming you are capping the 12'.
next a 13' 125
then a 13' 135
that brings you to the 13' 145

Ideally you want a 5lbs gap series with good flex matches... but coming from an age where poles were limited, we often progressed from beginner to 13+ feet vaulters on 3 poles at 20 lbs intervals... so it can be done. Having a coach and some poles to borrow would probably benefit you more than fumbling in the dark and plonking hard to find cash down on a pole which may have limited or no use for you.

Also... do a search on this board for "relative flex", find a link for Jan J's chart, read it and understand it.

[Barefoot]

For more pole info and the flex chart... read this:

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=17033