About to get a new pole.

[A_Sapp]

Ok, it's been a while since I've been on here so if I accidentally do something wrong please tell me.

Alright down to the topic. I've been vaulting for two years now and I'm wanting to take it to the next step this year and make state. Last year I placed 5th at Regional competition with a vault of 11'0" (3.35m). I went from vaulting 8'6"(2.59m) to 11'0" in three weeks. So my goal for this year is 13'6" (4.11m) and for my senior year I'm going for 15'0" (4.57m).

My school's new Athletic Director has taken notice of me and wants to get me some new equipment to help me develop better. Right now he's going to get me a new pole for this years season. Last year I vaulted on a 13'6" 150lb Skypole EZ-Plant, which I over bend like nothing (I weigh 145lbs). The pole also has very little force when it unbends and does so quite slowly. Since the pole didn't thrust very hard when it was unbending it hindered my vaulting pretty bad by not giving me the push I needed to get completely vertical.

Here's some pics of me vaulting 11'0" at Regionals so you can see what's going on. It isn't my best vault as far as technique goes though. I've had a lot cleaner looking vaults than this. In fact I've even cleared 11'6" in practice, just not officially.

The plant, (not take-off, my arm was straight when I was taking off. This picture was taken as the pole was just about to touch the box)

Take-Off

Rotation

Extension (where I'm having problems)

Pull and Turn

Release

Fall


So anyways the main point of making this thread was so that I could get some ideas on what pole to buy so that I can maximize my potential. For the moment I want to stay away from using a carbon pole, that is unless you guys think I could get up on it. My main decision I have to make is length, weight, and brand. Right now I'm about 145lbs, however I plan on working out a bit and might gain a few more pounds, so should I go for 150lb pole or a 155lb pole to be safe? Last year I vaulted on a 13'6" pole so this year I was thinking of moving up to a 14'0" pole, is this a wise idea or should I stick with the 13'6"? And finally I've narrowed it down to UCS Spirit and PacerFX, which pole gives more of a push and is easier to get vertical on? Which one is more suited for intermediate vaulters like myself? Also are there any other poles that I should look at that would be just as good but maybe a tad cheaper? I'm trying not to go over $500.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help out. I'm on a tight budget and I want to get this right the first time.

[rainbowgirl28]

What other poles does your school have?

Where were your standards when you cleared 11'?

[A_Sapp]

What other poles does your school have?

Where were your standards when you cleared 11'?

Not many. We're a public school with only 700 people so we get little to no athletic funding. This is our pole progression.

110 Pacer Mystic
115 Pacer Mystic
130 Pacer Mystic
150 Skypole EZ-Plant
175 Skypole
185 Skypole
190 Skypole EZ-Plant

And most of them are going on 7+ years old.

And for my standards I honestly have no idea. probably in the range from 17"-22" might have been 24-26" but I cant remember. I did a lot of moving around that day and it's been well over 5 months.

EDIT: I was also looking at the ESSX poles a few minutes ago and they seem to get a lot of good reviews and according to one post, "that pop on top" which is what I'm looking for. I can get a carbon pole from them for the same price as a fiberglass UCS or Pacer pole. What do you guys thing is the wisest decision?

[kewh]

13.6 160 and 13.6 165 Then to 14 footers. Essex poles are good poles to use.

[A_Sapp]

13.6 160 and 13.6 165 Then to 14 footers. Essex poles are good poles to use.

Alright, I vaulted on a 13'6" 160 UCS at practice once (I was practicing at a different school) and I had no trouble getting up on it. But you're probably right about that, best to be safe and get a 13'6" this year then beg my Athletic Director for another pole next year

So what about carbon or fiberglass? I can get a carbon ESSX pole for as much as a fiberglass UCS or Pacer.

EDIT: How does a 13'7" 158.4lb Carbon Power pole from ESSX sound?

[Barto]

What poles do the best vaulters in the world jump on?

[A_Sapp]

What poles do the best vaulters in the world jump on?

Umm...fiberglass? I know a lot of them use UCS Spirit poles?

[rainbowgirl28]

What other poles does your school have?

Where were your standards when you cleared 11'?

Not many. We're a public school with only 700 people so we get little to no athletic funding. This is our pole progression.

110 Pacer Mystic
115 Pacer Mystic
130 Pacer Mystic
150 Skypole EZ-Plant
175 Skypole
185 Skypole
190 Skypole EZ-Plant

How long are they? The length is VERY important.

[A_Sapp]

I think these are about right.

110- 10'6"
115- 11'6"
130- 11'0"
150- 13'6"
175- 13'6"
185- 13'6"
190- 14'0"

I've tried getting up on the 175 at practice before but it ended quite badly and I almost tore my shoulder out.

[kewh]

13.6 160 and 13.6 165 Then to 14 footers. Essex poles are good poles to use.

Alright, I vaulted on a 13'6" 160 UCS at practice once (I was practicing at a different school) and I had no trouble getting up on it. But you're probably right about that, best to be safe and get a 13'6" this year then beg my Athletic Director for another pole next year

So what about carbon or fiberglass? I can get a carbon ESSX pole for as much as a fiberglass UCS or Pacer.

EDIT: How does a 13'7" 158.4lb Carbon Power pole from ESSX sound?

You do not need carbon poles. To move up to higher bars, you need a set of poles. One a year is not going to cut it. I have had vaulters go thru as many as 8 poles in one year. They improved up to two feet. Try to find a club or sponser to borrow or buy a set of poles. I am a UCS supporter.

[rainbowgirl28]

If you can really only buy one pole, I would get a 13'6 160 Skypole. The brand is not terribly important, but since you are basically filling in gaps in a series, it will probably work the best if you stick with the same brand. You don't need carbon poles. Very few high schoolers benefit from carbon poles, they all benefit from having the widest selection of poles available.

If you were posting this halfway through the season, I would definitely say that you are not ready for the bigger pole yet. Don't move up poles until you are knocking off the bar on the way up with the standards at 32". You don't need longer poles yet, you need to learn how to vault over your handgrip first.

Please study this chart so you can begin to understand how pole size works: http://www.skyjumpers.com/articles/pvpr ... table.html

[A_Sapp]

13.6 160 and 13.6 165 Then to 14 footers. Essex poles are good poles to use.

Alright, I vaulted on a 13'6" 160 UCS at practice once (I was practicing at a different school) and I had no trouble getting up on it. But you're probably right about that, best to be safe and get a 13'6" this year then beg my Athletic Director for another pole next year

So what about carbon or fiberglass? I can get a carbon ESSX pole for as much as a fiberglass UCS or Pacer.

EDIT: How does a 13'7" 158.4lb Carbon Power pole from ESSX sound?

You do not need carbon poles. To move up to higher bars, you need a set of poles. One a year is not going to cut it. I have had vaulters go thru as many as 8 poles in one year. They improved up to two feet. Try to find a club or sponser to borrow or buy a set of poles. I am a UCS supporter.

See the thing is the nearest Pole Vault club around is 2 hours away, and no one around here is willing to sponsor our track team because the majority of it is middle schoolers who run a 7 minute mile. There's only three vaulters here and I'm the best one the school has had since 1979 when our school record was set. So there isn't much of a chance that I'll be able to get more than one pole.

If you can really only buy one pole, I would get a 13'6 160 Skypole. The brand is not terribly important, but since you are basically filling in gaps in a series, it will probably work the best if you stick with the same brand. You don't need carbon poles. Very few high schoolers benefit from carbon poles, they all benefit from having the widest selection of poles available.

If you were posting this halfway through the season, I would definitely say that you are not ready for the bigger pole yet. Don't move up poles until you are knocking off the bar on the way up with the standards at 32". You don't need longer poles yet, you need to learn how to vault over your handgrip first.

Please study this chart so you can begin to understand how pole size works: http://www.skyjumpers.com/articles/pvpr ... table.html

Well the skypoles/rocketpoles we have are all different kinds of models and what not. The pacers are the only three poles that are even the same model, the rest of them look like they were found in a garbage dump, a lot of them aren't even safe to vault on because of chips and small cracks in the fiberglass. Most of them are hand-me-downs from our sister school up in the north end of the county. That's the reason why I was hoping to get a pole of better quality like a Pacer, USC, or ESSX.

I'm also pretty confident that I need to move up to a stiffer pole. The vault pictured up there was from 4 steps at 70% speed. I started out from 7 steps at normal speed and the pole would barely unbend. Even from there it was mushing out at the top of my vault. I almost snapped it twice that day from over bending it.

So final verdict, 13'6" 160lb fiberglass pole. I must ask though, why do so many people not like carbon poles? What's the major difference between them and fiberglass poles?