the locked vaulting pole review

[skyin' pimp]

damn.. i didn't really wanna start a new subject.. BUT, SINCE IT'S LOCKED I HAD TO!!!
i just wanted to say a comment on what brian brought up (he's pvjunkie)..
dummy=low bend
non-dummy=high bend
granted this doesn't really cover all the variables that make or, not make you a dummy
but, your position at take-off is much more critical than the way a certain manufacture's pole reacts to your "own" signature load..
ford or chevy? everyone will have an opionion as long as everyone has assholes.. that's the way of things.. i kindof like all the colors bruce uses on his posts.. and i've heard fantastic things about his new poles..
i have a h/s kid on fx carbons.. he loves 'em..
but, the important thing is the vaulter.. i've taken the same pole and given it a high bend and a low bend.. i've done this coaching to show the kids that it's all in their damn heads if they wanna jump correctly.. it's not in their pole
God Bless the Irish
(not notre damn)

[Bruce Caldwell]

It has been our observation! And only by the feedback that we are getting from the field, that to switch from one brand to another is flawless and feels basically the same in sizes 11'6" size to 14'0.

It is about the size of 14'7" and 15' that the differences between poles seem to differentiate.

There is a definite difference between brands in the larger sizes we are told from 15'6" on up and it is difficult for one to switch back and forth within their series if the poles are not the same brand.

We are told that the bending of the pole low or high is a result of the take-off angle of the vaulter in the larger lengths.
We do however design the ESSX brand to be stiffer in the butt area than other brands and with a proper angular take-off the athlete will experience a stiffer bottom on our poles and a better rolling of the pole. The whole pole does bend so the half and half theory does not apply in this case as the whole pole bends and the poles rolls as a result of energy of the whole pole. This is not to say that one could not do the same with another brand depending on their technique. We have taken other brand poles in a test and bend them with a handgrip of 1 foot down and seen a taco action where the bottom bends more than the rest of the pole and compared the arch with the same stiffness pole in the ESSX brand where the pole bend starts out stiffer and graduates up the pole evenly to a fish hook arc at the top of the pole. The benefits of this design will be based on the individual athlete and their other variables in their technique in order for the same action to occur in the field. However over all our effort to design a pole that has a stiffer bottom will reduce pole bending into the pit around the box area and help those who jump correctly roll the pole over more efficiently. If a vaulter is bending the pole low in any brand this is an indication that the athlete needs to move up in stiffness right away especially on the ESSX poles.

PS as far as the locked Vaulting Pole review The comments made on this thread were accepted as constructive criticism and we responded to improve delivery, improve on our look with a new label and never took offense to the postings on that thread except those we felt hurt the sport and any athletes.

We feel that a really high jump or story spin right now on any brand pole will give the sport a shot in the arm. We need to focus on constructive criticism and post positive comments to help improve publicity of the sport. The talk of injury, accidents, pole breakage, and idle gossips will always be there and needs to be considered but not sensationalized.

It is so sad to see TV coverage miss the winner crossing the finish line because they are filming a runner who got tripped or footage of a vaulter breaking a pole when you do not have time to post or film the girls PV event.

[PVJunkie]

That was my point jon......no matter how you build it, it reacts based on the way the energy is applied. The perfect shortening (bend) is as symetrical (full) as possible. The less energy you put into one area the less likley a failure will occur. In addition the higher you can grip. If you take a 16' pole and only bend the the top 8' of the pole the shortening will be minimal as compared to the same pole bent over the full 16' length. Thus to make it into the pit you will have to grip much lower on the first pole and while you dont have to grip high to jump high you still want to grip as high as you can EFFECTIVLY grip. IF your pole is bending into the pit then more than likely you are gripping too high...........in my 22 yrs of vaulting I have seen this very seldom w/a good vaulter more often it occurs w/someone who is trying to jump high by ONLY gripping high. Since the mandate of pits that taper away from the box you have to bend a pole quite a bit for that to become a factor. Hitting the top of the box.........well since "leverage" is your friend and less than 9" of the pole could possibly hit the top of the box it does not play much of a factor. I have personally been wathching this at MANY meets and in my opinion it has no significant effect on the vault. This opinion can be backed w/science........back to my leverage reference. Using the same 16' long pole if it is shortened (bent) to a length of 12' (144 inches) it would take 4544lbs of force to stop 284lbs of force at the top hand. Now 284lbs is very minimal when you take into account mass X velocity squared. 284 lbs = a 25lb (11.36kg) mass (person) traveling at 5.0 meters per sec. AND this does NOT take into account the sloped angle of the box NOR the fact the pole turns out and the outward angle is greater than the back of the box...............MAN i hope that made sense.

A 150lb (68.18kg) person traveling at 7.0 meters per sec would produce 3340.82lbs of force. To stop that at 9 inches would take 53453.12 lbs to stop that movement (again not taking the box angles or turning of the pole into account).

[skyin' pimp]

haha.. i'm so glad you posted.. i use terms like "dummy".. and well.. you spoke that other language.. you did a good job explaining though, not that i was questioning.. i just tried to say what you said where aforementioned would not have a question mark about thy cranium..

and of course i know that different pole manufactures react differently for every vaulter.. and i would WAY rather see someone on a consistant pole line rather than going from spirit, then nordic, then browning, then essex, to finish with a ms. stic.. that would blow for the vaulter..
but, the main point brian and i are trying to make is.. find a pole you like, and fix what's important, (runway--->take-off).. hell.. i've cleared 4.90 on a blue skypole

[PVJunkie]

The dark blue or light blue nanner pole??? Those were the FIRST cabon poles EVER built. Heck I even have in my arsenal somwhere a graphite powder blue....................piece of junk but hey thats what R & D is all about, push the envelope.

[skyin' pimp]

dark blue all the way.. it was killer.. easy bend, easy release
it was a 4.90 165, can't remember the flex
i was grippin' 'bout 4.50.. oh those were the days when i would jump on a pogo stick if it were big enough...
hey.. there's an idea for all ya pole manufactures.. let's look to the pogo for the next pole design
WOO HOO!!!!

[blazerunner121]

its prolly posted on the board somewhere, but is there a site that compares all sorts of pole vault poles such as spirit, pacer, essx, etc. to each other?

[KYLE ELLIS]

I say a pole can give you confidence, like the lightness of carbon fx. Last year I had a series of mix and matched poles a 15 170 pacer, 15'6 170 pacer carbon, a 16 170 and 175 catapole, and 16 175, 180, and 185. In my short run I have skypoles, maximas, spirits, pacers, etc... I could transition smoothly between them all. I kinda think pacer poles are a tiny bit stiffer than the rest at the same flex. And you better have the fourth pole up when using essex, some seem to be a little softer than the other poles....

[skyin' pimp]

it sure can kyle, but, when you had your mish mash of different poles and you could go through them smoothly.. then, mentally, it didn't matter that you didn't have a line of poles that were the same brand .8 flex apart.. yeah, it's nice, but, again, it's allllllll mental.. if you believe solely in your technique.. and can not look at what's in your hand, but, look at the back of the box and BRING IT!! you have acheived probably the most difficult thing to acheive in vault.. and that's my entire point of all this

[KYLE ELLIS]

sure thats why pole vault is 80% mental

[rainbowgirl28]

its prolly posted on the board somewhere, but is there a site that compares all sorts of pole vault poles such as spirit, pacer, essx, etc. to each other?

Search on the board

[blazerunner121]

its prolly posted on the board somewhere, but is there a site that compares all sorts of pole vault poles such as spirit, pacer, essx, etc. to each other?

Search on the board

hahaha, yea i went hunting for it.