NOTE: We use poles here at the USA PVA, we don't make them. So, if you see anything here that needs to be corrected, please send us a note to: USAPVAspam@4ace.com -- NOTE: you have to delete the "spam" in that e-mail address. This is due to an inordinate amount of spam e-mail being sent, where we now get over 100 spam e-mail's every day. Thanks.

Poles are made of spun fiberglass (and the newest ones are laced with carbon to make them both stronger and lighter -- though they are also more brittle - when they break, they shatter, not just snap).

Different manufacturers make them slightly differently. Basically a triangular piece of fabric is used and the fiberglass spun on as it is rolled up. This makes it thicker in the middle and smaller on the ends. This is the way that Catapole makes their poles. Pacer does it a little bit differently. They use 3 pieces. The triangular piece is in the middle (called the "Sail" piece because it is shaped and sized about the same as a sailboat sail). On the top and bottom are rectangular pieces rolled up. This enables Pacer to make a faster response pole because they can vary the size of the bottom and top piece independently of the Sail piece. Catapoles, being all one piece, have a uniform distribution of size and thickness. I usually have my beginning vaulters use Catapole, because it is slower and gives them more time to execute the vault. As the ability of the jumper increases I move him up to a Spirit pole, and eventually a Pacer. Only my fastest jumpers do I put on Carbon poles.

There are 3 considerations on a pole.

1) Pole Length. The size of the pole, longer poles are easier to bend because you have more leverage -- HOWEVER, they are harder to make it into the pit, because you are leaving the ground farther away from the box -- on a 14' pole, you leave the ground around 12' from the box, so effectively a 12' long jump, whereas a 16'6" pole (mine), I leave the ground 14' from the box -- so I have to have a longer long jump to land safely in the pit.

2) Weight rating. This is the maximum weight of a vaulter that this pole can safely support. Similar to the "Lb Test" of fishing line ... yes, you can land a heavier fish on lighter line, but it takes more technique. Similarly, you can use a pole rated under (or over) your weight, provided you do it correctly. The stiffer the pole, the harder it is to bend -- BUT, the higher it will kick you because the recoil straightening of the pole after it is bent) is stronger.

3) Flex Number. A more finely tuned element of rating poles, it tells us how soft/flexible the pole is. A higher flex number is softer. The Weight rating gives you a basic idea, the flex number is much more precise. I can have 5 poles all rated as 15' 150 lb test with flex numbers of 18, 22, and 28. To determine the flex number, you would put something under each end of the pole, and hang a 10-pound weight in the middle. You measure how far the middle of the pole sinks under the weight (in inches), and that is the flex number. -- I usually jump on 17' 210 lb test pole, though since I hold around 16' it makes it equivalently about a 16' 230. I have a good spread of flex numbers 13.4, 13.9, 14.4, 15.0, and 15.5. All have the same weight rating, but depending on wind conditions, how fast I'm running that day, etc., I may choose a softer or stiffer flex.

There is a relation between the flex number and the weight rating. The lighter weight rated poles (e.g., 15'150 will have a higher flex number overall -- usually around 18-22+) whereas heavier poles (e.g., my 15'190 has a flex of only 13.0). Some people ONLY look at the flex number. I usually use it as a relative indicator -- meaning, if your athletes are having trouble making it into the pit on a 15' 150 lb pole (flex of say, 18), and you have access to borrow a pole that is also a 15' 150 with a flex of 22, they might find that is just right (or maybe even too soft).

One last thought, take the flex & weight rating together. A 15' 150 lb with a flex of 17 will be stiffer than a 15' 160 lb with a flex of 24.