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well i am trying to decide on a pole i blow through our 13'6'' 165 and our 13'6'' 170 seems pretty good, but i also have a 14' 160 and 14' 165 to choose from, i'm not sure which pole i should be on, and if one will give me more time than another to try and get past the "L" position i always get stuck in. or does the pole even matter with this, just looking for some direction thanks

Your PR is 12'6, right? How much do you weigh, how high are you holding, and where are your standards when you are blowing through?

ok well yeah my pr is 12'6'' in a meet but i have had many 13'6'' vaults in practice, the 13'6'' 165 and 170 are Pacers and i am holding as high as the rules allow me, right below the label with the length, flex number and weight. the 14' 160 is a spirit and i am holding 1 hand grip below the label stated before, the 14' 165 is a pacer and once again one hand grip below the label at the top. i am blowing through the 13'6'' 165 and can't even get 12' on it, but on the 13'6'' 170 i get around 13'6'' and my standards on all my poles but the 13'6'' 165 are at 18 - 20. when i get on the 13'6'' 165 my standards are as far back as allowed 28.5'', but like i said even with them back that far i can't even get 12'

i hope i gave you everything you wanted, i wasn't sure what all to post, thanks

Actually you are allowed to put your standards as far back as 31.5". And you should...

wow, i thought it was only 28.5, i'll give that a try thanks

Let's put this in perspective. Your poles are highlighted in yellow on this relative stiffness chart (courtesy of skyjumpers.com).


You 160 and 170 are almost identical in flex, your 13-6 165 is 5 pounds lighter, and your 14-0 165 is 5 pounds heavier.

So it will depend on your grip whether you should use the 160 or 170.

As RG said, start with the 13-6 165 with your standards ALL the way back ... to 80 cm (31.5") ... and see if you're blowing thru that too. You probably are.

Then move up to the 160 or 170 ... with the SAME grip ... and again with standards at 80 ... and see if you're blowing thru. If you're not blowing thru, then you can start inching up your grip. If not, try the 14-0 165.

You don't mention your grip from the butt ... only from the top. This can be confusing, since 2 of your poles are 13-6 and 2 are 14-0. Always refer to the grip distance from the butt. What are they? Your grip should be on the tip of your tongue.

And always keep the SAME grip when moving up a pole ... no matter what the pole length. Once you're landing well into the pit ... then you can inch up your grip ... but not before.

You have the luxury of having 3 poles bigger than the one you're blowing thru. So I'd ALWAYS keep the standards at 80, and not even adjust them. It's one less thing to worry about ... it's the fastest way to improve your technique QUICKLY ... and it's safer. Instead, adjust your grip slightly one way or the other ... on one of your 3 heavier poles.

Kirk