Flex numbers and poles

[kwantana]

So I recently attended a bell athletics camp in jonesboro Arkansas and in one of earl bells pre workout discussions he mentioned that factory flex numbers aren't correct and can seriously throw off a vaulter and he even had compelling evidence to prove it. I'm looking to buy a new ucs spirit pole but bell dosent carry them Is it true that factory flex numbers are wrong and I shouldn't buy poles from anyone who doesn't flex them?

[Oldcoach]

In my 20 years coaching I've only seen discrepancies in flex no. when dealing with 12' and shorter poles. This is due to the use of dfferent span lengths in the flexing process.EB uses a span that is 2 feet shorter than the overall pole length which is consistent with the way manufactures flex longer poles. For 12' and shorter both Gill and Spirit used something like a span of 1 foot shorter than the pole length which results in a higher numerical number. Gill changed their process in 2005 or 2006 to agree with the longer poles.I don't know about current Spirits.Since your PR is 8-6 you are likely jumping on 12' or shorter poles. My experience tells me you should buy poles by wt rating in 10 lb increments and not worry about flex numbers until you get to 14 foot or longer poles.