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I vaulted in high school in Texas, and could hold my own (PR 15'). That was 17 years ago. Today I fly a desk, am straddling 200lbs, and though I am in decent shape I have not jumped over a bar in a decade in a half (except for that time when I tried...and failed... to hurdle the front fence last month. Not pretty). I have two daughters who are aspiring young vaulters, and in our coaching sessions I have been dying to jump back on the runway and reclaim (at least in part) a few of the old glory moments. To do this I need a pole. I can only afford one pole, and I live in the UK where I don't have access to a club with a range of poles to use. Also, I hope to lose a few pounds in this new endeavor, so I am looking to avoid buying a telephone pole that will be tough to get up on when my weight drops 10-15lbs (or so). I would really appreciate any advice on the best "recreational" pole for me? I am 6'0" tall, bounce between 195-200lbs in weight, and am fairly athletic. Also, I would appreciate comments on using a pole that is under my my weight...say a 14' 185lb pole? I know the common advice is not to jump on a pole less than your weight, but does this hold true if you are gripping below the max handgrip? I would like to pick up a pole that I can use for stiff-polling now, and then as I get in better shape and my weight drops I can grip higher and begin performing full vaults on without having to purchase a series of poles... comments, suggestions, advice, rebukes are all welcome. Thanks!

one of my coaches probably weighs around 250 and he sometimes jumps 6-7 ft with my 14 170 but then again he holds it super low almost half way down the pole so i guess it depends how high you want to go. you could buy a 17ft 200 pole but it will never bend...never break either. or you can maybe get a 14-15ft 190 pole and maybe you can hold alittle higher but im pretty sure the poles not going to break if your holding it only half way or even alittle higher.

Anything is a guess, but I agree with your instincts. The 14' 185 lb. seems like as good a choice as any. In my late 40's, I weighed about 163 and held about 14' on a 15' 160 lb. And I never was very fast. I would be very surprised if that 14' 185 is too soft, unless you stick with it for a couple of years and do some serious training. Then, you will need a series of poles.