PoleVaultPower.com

Quick facts about me: Height: 5'10, Weight:155, PR: 12'6, 100m time: 12.5
Starting this page to hopefully figure out which pole brand is best for me. On gill brand poles (skypole, pacer, ect.) I've had problems with getting a consistent jump and bend and don't like the weight and diameter of the pole compared to a spirit for example. On altius poles, I've had good experiences (used a 13'9 160 for my PR jump). Also have had good experiences on carbon poles. But my real question comes with spirit poles. The only spirit pole I've jumped on is a 13' 155 which I blow through on from 4 lefts but I really like the lightweight feel, diameter size, and consistent feel from it. Since I blow through it from such a small step shouldn't I be able to use a much longer spirit pole from 6 or 7 lefts? Also what about essx poles? Never jumped on one but from what I've read about them they offer small pole diameter and lightweight feel. Wanted some advice so I can start looking for a new pole that will hopefully best suit me for some high heights. Thanks!

Hey, sorry if this is a bit late or if you already bought some poles. Here is my experience on all the poles listed.
My two favorites: Spirits, and Essex Recoil Advanced.

I have jumped on basically everything though, not just those two, including just about every gill pole, skypoles, altius, and even cat-a-poles.. hah.
Most Pacers and other Gill poles I have jumped on were pretty reliable, but I jumped on them when i was only jumping around 12 feet, so they might have changed since then. What I understand from other though, is that Pacers seem to have a very standard bend and are quite easy to get on if you are looking for that sort of vaulting pole.
Altius poles are great if you find the right ones, but they from when I jumped on them, they had a bit of a slow bend. I am not sure if you have had this or not, but I don't really like them all that much. Don't get me wrong, they are great poles, and I have friends jumping about 15 to 16 feet on Altius Carbons, and they love them, but they aren't for me.


Now... to the Spirits and Recoils.

I'll start out with the poles I jumped on all last year that got me to the Texas 6a State meet, and later got me to a 16 foot Personal Record during summer track. Essex Recoil Advanced poles are amazing. I absolutely love them and support them with everything within me. They are super lightweight, which some people don't like, but I love it and it makes me able to be faster down the runway. They are quite easy to bend with a good plant that is on time. They have a bit of a higher bend though, which is nice if you get the takeoff down to a good science. You should be jumping off that last step like crazy. The recoils roll over nicely, and they have an insane pop off the top. I mean, there really isn't another pole I have jumped on yet that gave me such a fast uncoil at the top. All in all, an amazing pole and I highly recommend!

Next, the poles I am jumping on now, and probably will be for most of my college career. UCS Spirits. These poles are awesome. I mean, The record is held on Spirits. They have the ideal C bend that everybody wants in a pole vault picture, and they still recoil with crazy power. When I was in high school, UCS Spirits were a little less accessible to me according to price and the fact that the Essex factory was pretty close by, so that is why I chose Essex over these. They are a bit pricey, and so are Essex, but both poles are great. Okay, back to the spirit, the bend is epic, and the pop is great. They are a bit heavier than Essex, but they still feel great nonetheless. I have already jumped 15ft on these poles since I cleared my 16ft PR.
My 16ft clearance was on a 15'1" 175 Essex Recoil Advanced with a 14'8" hand hold on an 8 stride run. I did have a chance to jump on a 15'7" 175 essex recoil adv with a hand grip of 15' and I cleared 16'6" over a bar in practice, but i wound up breaking that pole the next jump, just because I was too amped up from clearing and blocked like crazy with my bottom arm.
I cleared 15ft on a shortpole 5 stride run with a 14' 175 UCS Spirit holding at 13'3". They are already proving to me that I am going to love them, and that once I get to bigger poles in the 15ft and 15'7" range I will be jumping around 16'6" maybe even 17. I feel very confident that Spirits are an amazing pole and if you try them you will love them without a doubt.


Now,at the beginning of last year, I was on a 14'7" 160 recoil adv. while I was about 5'10", weighing about 150. I jumped 15'0" on that pole.

For you, I am not sure what poles you are on now, but since you jumped 12'6" on a 13'9" pole, I am not sure a longer pole than a 14 ft for right now would bennefit you very much. Now... I don't know where you were holding on that 13'9" pole, but if it was anywhere above 12'6" or 12'9" I would say you should definitely be working on technique and working towards jumping over your hand grip. If you are already jumping over your hand grip, you might just need to start inching your way up the pole, or jumping on a heavier weight pole and holding a bit higher.

I know that wasn't what you wanted to hear, so here are my actual pole suggestions for when you are ready for them:
Since you are 5'10" and 155.
If you are wanting to get up to a higher grip, like 13'9" or 14' even. I would go with either brand, essex or spirit.
Both weights ans length are about the same for both.
Length: 14' Weight: in the range of 160 to 175.
Length: 14'7" Weight: in the range of 160 to 175 again.
Length: 15'1" Weight: in the range of 155 to 175.
Now I wouldn't go any longer until your grip is at least at 14'6" or 14'9", but if you get there,
Length: 15'7" Weight: in the range of 160 to 180. Probably toward the upper end if you are to this point.


I hope this helped out! I look forward to hearing from you and how you do on the new poles!