This is why the new box collar is more dangerous

[grandevaulter]

If that was the case, don't you think someone would be selling one by now? There's a lot of money to be had in selling compliant box collars.

Appears to me to be one of two things. Either somebody is cozy with the NCAA or the other suppliers were asleep at the wheel.

A patent is a patent, and its purpose is to protect the inventor from anyone else stealing their idea. If other suppliers wish to manufacture the new box collar, they will have to pay Gill a royalty. That's how the patent system works and I think it works well.

I doubt that other mfrs were asleep at the wheel. They are probably just waiting to see what the market demand is before they decide to pay Gill a royalty (and Gill is the one that sets the royalty price). It is quite common to follow this path, as the original design might need to be changed due to flaws (as may be the case with the current design).

Also, other mfrs really have no choice but to sit and wait for Gill to offer them a reasonable royalty value, as Gill of course will want to sell as many as they can as soon as they can, before they offer ANY royalty deals to other mfrs.

Kirk

O.K. guys and gals, UCS now has one in the MF hard copy catalog. I don't see one on their website. No wings and appears to be advertised as compliant. It looks nothing like the Gill.

[Decamouse]

Remember the ASTM Rules says if you have wings they must meet -- and that is what the patent is on - the winged version -- The NCAA came out and specifically said they wanted the version with wings. The High School info has not been that specific yet. There are pending revision request awaiting some outcome out of the May 2014 ASTM meeting. The revision will not be addressed until issues with the last vote have been.

[grandevaulter]

It seems to me that I saw a gill collar with a worn or torn cover on the wings this year. It would seem that once the cover is torn it would not be a rated product. I wonder how many others are wearing on the wings? Some of these will require annual replacements.

[volunteer]

grandevaulter I agree. We have had a test pad for about 4 months and the biggest issue we see is that the pad sits in the water that accumulates during rain. The rubber plugs and box covers just don't work that well with the pad, so most folks leave the box open. I squeeze water out of ours after every rain storm, and have unzipped the cover and left parts in the sun for an afternoon twice now.

I think these things will be an annual replacement item. Indoor locations will probably last few years

[AVC Coach]

This box collar slides up (towards the runway) each time a vaulter's pole hangs up on it while exiting the pit. I actually added 5 times the amount of Velcro that comes with the $600 + $138.00 shipping with fuzzy instructions that look like a 3rd grader ran through a copier and it still slides. We have to check it every few jumps and kick it back so it doesn't block the pole rotation. If we don't remember to check it then it's obviously making it more dangerous to vault. I'm not going to ask why. I know why....$$$$$$$$$! I guess I expected more since we all are required to have it. Seems fishy since only one company can make and sell it. Say what you want but this is not right!

[grandevaulter]

I have a hunch that UCS knows something. The only place that I see it is in the MF hard copy catalog. No wings but claims to meet the ASTM rating. The UCS model won't get moved around .

[pv161]

UCS has there own version in use at the NCAA championship. It looks basically the same except it is angled more at the rear edge