How to move from a 14 to 15 ft pole

[wakesurfvault]

First off, How would one go about this? I'm assuming you don't just jump up a foot right of the bat. And what are the differences between a 14/15 footer? Cause they're a foot longer does that mean you'll go a foot higher? Do you need to drive more in order to penetrate cause of the increase in length? Any advise would be greatly appreaciated, thanks.

[MightyMouse]

I would really not recommend going from a 14 - 15 foot pole What height are you jumping on the 14?, if your not jumping a good bit above your grip, you either need a heavier 14 or work on your tecnique on the same 14. Moving up a foot of pole is @ 20 more lbs of pole So if your on a 14 60 now, it would be a 14 80 a big transition.
Jumping on a pole to long for you can put you in a dangerous situation and actually make your tecnique worse

See if there is a experienced coach in your area who can help you make these decisions, theres no substitute for good coaching

Good Luck

[wakesurfvault]

Well I'm not planning on moving to a 15 footer as of right now, but I jumped about 13'10" just a while back holding right at the strip that UCS puts on their poles on a 14 60 (which is too light). My coach said that in about a week or two I should move up to a 15 so I basically just want to know as much as possible about it so I'll be prepared for the transition.

[lonestar]

Unless you're jumping 15'0 on a 14'0 pole, I don't recommend going to a longer pole either. If the problem is that you don't have any choice BUT to go to a 15' pole because that's all you have, try going from whatever weight your 14' pole is, to a 15' pole 20lbs smaller on the weight rating with the same exact grip height. Then, gradually work your grip up an inch at a time and move up to stiffer poles as you need to.

For example: if you're on a 14' 170 gripping 13'9, go to a 15' 150 and grip 13'9, then work your way up. Don't jack your grip up or you'll screw the transition up badly.

[Skyin' Brian]

if you have a good plant and takeoff and you are gripping almost to the top of a 14'er well above your weight and blowing through, then you should move to a 15' pole. what has been said above about 20lbs difference between 1' in length difference is fairly accurate, so probably look for a 20# lighter 15'er than your 14'er, then it will be a smooth transition, but when moving up, 15# lighter would work, but 10# lighter only if you are really blowing through. oh, and make sure not to just grip a foot higher right away either

[VaultBrad]

although i would never reccomend this, my sophomore year i went from a 13'6" 175 rocket to a 15' 170 spirit. i was jumping more than a foot below my grip and wasnt getting anything out of the pole(except for the extra foot and a half of grip). i should have transitioned to 14' poles first then maybe even 14'6" poles, but i had no coaching at that point so i was winging it.

so it is possible o move straight to 15's but i would stay on 14's untill you are crushing poles well above your weight and are jumping higher above your grip.

[vaultinggoat16]

yeah I learned about transitioning to fast...I went from jumping on nothing to a 13' pole...Very scary I did jump tho. I also got my head smacked when I got stood up and started flexing down and let go...

[camaz0tz]

theyve said it all already but basicly if u cant get on a 14' pole thats around 10 lbs over your weight then ur definately not ready to move up to a 15' pole as well as there being ~20lbs more resistance per foot the speed difference ull have to bring in with that foot difference is a lot faster also consider the type of pole ur using(a UCS Spirit pole has a lot softer flex than lets say a carbon)
if u can get on a 14' pole thats 10+ lbs over ur weight try a 14'6 pole ur weight or higher and see how u do on that but goin from 14 to 15 is a huge difference compared to 13 to 14 or 12 to 13 so having a transition pole in there(the 14'6) might be the best action right now

theyve talked about jumping over ur grip which is a key thing that im working on right now ive been on 14'6 poles and can easily jump on them and i got the extra height from holding higher but i wasnt going to get any higher so i moved back down to 14' poles but try to get on poles a lot higher than my weight(i only weight about 135 so i have a wide range) while i work on using the push of the pole for the fly away
u said u jump 13'10 on a 14ft pole considering the box will drop ur grip ~8 inches means ur jumping about 6 inches over ur grip if u can its best to try to get it to a foot and higher but 6 inches is still over ur hand grip which is good

if theres no way to talk ur coach out of putting u onto a 15' pole get a spirit considering theyre a softer pole which will make the transition easier but getting the spirit will almost absolutely make sure that ull penetrate into the pit as long as u bring speed down the runway and follow through with ur jump

[theplan77]

my tip is if u think u can get in on 15" then just commit 100%when u try. that the only way u will know 4 sure.if u think u can do it u probably can.

[VaultBrad]

my tip is if u think u can get in on 15" then just commit 100%when u try. that the only way u will know 4 sure.if u think u can do it u probably can.

this is very true. i spent several practices giving it all i had before i finally got in on the 15'. what ever you do dont be a pansy, just commit 100%

[vaultinggoat16]

curiosity killed the cat and hesitation kills the pole vaulter L:X

[saraf]

what about a 14'6" pole? They are fun.