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I'm wondering what your guy's opinion is on this. I'm 145pounds and have been using a 14foot 160 spirit. My standards are usually set at 30 and the highest i've cleared is 13-6 with it. Is it time for me to move up another pole? the next pole i have is a 15 foot 160 spirit and after that a 14foot 170 so not to much equipment to work with. Do u guys think i can get on the fifteen footer with where my standards are now?any tips for getting on it? Thanks!

Jumping a foot of pole isn't exactly easy in the first place. If you were to move up poles I would try and get your hands on a 14'6" as a transition pole. Plus, moving up to those 15 footers isn't exactly easy either. There's more to it than just jumping on a 15' pole. You better make sure you hit it hard or you'll be spit back out onto the runway.

The hardest transition you will probably make comes in going from a 14 footer to a 15 footer. I agree that your best bet is to try and find a 14' 7" transition pole even if only for a few weeks. The other thing you will want to do is a lot of track work to make sure you have enough speed at take off. Those 15 footers can be stiff but not impossible, best of luck, jump safely

I would acculay go to the 14 170 next from the 14'160

Say you hold 14 on all three poles then:

14' hand hold on 14' 160 is 160lbs
14' hand hold on 14' 170 is 170lbs
14' hand hold on 15' 160 is 180lbish

If you are going in really good with the 14' 160 (30in is pretty good) then with the exact same jump atleast make it in with the 14' 170 alot safer than with the 15' footer mainly because from my personal experience, the length has more to do with being shot too far away from the matts.

You will probably have to run a little harder and be really strong at the plant but you would probably be fine with the 14' 170

Then after a getting used to the stiffer pole you can work your had grip up on the 15' pole.

This table will help you understand better why a 14'170 is smaller than a 15'160 http://www.skyjumpers.com/articles/pvpr ... table.html

Well my coach ended up being able to get a hold of a 14-6 158 essx from his personal collection of poles for me to try today. Today was my first day on it, Its pretty soft and i'm bending it real good, but i'm having trouble getting all the way inverted, i'm guessing i just need to run faster and have a stronger trail leg for these longer poles...Thanks for the help!

check out the efficiency chart (http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/dj.htm)
you don't need a 15 footer for 13'6 vaults...since you're getting way in i'd suggest hitting up the shorter "stiffer" (but not really since it's shorter it's actually easier than the 15') pole and getting the extra lift out of the stiffness to close in on the goal (14'6 for a 13'9 handhold supposedly) before going up to a longer pole. it's harder to work on form on a big pole, better to try and get your form better on a stiffer pole first before jumping on the bigger stick. good luck with that, those are some good-sized poles! (i'm only on 13' and 13'6 at the moment)

yea i've think i've managed to outgrow the 14-6 158 now, heres a video tell me what u think
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geYuLDZ7hrM

standards are at 31 (all the way back). my steps pretty far under from what i can tell.

i'm gonna go on a 14 170 now intead of the 15 160. i need to get that form down better before goin on a longer pole. Thanks for the help everyone.

I think that if you got a free take-off you'd almost be landing behind the pit... Definitely time to move up weight.