Spirit vs. Pacer

[smokinvaulter1]

Hey Bryan or PV junkie,
Ku appreciates all the help you gave us last year with poles and hope for some more this year. I hope to see you and your crew at the summit and some other big meets Thanks again Jeremy

[dubjones]

I've been jumping for a while, quite a while, with many different coaches, including West coast gu-ru' Rick Baggett, and Earl Bell. I have jumped on almost every brand of pole, Skypoles, Carbons, Pacers, Pacer FX, Carbon FX, Spirit, Rocket, Altius, KC Fiber, Essx, Altius, The old Browing Skypoles, Black Skypoles, The short lived Skypole Carbon, even some of Ricks Swedish Steel poles.
Here is what I can tell you. "It's the indian, not the arrow". Sure nobody can jump as high on an old Browing (or a stell pole) as they can on the newer poles but do you really think that Spirit pushed Bubka to world records? If you remember he set a couple of world records on Pacers, (Pacer III) I believe, we have one of his old sticks at Bell Athletics, a Pacer III, 5.20-11.9. But he would have broken all those world records on any pole you put in his hands, because he was a great polevaulter, not because he had great poles.
When I moved here the wall was, and still is a mixed bag of brands. Then it was Carbons, Spirits, and Skypoles. Now there is one Spirit, some Carbon FX, Essx, and Skypoles. What is important is the size, not the brand of each pole. If you need the next pole, and you are a "spirit guy", and the next pole is a skypole, then that is the next pole, and you will always (assuming tecnique is constant) jump higher on the next pole, regardless of brand. If I needed the next pole, I wouldn't hesitate to jump on anything in the right size, and feel confident that I would jump higher on it. Sure, I prefer Carbons, and Essx over the others, but that is opinoin. I have pr'ed on almost every brand, because they were bigger, not better than the previous pole. There is much more information than this, but this is the best guide I can give you. If you have the money, or the access to you favorite brand, do it. If not go for what works, because it works. Don't not plant the next pole because it "feels heavy", "or is a _____", the numbers don't lie. The next pole is exactly that, the next pole.
I am sure the Bell Athletics crew will back me up on this.
Just trying to help.
Dub

[PVJunkie]

Dub, you da man, that is the point. However the difference here is you undersand flex #'s and how to flex your own poles. Pacer, Spirt, Altius etc all flex poles the same way but apply the weight a little differently. So understanding that is a major part of "the next pole" delima. Do you want to take a shot at explaing flex #'s or me. Either way lets make it a new topic cause i see lots of questions coming in on that one.

later, B

[Azbeachboy1]

So what you guys are trying to say is that no matter what brand, if I have a spirit and a pacer ( same length and weight) I should be able to jump the same height on both of them.

[lonpvh]

Boy you guys opened a can of worms. Who's idea was it to start the pole controversey. I tell you what, for the sake of time and space, if anyone wants to have the flex number talk, just call me. You guys are great, wouldn't trade you for any others. LB

[rainbowgirl28]

Boy you guys opened a can of worms. Who's idea was it to start the pole controversey. I tell you what, for the sake of time and space, if anyone wants to have the flex number talk, just call me. You guys are great, wouldn't trade you for any others. LB

Take all the time and space you guys want! I am interested in hearing more about flex numbers, and I am sure there are other people on here that are as well.

[SkyHigh21]

I used to jump on pacer carbons for the longes time, I did it because they were lighter. A couple of weeks ago tho, Steve sent me some spirits to try. I can tell you this, i'd rather have a heaver pole thats softer in the plant than a lighter pole that is stiff in the plant. Im switching to the Spirits.
CHip

[wacky274]

Chip, just curious, did you jump at JO's, well win them for like intermediate boys like 2 years back? (just a a side question) but as for the poles, i've never used a carbon fiber, heard that they are honestly not any better, well for some at least...i dont know the way i look at it, i'm used to a spirit, and it's never done me wrong, so thats wher i'll stay

[rainbowgirl28]

For a lot of people it is what you are used to. I know some people that swear by Altius poles *shrug*

[wacky274]

altius? lol, thats great....but no, mine is more than just a used to thing...it's like with my style i need a little bit faster pole, when i vaulted on pacer, once i get it bent it seemed too slow like i had all day to do what i needed....i'm not that patient, lol

[lonestar]

Are some poles more "high-performance" than others? Absolutely - you can't say that a Skypole is equivalent to a Pacer Carbon. They're made with different materials, wrapped differently, have different sailpiece positions, etc.

BUT, is one pole right for everybody? Hell no! It's all about timing up with the vaulters swing and takeoff mechanics, and the pole that times up correctly releases the right amount of energy at the right time FOR THAT VAULTER!

For me personally and the 18'er I coach, we both feel that Pacer III's time up better with our swings than any other pole we've tried, and we've tried everything (except Nordics of course, but then again - who wants to vault on a frikkin tree trunk?) Our second favorite pole for our timing is the Carbon FX. Neither of us care for the Carbons made between 1998-2001 with the black rings - they're too fast for us. We do have trouble timing up Spirits sometimes. Altius and Skypoles are too slow for us.

Bottom line: the pole that times up the best for your takeoff and swing dynamics is the pole for you, and the only way to find out is to try out as many different brands of the same flex # as possible.

Kris

[rainbowgirl28]

For me personally and the 18'er I coach, we both feel that Pacer III's time up better with our swings than any other pole we've tried, and we've tried everything (except Nordics of course, but then again - who wants to vault on a frikkin tree trunk?) Our second favorite pole for our timing is the Carbon FX. Neither of us care for the Carbons made between 1998-2001 with the black rings - they're too fast for us. We do have trouble timing up Spirits sometimes. Altius and Skypoles are too slow for us.

Are Nordics much bigger? The ones I've seen (in the 13'-14' range) looked about normal. Of course I have not really seen any longer ones than that... and I have never used them.

LOL do they even make Altius poles in your size? I think the biggest Altius I have seen was a 15'175... it looked like it weighed a ton