Wrapping Poles

[SZuppke]

If you wrap a pole with tape, all along the pole, is it illegal to use in a competition?

[dj]

hey

why would you want to tape the whole pole and add the extra weight???

but i don't think it is illegal... unless it is 'double' wrapped...

plus.. i actually don't think you need take if the plant/takeoff is correct....

dj

[rainbowgirl28]

If you wrap a pole with tape, all along the pole, is it illegal to use in a competition?

No but athletic tape would make it pretty heavy.

Check out the cool decorative tape I have for sale that is very light. http://www.polevaultpower.com/store/tape.php

[Darth Vaulter]

I bought some of Becca's decorative tape as well as a couple of other versions I found on the web. I stripped the faded blue and white factory tape from 10 of my Altius poles. I've re-wrapped two so far, one that looks like a dairy cow and the other like a leopard. They look very cool. I also figure they are less likely to go home from a meet in someone else's pole bag.

One question though, does the decorative tape withstand the repeated bending of the pole as well as the factory stuff? I haven't had anyone jump on them yet. If it works out, I think I'm going to let the varsity kids I coach choose the wrap for the poles they use each year. Stripping all of the tape off really lets you inspect the poles for nicks and scratches too.

[rainbowgirl28]

One question though, does the decorative tape withstand the repeated bending of the pole as well as the factory stuff? I haven't had anyone jump on them yet. If it works out, I think I'm going to let the varsity kids I coach choose the wrap for the poles they use each year. Stripping all of the tape off really lets you inspect the poles for nicks and scratches too.

I've had the tape on the poles at my HS for 3 years now, and as far as I can tell, most of the wear on the tape was from pulling the poles in and out of the tubes. It won't last as long as most of the factory stuff, but I think you could normally get 5+ years out of a well-wrapped pole, probably a lot more if you used pole socks to avoid the wear and tear in the tubes. The tape holds up fine to the bending pole.

[RPVA03]

At the high school where I coach, I wrap every new pole with vinyl tape I buy from Gopher Sport, http://www.gophersport.com/products/ite ... 0&Ntt=tape. The extra weight makes a negligible difference, especially with inconsistent high school vaulters. It protects the pole very well, and no one steals our poles. I've had numerous poles saved from spike, or other damage because they were wrapped with vinyl tape. Well worth the money to increase the longevity of poles.

[cdmilton]

At the high school where I coach, I wrap every new pole with vinyl tape I buy from Gopher Sport, http://www.gophersport.com/products/ite ... 0&Ntt=tape. The extra weight makes a negligible difference, especially with inconsistent high school vaulters. It protects the pole very well, and no one steals our poles. I've had numerous poles saved from spike, or other damage because they were wrapped with vinyl tape. Well worth the money to increase the longevity of poles.

Yes, We have also been doing this at Armstrong since 2002 and it is now just starting to look like it should be redone. HS kids don't treat their poles very nicely even after multiple reminders and punishments.

[dwcforever]

hey I bought some of the gopher tape so when I wrap the poles should I over lap the tape?

[AVC Coach]

hey I bought some of the gopher tape so when I wrap the poles should I over lap the tape?

Yes, you want to overlap it slightly.


I bought some of Becca's tape and taped 51 of my poles so far. They look great and as Darth Vaulter wrote earlier, we will know which poles belong to us and vice versa. I wrapped each length in a different style so my kids could pick out their poles quicker off of the rack and so it would make it harder to grab the wrong length pole by mistake.

Good stuff Becca!

[VaultPurple]

How many rolls does it take per pole or how many poles per role? (For the stuff they sell on pvp)

[master]

I bought some of Becca's tape and taped 51 of my poles so far.

Did you strip off the original factory tape first to get a uniform surface to tape on?

- master

[rainbowgirl28]

How many rolls does it take per pole or how many poles per role? (For the stuff they sell on pvp)

It varies depending on the size of the pole, how big the pole is, and how much you overlap. I have the dimensions for each roll on the sales page.

I think one roll is enough for any pole, even really big ones. With smaller poles you could probably do 2-4 depending on the factors I listed above.