Posted by tmilhon on January 23, 2003 at 13:44:21:
In Reply to: pole selection - help help posted by softballdad on January 19, 2003 at 15:02:29:
Hey softballdad. It sounds like your son is on his way to really enjoying the sport. Pole selection is tricky. There are many things to be taken into account. At 110lbs I am assuming your son is less than 5'7". You also say he is bending the poles close to 90 degrees, which means his grip is high enough for poles to work for him. Here is my simple rule. If I am landing too deep, raise my grip two inches on a pole that is approximately three to five flex points stiffer (eg. from an 18.7 to an 18.3)with the lower number being the stiffer pole. That is on 16ft poles though. I imagine that you could use poles could use poles up to 1.5 apart with your son. If he is holding close to 12 feet, go with the longer poles. The general rule of thumb is one foot in pole length equals 10 lbs in flex weight. If you want some really good poles that will maximize your sons vault, Essx is making some of the best poles I have ever jumped on. I'd take them over a spirit anyday. If you contact them they can help you get exactly what you need. Here is their website www.essxsport.com If you have any questions please email me. Landing too deep is a saftey hazard and it needs to be corrected ASAP. Bruce Caldwell and his staff at essx are very helpful. Good luck and be safe.
tmilhon@hotmail.com