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Everyone knows when someone is gripping to high, but what is the limimt on how far you grip down on a pole. The only pole series I have are 5.0m cut off to 4.90"s. Ranging from a 170 -195. From my 12 stride approach I am jumping on the 180 &185 gripping 14'5-14'6 I feel like I need to grip maybe even a couple inches lower? But my poles are moving weird now, last year I gripped 15- 15'3 on all of them from my long run (16strides) Now I need them in my short run (10 and 12 strides) and I need a way lower grip. So I have heard that if you grip to low then the pole wont work right, how low is that? And does it change when the pole is cutoff? And these are the only poles I have... Thanks for any help.

You say weird I say perfect. I've always liked to hold low on poles. I think it makes the pole throw you higher if you can bend it. You gotta swing quick though. Honestly though, there is probably a point where the pole does act funny. The bend will be too high in relation to where you are holding in some cases. Personally I like a high bend, but it all matters on what is comfortable for you though.

I am not an expert but obviously there is a point where the sail piece position becomes a factor otherwise there would only be one length of poles out there. I am a pretty low gripper as well, last year my max grip was about 15'2"-15'6". I jump on some 4.90's and 4.60's from my short run but I think the absolute lowest I have held and actually felt like the pole reacted in a way I could "vault" on a 4.90 was probably about 14'5 and even that is a stretch I don't feel comfortible on a 4.90 until I grip about 14'10 or higher. I am like Jomrus, I prefer to hold a bit lower on poles, but when you start gripping more than a foot and half from the top you can run into some probs, the pole gets really stiff, and comes back really fast. Sounds to me like you could use a couple 15' poles for practice; you'd probably need a pretty big 15 foot stick like a 200 or 205 if you are jumping on a cut 5m 185, maybe some school around you has some you could borrow or trade for?

Yeah I would love to have some big 15footers but I dont have that kind of money. Usually the biggest pole around the highschools here are 15 175's. When I was in highschool I jumped on the biggest pole and it was a 15 180. I know a guy who has some 4.90's down to the 12ponit flex range so going up poles will be ok. I just wish I had some for short run oh well maybe the school go to next year will?

KYLE ELLIS wrote:So I have heard that if you grip to low then the pole wont work right, how low is that? And does it change when the pole is cutoff? And these are the only poles I have... Thanks for any help.

It depends a lot on the pole... we have an 11 footer that just doesn't work right if you grip below 10'6". Most poles it seems to be a foot and a half to 2 feet. It really depends a lot on the sail piece.

If the pole is cut fom the top, obviously you can't grip down any lower than if it wasn't cut. If it's cut at the bottom, you should be able to grip down just as far from the top as if it wasn't cut.

I belive it is about 1'8" from the top. that is what UCS has said. but they also said not to cap the pole either.

OAKPV2004 wrote:but they also said not to cap the pole either.

(with a sarcastic tone) who believes that anyways

I held 14'6 on some 4.90 Spirits last year w/o any difficulty rolling them over, but my timing sucked. I held the same on some 4.60 Essx and FX's that were about 20lbs bigger and they worked great. I've always been told the effective grip range was no lower than 1 1/2 feet from the top, and that held true on my 15' poles as well. If you're not going to grip higher than 15'6, those 4.90s might work a little better if they were 4.75s (but you didn't hear that from me -

[color=blue][b]ESSX makes the pole with a 12" effective grip area located 3" down from the top the 12" down. Within this grip area you will be able to adjust your grip with minimum variance of stiffness usually as a guide/ rule of thumb
1.1 lbs per inch
Moving up the pole gets a relative stiffness of 1.1 lbs softer
This does not mean you can move your hand grip down and make the pole will hold a bigger load, it only provides a relative stiffness of 1.1 lbs.
Yes holding lower on a pole that is matched to your ability usually at the 12â€Â

i am too a low gripper. When i do short runs (4 rights) i hold a good 2 feet down on 15' poles and it seams to work fine. normaly for my long run i hold 14-6 on a 15-6 and i feel like the pole bends high... enough