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Should a pole-vault pole be cut, and if so, should it be cut from the top only, bottom only, or equally from both ends?

I'm assuming that a cut pole causes it's weight-rating to increase. Agree?

I appreciate any thoughts, but if you are just guessing, please make that clear in your post.

Thanks,

fof4 wrote:Should a pole-vault pole be cut, and if so, should it be cut from the top only, bottom only, or equally from both ends?

I'm assuming that a cut pole causes it's weight-rating to increase. Agree?

I appreciate any thoughts, but if you are just guessing, please make that clear in your post.

Thanks,

It makes it illegal for high school, which is the only division in which weight rating matters.

cutting poles is a bad idea in general. without proper equipment you have no idea how your affecting the sail piece and the way that poles bends. leave pole design to the engineers at the companies


and for the record no.. cutting a pole does not make it stiffer

YES cutting poles is a bad idea.

The higher you grip on a pole the softer it is. By cutting a pole you are raising your grip on the pole without actually getting any better as a vaulter. So the pole will be softer for you. But now that you have altered the pole (lets just say it WAS a 14 foot pole) it is no longer (and will never be again) the length it was rated at. Poles are weight rated using a test that is set up based the poles LENGTH. So as soon as you alter the length the information is no longer accurate.

Now if you cut a pole and then do get better as a vaulter and need a new stiffer or longer pole.....you have created a difficult decision since you now do not know what that pole is or how it will compare to what you need.

I had a pole once where the end was chipping a bit and it had gotten kind of sharp. It kept blowing through plugs, so I hacksawed off about a half of an inch at the bottom of the pole. Problem solved.

If the pole is in perfectly good shape and you are trying to alter the "size" of the pole it is probably a bad idea.

I'm curious the reason behind this question...is there a pole that you are considering cutting, or was it just curiosity?

Skyin' Brian wrote: I had a pole once where the end was chipping a bit and it had gotten kind of sharp. It kept blowing through plugs, so I hacksawed off about a half of an inch at the bottom of the pole. Problem solved.

Plugs can wear out faster than you realize (at least they did back in my day), and if you don't check them (and replace them) frequently, you can damage your pole ... as you did.

Check your plugs often, and every time you change them, make sure there's no sharp edges or chipped areas on the bottom edges of the pole. Usually, if you discover the problem early enough, a rasp can be used to smooth it down, and round the square corners. A little rasping is far better than cutting your pole down a half inch ... although I've done that too, and in your situation ... since you didn't detect the problem early enough ... that's all you can do.

I rasped my poles not to save the pole from damage, but to keep from blowing thru so many plugs.

They might already round the corners in the factory these days, but back in my day, they just cut thru the fiberglass squarely, and left the sharp edges.

Kirk