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What's the heaviest pole you've ever seen/heard of?
[And I mean weight class, not ACTUAL weight.]

This is just a random question...I thought it was interesting.

When they get really big (like what the elites use) the weight ratings aren't really meaningful, it is all about the flex numbers.

yeah...I just kind of wanted to know the weight rating...it'd be kind of interesting.
A shotputter joked about vaulting, so my coach was like, "oh we could find a pole..." [semi-joking]
And that got me to wonder just how large they actually make the poles.

Doesn't Jack Whitt use like a 205 pole?

get me a list of all 5.90+ vaulters. Find the fattest one, and ill wager you find your highest weighted pole.

I've heard of 215 poles, thats minimum. I honestly think that the flex scale probably gets skewed when you go much higher. Eventually, a 15.0cm flex is going to be a higher and higher rating as the length increases.

According to the 6m club chart Okert Brits has the stiffest 5.20m pole, with a 10.4 flex. Bubka's is listed 10.6, and I have heard his pole referred to as being a 100kg (220lbs) by some, though this is merely hearsay. It is also interesting to note that Bubka's weight is given as 80kg (176lbs) while Brits' weight is given as 88kg (193.6lbs). Brits is also the tallest vaulter in the club at around 6'5". There are bigger vaulters out there, and I think there are some 5.30 and maybe larger poles out there (which would make the "biggest" pole harder to identify since comparing flex between length is very difficult), but I imagine Bubka and Brits' poles are some of the biggest (combination of length and weight) that were used

I meant weight-class, not length!
But yeah, thanks!

they get way bigger than 220, i have some 215s and 220s and they are in the 12.0 flex range

id guess to say that bubkas/brits were more like 230-240. but like becca said the weight ratings don't mean much on the longer scales

Steve Chappell from UCS made a 530 pole for Bubka and said it was around a 235' weight but he never could jump on it and went back to a 5.20. Jacob Davis jumped on some hugh poles at Texas. UCS was not weight rating any poles 200lbs or larger until Jack had to have this done for high school. Even on smaller poles flex is the key not weight that is the reason so many high school kids are jumping on the wrong poles. There is a pole at Bell Athletics that Bubka gave to Earl it is a monster.

Split wrote:Doesn't Jack Whitt use like a 205 pole?

Jack weighs 180 and yes uses a 5 meter 205 13.5 flex 25 lbs over his weight not many high schoolers can do this.

UCS currently produces a 5.20 meter 220 pound pole, but as previously mentioned, weight ratings become negligible at that length http://www.ucsspirit.com/vaulting-poles/product-detail.cfm/category/Spirit-Poles/product/520-Series-Spirit-Poles

There is a pole at Bell Athletics that Bubka gave to Earl it is a monster.

Is this --->http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=74869&id=512042293&l=f101323559 that pole by chance?