Pole Storage

[rainbowgirl28]

So that is why my pet rock hasn't touched his water in 3 years.
What does seasonal change in temp do to vaulting poles? Is there an optimal life span for poles? Being that they are made out of glass will they warp and change over time?

Seasonal temperatures have a very minimal, temporary effect on the pole. In cold weather, the pole might be very slightly stiffer, but you the vaulter will probably be a lot stiffer, so the pole might feel much stiffer.

In the big picture, these temperature changes do not affect the life span of the pole.

There is no optimal life span for a pole, provided they do not get dinged or scratched, and are kept out of the sun. There are some poles out there over 30 years old that are perfectly good today.

Poles are made from fiberglass and resin (and carbon fiber in some poles). They are baked in ovens at very high temperature and pressure.

They won't warp and change over time, provided you take good care of them.

[stormvault]

I am curious as to what happens in another 20 years to poles made in the 70's. If you have ever been in a rural church, if it is old enough, you will notice the stain glass is thicker at the bottom of the seal than at the top. Of course this is a window that went in when Grant was in office. So I am just curious if fiberglass goes through the same changes over time. Of course the way some high schools treat poles they won't last 3 seasons. Am I the only one that thinks of weird what ifs like that?

[Bruce Caldwell]

try hanging them from the ceiling from their pole tips
1. soft side never changes
2. poles stay fresh
3. never get dusty
4.the pole is marked on the grip side so you can always select the pole from the rack.

this is assuming where you store them has quite a high ceiling!

as an expert, can you explain how a soft side would change due to improper storage. In the off season i've been storing mine in my bag(w/tubing inside) horizontally.

and what does stay fresh mean?

1> Staying fresh is a term from storage in warehouses where the product is free of contaminates.
IN this case dust that collects on the stretched out PVC or ABS tape wraped on the poles. When The pole is used it stretches and exposes the adhesive and this collects dust.

2. The soft side does not change but the prebend can if stored it in hot temperature and the pole is setting on a shelf with not enough support and is sagging in a different way than the normal prebend.

3. We ship poles in a PVC tube and in hot weather the poles arrive and the prebend may be force or changed.
It is weird but after a day the poles seem to know where the original prebend was.
So to correct my comment the soft side does not change the prebend may with heat.

Bruce

[stormvault]

So what you are saying bruce, is that when people say the bend has changed on the pole it is the referance they use to find the bend that has changed and not the bend itself. Or why sometimes the soft side sticker on older poles will seem to be in one spot yet the pre bend in a totally different spot.

So then is it better to store poles inside of a building like a school where the temperature stays fairly constant or are they fine in a shed where temperature fluctates?

[master]

Increased pressure would apply a steady pressure on the pole(s) inside the container, thus warping and changing the circular shape of fiberglasspole, and by changing the shape of the pole you would change the bend (The circular shape of the hollow pole is what allows the pole to bend and "flatten out" and in response to "flattening out" the pole "snaps or reflexes" back into the circular shape, tossing the vaulter into the air and over the bar.)

As long as a pole has an opening to the inside (hollow portion) of the pole, the exact pressure on the outside of the pole is also applied to the inside of the pole (for all practical purposes). Therefore there would be no force imbalance to cause the pole to distort. I must admit I have not seen all poles made, but none of the ones I have seen are sealed on both ends.

- master

[ACvault]

the day before meets, I take the poles I'm bringing to the meet and store them in the women's bathroom next to the track. I go to an all boy's school.

[decanuck]

try hanging them from the ceiling from their pole tips
1. soft side never changes
2. poles stay fresh
3. never get dusty
4.the pole is marked on the grip side so you can always select the pole from the rack.

How would you go about doing this? Like, what would you use to hang them without damaging them?