OK, to those who don't know, Bruce Caldwell was the National Sales Manager for Skypole in the 70's and made poles for myself and many top vaulters. He also had two great books called the "Elusive Bar I & II". When he went on his own with a pole called FibreSport, I was the first vaulter to ever vault on one. In 1980, the Olympic gold medal was won on his pole and a new Olympic Record established.

So strong was Bruce's reputation that his company was awarded an equipment contract for many sports in the 1996 Olympic Games. He asked me to serve five weeks in Atlanta to help make sure things went smooth for vaulters as the prepared for the Games.

THEN he decides to start Essx and sends me the very first prototype pole to try out - that was about four years ago. A few weeks ago I bought and received my first series of Essx poles. I’m 52 and have only been jumping again for about nine months after two Achilles surgeries, but I kept hearing things from athletes and coaches about how much they liked the Essx poles.

ESSX – The best pole I’ve ever used! Since I started vaulting at 12 years old I have jumped on every pole from the steel and bamboo days through the present. Besides me, athletes I have coached have used poles from all manufacturers and have had excellent poles and services. But my personal experience with my new Essx series has me hooked. In short I am able to hit and hold positions with far more consistency than I can on other poles. My previous series of nine poles are a variety of models from all manufacturers (except Nordic) so I feel I’m pretty much an expert in what it feels to move from pole to pole. Don’t get me wrong as I feel like they are all very good poles. Here’s my previous series, #1-3 - Pacer Novice, #3-4 – Pacer Carbon, #5-7 – UCS Spirit, #8 – Old Pacer III, #9 – Green Skypole.

On the Essx I feel consistent pressure on my hands throughout the vault. Here’s why:
1) I’m picked up off the ground by a pole that doesn’t jar me or mush away quickly after take off.
2) If the pole begins to feel small it doesn’t turn to “mush” but remains constant in tension (no matter how weak or strong) on my hands.
3) The return from the pole is constant rather than slow or jolting which can drop or knock me out of position.

These feelings are real and definable and I can honestly say I have never felt a pole like this, especially throughout a series of several poles. I’ve had really good poles but this is different. The consistency in the pole breeds consistency in technique. I’ve studied video of jumps on Essx poles and jumps on other poles and I can clearly see instant technical improvement. I just ordered two more poles. This is a great pole for vaulters of all levels and my personal pole of preference. Thanks for listening. Bubba