Vasa Cross Country Racing Poles

VASA X-C RACING POLES 

The Vasa VP58 poles are made from the best materials available and are very precisely crafted.

An assembled 160cm pole with snow baskets weighs only 150 grams.

Available in sizes up to 170cm.

When we designed the first Vasa Racing Poles, we did a lot of research on how to improve impact strength. Poles break often, especially in sprint races. Warwick Mills, just twenty miles from our facility, is the world leader in high performance weaving of ultra-strong synthetic fibers and is a major supplier to NASA for space exploration products. The mill is also the premium supplier of high-performance woven fibers for sports products. Warwick provided us with a special woven fiber for our ski poles that has incredible impact strength. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to bond the woven structure using conventional techniques. Warwick’s help led us to other ideas in composite construction that make our Vasa poles exceptionally strong.

Originally we used the basket from our Carbon+ pole and we purchased grips and straps from a European pole manufacturer. We were never thrilled with the European grips and straps, or with the basket from the Carbon+ pole, so we designed new grips, straps and an improved basket.

OUR LATEST VASA RACING POLES 

SHAFTS: Every time you make a production run of poles you learn something new that can make the poles better.

The most recent production of shafts  are better than any previous  lot.

GRIPS: The molded grips are covered in natural cork and are comfortable and light. At first we carved a number of grips in balsa wood to get a feel for the product. Then we designed the molded part using a software program that is considered by experts to be the best available for molded products. Next we produced samples on a 3D printer. In Fig. 1, the parts in white are from the 3D printer and the black unit is the injection-molded grip. By using the computer to analyze numerous designs for strength and weight, and  by molding with exceptionally strong thermoplastic, we were able to reduce the weight of the grip by almost 15 grams while making the grip much stronger than the unit we had purchased from Europe.

STRAP: The strap is similar to most good competition straps, with one exception. The strap from the grip that fits between the thumb and the index finger is movable on the main horizontal Velcro™ strap, so that it can be adjusted to precisely fit both small and large hands. If you use gloves that vary greatly in thickness from warm to cold conditions, having the small strap between the index finger and thumb moveable is beneficial. If your warm and cold weather gloves are fairly similar in size, fastening the narrow strap to the central Velcro™ strap makes it easier and faster to get in and out of the grip system. Once you locate the desired position for the movable strap, it can be secured to the horizontal strap with a special acrylic adhesive that bonds well to fabric and stays flexible in very low temperatures. (The instructions for adjusting the strap include the special acrylic tape.) People with large hands and heavy gloves told us that the main strap should be longer, so for 2019 we have lengthened the strap.

BASKET: Todays machine groomed tracks can be very hard and abrasive. In 2016 we stiffened the basket by adding more carbon fibers during the molding process. The baskets use the same unbreakable carbide tips that we use on V2 roller ski ferrules.

POLES WITH GRIPS/straps AND BASKETS   $199.00

VP58 VASA RACING SHAFTS ONLY   $149.00

RACING  BASKETS   $18.00

  GRIPS   $16.00

STRAPS   $16.00

ROAD FERRULES   $17.00

SPRING LOADED ROAD FERRULES   $22.00