Has anyone seen these/used them? Worth the price? They’re wood poles wrapped in vinyl, so they have the weight of a normal wood pole but should age much better and not require a lot of maintenance. Curious to hear your experience as I’ve never seen them IRL.
I have not used or seen these. If memory serves me Devon’s Dixon oval had the outside fence made like this. I thought it was a cool idea but it was gone pretty quickly- only a few years. I was told the vinyl trapped the moisture in and the wood rotted quickly. I doubt it would even take a pin hole to allow outside water to intrude just condensation inside the vinyl. It would not evaporate or really dry out.
Hmm… if we did that I don’t remember. Not doubting you, just saying I don’t remember.
I wish I could see these in the flesh. It’s a chunk of change for something I’ve never even SEEN.
FWIW these would be stored inside when not actively in use. But I still don’t love the idea of spending that $$$ and then they rot!
I’ve seen them. They are nice, but I’m not sure it’s actually worth it to get them over a normal plastic/vinyl pole.
Sometimes the local dovers will have a set. There used to be a pair at the WEF dover.
I saved up and bought a set of 12, though I got a great deal through Jumps West so they were a bit cheaper – I loooooove them. Heavy weight with a real wood pole inside but thick polyethylene layer outside that does not chip or flake. (Much more durable than vinyl) Mine are a few years old and still look virtually brand new. I hate hate hate painting jumps and poles, and if I don’t do them every other year they look like trash. (All my stuff has to live outside subject to blazing colorado sun and freezing winter) So if you are like me, you will love these too. https://www.jumpswest.com/poly?Collection=Rails%20poly
We have quite a number of Burlington products here at our boarding stable and have been very happy with them. They look great after 8+ years and never ever ever having to paint them is the greatest thing in the world! They have faded slightly but you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t line them up next to brand new ones. Hose them off and you’re good to go.
The poles have held up great too- well worth the price in my opinion. They have a nice heavy weight so they don’t bounce out of the jump cups and they don’t roll around when we use them for trail and obstacle work. They get hit quite a bit on the ground but we have never had any cracks or breaks in the plastic enclosure. One end cap popped off once and I just stuck it back on and it never came off again. (They are ‘factory sealed’ but it hasn’t come off again.)
The cost for these poles is high compared to bare wood, but boy has it been worth it to have everything stay looking great over the years, and no splinters to get in your hands or into a horse.
If you budget allows, try a few of the products and see what you think… Four hooves up from here!
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This would have been early 90’s. I seem to remember one of the complaints was that the fence was all white as they could not get the Devon blue as a vinyl color. Or my memory could be faulty and I dreamed it.
Since it was so long ago the technology would probably be better now anyway
They really do hold up very well. Our county’s show facility has them and they’ve held up to lots of activities over the years. My old barn had some as well - heavy but hearty. They clean up easily, no paint involved.
I have a handful of them (maybe 8-10 each in 2 colors? Can’t remember how many I bought!). They are nice weight, have a nice appearance, and are in general really nice poles. My favorites are still my octagonal cut 4x4s, but they do have to be painted every few years and I had grown tired of doing that. And then I had broken quite a few in the last 15 or so years and my husband is too busy these days to do the cutting down of poles for me (and I dislike my 4" rounds and my square poles) so I went ahead and ordered the perfect poles. I will order more when I get around to it, because I would like to have them in all of the colors.
My only complaint, and it’s a pretty minor one, is that I don’t generally like smooth round poles, particularly if I’m using them as ground poles for flatwork exercises. And they are just a little bit smaller than I expected diameter-wise. But they seem to affect the horses the same way a regular wood pole would, which was something I disliked about the PVC poles I used to have. And they look nice.
All in all I think not having to paint them will ultimately make them my favorites.
