diff --git a/apm-agent-benchmarks/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/benchmark/objectpool/ObjectPoolBenchmark.java b/apm-agent-benchmarks/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/benchmark/objectpool/ObjectPoolBenchmark.java
index 74774a3582..8d92e07d31 100644
--- a/apm-agent-benchmarks/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/benchmark/objectpool/ObjectPoolBenchmark.java
+++ b/apm-agent-benchmarks/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/benchmark/objectpool/ObjectPoolBenchmark.java
@@ -60,13 +60,13 @@ public static void main(String[] args) throws RunnerException {
     @Setup
     public void setUp() {
         tracer = new ElasticApmTracerBuilder().build();
-        blockingQueueObjectPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new ArrayBlockingQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
-        jctoolsQueueObjectPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new MpmcArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
-        jctoolsAtomicQueueObjectPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new MpmcAtomicArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
-        agronaQueueObjectPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new ManyToManyConcurrentArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
+        blockingQueueObjectPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new ArrayBlockingQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
+        jctoolsQueueObjectPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new MpmcArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
+        jctoolsAtomicQueueObjectPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new MpmcAtomicArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
+        agronaQueueObjectPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new ManyToManyConcurrentArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
         mixedObjectPool = new MixedObjectPool<>(() -> new Transaction(tracer),
             new ThreadLocalObjectPool<>(256, true, () -> new Transaction(tracer)),
-            new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new ManyToManyConcurrentArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer)));
+            QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new ManyToManyConcurrentArrayQueue<>(256), true, () -> new Transaction(tracer)));
         threadLocalObjectPool = new ThreadLocalObjectPool<>(64, true, () -> new Transaction(tracer));
     }
 
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/ElasticApmTracer.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/ElasticApmTracer.java
index 9571b1a48e..b10861d01d 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/ElasticApmTracer.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/ElasticApmTracer.java
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.TraceContext;
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.Transaction;
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.ObjectPool;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.RecyclableObjectFactory;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl.QueueBasedObjectPool;
 import co.elastic.apm.report.Reporter;
 import co.elastic.apm.report.ReporterConfiguration;
@@ -85,23 +85,23 @@ protected Deque<Object> initialValue() {
         this.spanListeners = spanListeners;
         int maxPooledElements = configurationRegistry.getConfig(ReporterConfiguration.class).getMaxQueueSize() * 2;
         coreConfiguration = configurationRegistry.getConfig(CoreConfiguration.class);
-        transactionPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(AtomicQueueFactory.<Transaction>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements)), false,
-            new RecyclableObjectFactory<Transaction>() {
+        transactionPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(AtomicQueueFactory.<Transaction>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements)), false,
+            new Allocator<Transaction>() {
                 @Override
                 public Transaction createInstance() {
                     return new Transaction(ElasticApmTracer.this);
                 }
             });
-        spanPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(AtomicQueueFactory.<Span>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements)), false,
-            new RecyclableObjectFactory<Span>() {
+        spanPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(AtomicQueueFactory.<Span>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements)), false,
+            new Allocator<Span>() {
                 @Override
                 public Span createInstance() {
                     return new Span(ElasticApmTracer.this);
                 }
             });
         // we are assuming that we don't need as many errors as spans or transactions
-        errorPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(AtomicQueueFactory.<ErrorCapture>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements / 2)), false,
-            new RecyclableObjectFactory<ErrorCapture>() {
+        errorPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(AtomicQueueFactory.<ErrorCapture>newQueue(createBoundedMpmc(maxPooledElements / 2)), false,
+            new Allocator<ErrorCapture>() {
                 @Override
                 public ErrorCapture createInstance() {
                     return new ErrorCapture(ElasticApmTracer.this);
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/transaction/Db.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/transaction/Db.java
index 75198e1d1c..d49016c0d2 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/transaction/Db.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/impl/transaction/Db.java
@@ -20,9 +20,16 @@
 
 package co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction;
 
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.ObjectPool;
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl.QueueBasedObjectPool;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl.Resetter;
+import co.elastic.apm.report.serialize.DslJsonSerializer;
+import org.jctools.queues.atomic.MpmcAtomicArrayQueue;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import java.nio.CharBuffer;
 
 
 /**
@@ -30,6 +37,20 @@
  */
 public class Db implements Recyclable {
 
+    private final ObjectPool<CharBuffer> charBufferPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.of(new MpmcAtomicArrayQueue<CharBuffer>(128), false,
+        new Allocator<CharBuffer>() {
+            @Override
+            public CharBuffer createInstance() {
+                return CharBuffer.allocate(DslJsonSerializer.MAX_LONG_STRING_VALUE_LENGTH);
+            }
+        },
+        new Resetter<CharBuffer>() {
+            @Override
+            public void recycle(CharBuffer object) {
+                object.clear();
+            }
+        });
+
     /**
      * Database instance name
      */
@@ -40,6 +61,10 @@ public class Db implements Recyclable {
      */
     @Nullable
     private String statement;
+
+    @Nullable
+    private CharBuffer statementBuffer;
+
     /**
      * Database type. For any SQL database, "sql". For others, the lower-case database category, e.g. "cassandra", "hbase", or "redis"
      */
@@ -83,6 +108,37 @@ public Db withStatement(@Nullable String statement) {
         return this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets a pooled {@link CharBuffer} to record the DB statement and associates it with this instance.
+     * <p>
+     * Note: you may not hold a reference to the returned {@link CharBuffer} as it will be reused.
+     * </p>
+     * <p>
+     * Note: This method is not thread safe
+     * </p>
+     *
+     * @return a {@link CharBuffer} to record the DB statement
+     */
+    public CharBuffer withStatementBuffer() {
+        if (this.statementBuffer == null) {
+            this.statementBuffer = charBufferPool.createInstance();
+        }
+        return this.statementBuffer;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the associated pooled {@link CharBuffer} to record the DB statement.
+     * <p>
+     * Note: returns {@code null} unless {@link #withStatementBuffer()} has previously been called
+     * </p>
+     *
+     * @return a {@link CharBuffer} to record the DB statement, or {@code null}
+     */
+    @Nullable
+    public CharBuffer getStatementBuffer() {
+        return statementBuffer;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Database type. For any SQL database, "sql". For others, the lower-case database category, e.g. "cassandra", "hbase", or "redis"
      */
@@ -121,13 +177,18 @@ public void resetState() {
         statement = null;
         type = null;
         user = null;
+        if (statementBuffer != null) {
+            charBufferPool.recycle(statementBuffer);
+        }
+        statementBuffer = null;
     }
 
     public boolean hasContent() {
         return instance != null ||
             statement != null ||
             type != null ||
-            user != null;
+            user != null ||
+            statementBuffer != null;
     }
 
     public void copyFrom(Db other) {
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/RecyclableObjectFactory.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/Allocator.java
similarity index 91%
rename from apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/RecyclableObjectFactory.java
rename to apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/Allocator.java
index 514917f193..23aaf6f1fe 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/RecyclableObjectFactory.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/Allocator.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
  */
 package co.elastic.apm.objectpool;
 
-public interface RecyclableObjectFactory<T extends Recyclable> {
+public interface Allocator<T> {
 
     T createInstance();
 }
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/NoopObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/NoopObjectPool.java
index 0a91ed1ec8..2fd6f1ed1c 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/NoopObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/NoopObjectPool.java
@@ -24,21 +24,21 @@
 
 public class NoopObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> implements ObjectPool<T> {
 
-    private final RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory;
+    private final Allocator<T> allocator;
 
-    public NoopObjectPool(RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory) {
-        this.recyclableObjectFactory = recyclableObjectFactory;
+    public NoopObjectPool(Allocator<T> allocator) {
+        this.allocator = allocator;
     }
 
     @Nullable
     @Override
     public T tryCreateInstance() {
-        return recyclableObjectFactory.createInstance();
+        return allocator.createInstance();
     }
 
     @Override
     public T createInstance() {
-        return recyclableObjectFactory.createInstance();
+        return allocator.createInstance();
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPool.java
index a313fa4b6f..734b40cf71 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPool.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import java.io.Closeable;
 
-public interface ObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> extends Closeable {
+public interface ObjectPool<T> extends Closeable {
     @Nullable
     T tryCreateInstance();
 
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/AbstractObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/AbstractObjectPool.java
index f74b33d034..bdb170f938 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/AbstractObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/AbstractObjectPool.java
@@ -20,18 +20,17 @@
 package co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl;
 
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.ObjectPool;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.RecyclableObjectFactory;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
 
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
-public abstract class AbstractObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> implements ObjectPool<T> {
+public abstract class AbstractObjectPool<T> implements ObjectPool<T> {
 
-    protected final RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory;
+    protected final Allocator<T> allocator;
     private final AtomicInteger garbageCreated = new AtomicInteger();
 
-    protected AbstractObjectPool(RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory) {
-        this.recyclableObjectFactory = recyclableObjectFactory;
+    protected AbstractObjectPool(Allocator<T> allocator) {
+        this.allocator = allocator;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ public T createInstance() {
         if (recyclable == null) {
             // queue is empty, falling back to creating a new instance
             garbageCreated.incrementAndGet();
-            return recyclableObjectFactory.createInstance();
+            return allocator.createInstance();
         } else {
             return recyclable;
         }
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/MixedObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/MixedObjectPool.java
index eb1589c4b5..3b80f64f06 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/MixedObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/MixedObjectPool.java
@@ -20,19 +20,18 @@
 package co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl;
 
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.ObjectPool;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.RecyclableObjectFactory;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-public class MixedObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> extends AbstractObjectPool<T> {
+public class MixedObjectPool<T> extends AbstractObjectPool<T> {
 
     private final ObjectPool<T> primaryPool;
     private final ObjectPool<T> secondaryPool;
 
-    public MixedObjectPool(final RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory, ObjectPool<T> primaryPool, ObjectPool<T> secondaryPool) {
-        super(recyclableObjectFactory);
+    public MixedObjectPool(final Allocator<T> allocator, ObjectPool<T> primaryPool, ObjectPool<T> secondaryPool) {
+        super(allocator);
         this.primaryPool = primaryPool;
         this.secondaryPool = secondaryPool;
     }
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/QueueBasedObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/QueueBasedObjectPool.java
index 873a710e92..d42b05f056 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/QueueBasedObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/QueueBasedObjectPool.java
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
  */
 package co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl;
 
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.RecyclableObjectFactory;
 import com.lmax.disruptor.EventFactory;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
@@ -28,23 +28,33 @@
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.Queue;
 
-public class QueueBasedObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> extends AbstractObjectPool<T> implements Collection<T> {
+public class QueueBasedObjectPool<T> extends AbstractObjectPool<T> implements Collection<T> {
 
     private final Queue<T> queue;
+    private final Resetter<T> resetter;
 
     /**
      * @param queue                   the underlying queue
-     * @param preAllocate             when set to true, the recyclableObjectFactory will be used to create maxPooledElements objects
+     * @param preAllocate             when set to true, the allocator will be used to create maxPooledElements objects
      *                                which are then stored in the queue
-     * @param recyclableObjectFactory a factory method which is used to create new instances of the recyclable object. This factory is
+     * @param allocator a factory method which is used to create new instances of the recyclable object. This factory is
      *                                used when there are no objects in the queue and to preallocate the queue.
      */
-    public QueueBasedObjectPool(Queue<T> queue, boolean preAllocate, RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory) {
-        super(recyclableObjectFactory);
+    public static <T extends Recyclable> QueueBasedObjectPool<T> ofRecyclable(Queue<T> queue, boolean preAllocate, Allocator<T> allocator) {
+        return new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(queue, preAllocate, allocator, Resetter.ForRecyclable.<T>get());
+    }
+
+    public static <T> QueueBasedObjectPool<T> of(Queue<T> queue, boolean preAllocate, Allocator<T> allocator, Resetter<T> resetter) {
+        return new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(queue, preAllocate, allocator, resetter);
+    }
+
+    private QueueBasedObjectPool(Queue<T> queue, boolean preAllocate, Allocator<T> allocator, Resetter<T> resetter) {
+        super(allocator);
         this.queue = queue;
+        this.resetter = resetter;
         if (preAllocate) {
             for (int i = 0; i < this.queue.size(); i++) {
-                this.queue.offer(recyclableObjectFactory.createInstance());
+                this.queue.offer(allocator.createInstance());
             }
         }
     }
@@ -57,7 +67,7 @@ public T tryCreateInstance() {
 
     @Override
     public void recycle(T obj) {
-        obj.resetState();
+        resetter.recycle(obj);
         queue.offer(obj);
     }
 
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/Resetter.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/Resetter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9577220570
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/Resetter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*-
+ * #%L
+ * Elastic APM Java agent
+ * %%
+ * Copyright (C) 2018 Elastic and contributors
+ * %%
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ * #L%
+ */
+package co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl;
+
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
+
+public interface Resetter<T> {
+
+    void recycle(T object);
+
+    class ForRecyclable<T extends Recyclable> implements Resetter<T> {
+        private static ForRecyclable INSTANCE = new ForRecyclable();
+
+        public static <T extends Recyclable> Resetter<T> get() {
+            return INSTANCE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void recycle(Recyclable object) {
+            object.resetState();
+        }
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/ThreadLocalObjectPool.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/ThreadLocalObjectPool.java
index 691c86975d..9d7588ebc1 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/ThreadLocalObjectPool.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/impl/ThreadLocalObjectPool.java
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 package co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl;
 
 import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Recyclable;
-import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.RecyclableObjectFactory;
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.Allocator;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ public class ThreadLocalObjectPool<T extends Recyclable> extends AbstractObjectP
     private final int maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread;
     private final boolean preAllocate;
 
-    public ThreadLocalObjectPool(final int maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread, final boolean preAllocate, final RecyclableObjectFactory<T> recyclableObjectFactory) {
-        super(recyclableObjectFactory);
+    public ThreadLocalObjectPool(final int maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread, final boolean preAllocate, final Allocator<T> allocator) {
+        super(allocator);
         this.maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread = maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread;
         this.preAllocate = preAllocate;
     }
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ private FixedSizeStack<T> createStack(boolean preAllocate) {
         FixedSizeStack<T> stack = new FixedSizeStack<>(maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread);
         if (preAllocate) {
             for (int i = 0; i < maxNumPooledObjectsPerThread; i++) {
-                stack.push(recyclableObjectFactory.createInstance());
+                stack.push(allocator.createInstance());
             }
         }
         return stack;
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/report/serialize/DslJsonSerializer.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/report/serialize/DslJsonSerializer.java
index a2fdf14aee..6e8ea8cbe2 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/report/serialize/DslJsonSerializer.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/report/serialize/DslJsonSerializer.java
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@
 import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
+import java.nio.CharBuffer;
 import java.nio.charset.Charset;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
@@ -559,7 +560,16 @@ private void serializeDbContext(final Db db) {
         writeFieldName("db");
         jw.writeByte(OBJECT_START);
         writeField("instance", db.getInstance());
-        writeLongStringField("statement", db.getStatement());
+        if (db.getStatement() != null) {
+            writeLongStringField("statement", db.getStatement());
+        } else {
+            final CharBuffer statementBuffer = db.getStatementBuffer();
+            if (statementBuffer != null && statementBuffer.length() > 0) {
+                writeFieldName("statement");
+                jw.writeString(statementBuffer);
+                jw.writeByte(COMMA);
+            }
+        }
         writeField("type", db.getType());
         writeLastField("user", db.getUser());
         jw.writeByte(OBJECT_END);
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtils.java b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d7f9e314f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*-
+ * #%L
+ * Elastic APM Java agent
+ * %%
+ * Copyright (C) 2018 Elastic and contributors
+ * %%
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ * #L%
+ */
+package co.elastic.apm.util;
+
+import co.elastic.apm.bci.VisibleForAdvice;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.nio.CharBuffer;
+import java.nio.charset.CharsetDecoder;
+import java.nio.charset.CoderResult;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+
+@VisibleForAdvice
+public class IOUtils {
+    private static ThreadLocal<ByteBuffer> threadLocalByteBuffer = new ThreadLocal<ByteBuffer>() {
+        @Override
+        protected ByteBuffer initialValue() {
+            return ByteBuffer.allocate(1024);
+        }
+    };
+    private static ThreadLocal<CharsetDecoder> threadLocalCharsetDecoder = new ThreadLocal<CharsetDecoder>() {
+        @Override
+        protected CharsetDecoder initialValue() {
+            return StandardCharsets.UTF_8.newDecoder();
+        }
+    };
+
+    /**
+     * Reads the provided {@link InputStream} into the {@link CharBuffer} without causing allocations.
+     * <p>
+     * The {@link InputStream} is assumed to yield an UTF-8 encoded string.
+     * </p>
+     * <p>
+     * If the {@link InputStream} yields more chars than the {@link CharBuffer#limit()} of the provided {@link CharBuffer},
+     * the rest of the input is silently ignored.
+     * </p>
+     *
+     * @param is         the source {@link InputStream}, which should be encoded with UTF-8.
+     * @param charBuffer the {@link CharBuffer} the {@link InputStream} should be written into
+     * @return {@code true}, if the input stream could be decoded with the UTF-8 charset, {@code false} otherwise.
+     * @throws IOException in case of errors reading from the provided {@link InputStream}
+     */
+    @VisibleForAdvice
+    public static boolean readUtf8Stream(final InputStream is, final CharBuffer charBuffer) throws IOException {
+        final ByteBuffer buffer = threadLocalByteBuffer.get();
+        final CharsetDecoder charsetDecoder = threadLocalCharsetDecoder.get();
+        try {
+            final byte[] bufferArray = buffer.array();
+            for (int read = is.read(bufferArray); read != -1; read = is.read(bufferArray)) {
+                buffer.limit(read);
+                final CoderResult coderResult = charsetDecoder.decode(buffer, charBuffer, true);
+                buffer.clear();
+                if (coderResult.isError()) {
+                    // this is not UTF-8
+                    charBuffer.clear();
+                    return false;
+                } else if (coderResult.isOverflow()) {
+                    // stream yields more chars than the charBuffer can hold
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            charsetDecoder.flush(charBuffer);
+            return true;
+        } finally {
+            charBuffer.flip();
+            buffer.clear();
+            charsetDecoder.reset();
+            is.close();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPoolTest.java b/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPoolTest.java
index 3cc8a16f64..4ca54ce0bb 100644
--- a/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPoolTest.java
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/objectpool/ObjectPoolTest.java
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ public class ObjectPoolTest {
     @BeforeEach
     void setUp() {
 //        objectPool = new ThreadLocalObjectPool<>(10, false, TestRecyclable::new);
-        objectPool = new QueueBasedObjectPool<>(new MpmcAtomicArrayQueue<>(MAX_SIZE), true, TestRecyclable::new);
+        objectPool = QueueBasedObjectPool.ofRecyclable(new MpmcAtomicArrayQueue<>(MAX_SIZE), true, TestRecyclable::new);
     }
 
     @Test
diff --git a/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtilsTest.java b/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtilsTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..161dfab9b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apm-agent-core/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/util/IOUtilsTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+/*-
+ * #%L
+ * Elastic APM Java agent
+ * %%
+ * Copyright (C) 2018 Elastic and contributors
+ * %%
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ * #L%
+ */
+package co.elastic.apm.util;
+
+import co.elastic.apm.objectpool.impl.QueueBasedObjectPool;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.RandomStringUtils;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.CharBuffer;
+import java.nio.charset.Charset;
+import java.util.concurrent.ArrayBlockingQueue;
+
+import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_16;
+import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
+class IOUtilsTest  {
+
+    @Test
+    void readUtf8Stream() throws IOException {
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer = CharBuffer.allocate(8);
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream("{foo}", UTF_8), charBuffer)).isTrue();
+        assertThat(charBuffer.toString()).isEqualTo("{foo}");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testStringLargerThanBuffer() throws IOException {
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer = CharBuffer.allocate(2000);
+        final String longString = RandomStringUtils.randomAlphanumeric(2000);
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream(longString, UTF_8), charBuffer)).isTrue();
+        assertThat(charBuffer.toString()).isEqualTo(longString);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testReusedBuffer() throws IOException {
+        final QueueBasedObjectPool<CharBuffer> charBuffers = QueueBasedObjectPool.of(new ArrayBlockingQueue<>(1), true,
+            () -> CharBuffer.allocate(8), CharBuffer::clear);
+
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer1 = charBuffers.createInstance();
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream("foo", UTF_8), charBuffer1)).isTrue();
+        assertThat(charBuffer1.toString()).isEqualTo("foo");
+
+        charBuffers.recycle(charBuffer1);
+
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer2 = charBuffers.createInstance();
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream("barbaz", UTF_8), charBuffer2)).isTrue();
+        assertThat(charBuffer2.toString()).isEqualTo("barbaz");
+        assertThat((Object) charBuffer1).isSameAs(charBuffer2);
+
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void testOverflow() throws IOException {
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer = CharBuffer.allocate(8);
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream("foobarbaz", UTF_8), charBuffer)).isTrue();
+        assertThat(charBuffer.toString()).isEqualTo("foobarba");
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void readUtf16Stream() throws IOException {
+        final CharBuffer charBuffer = CharBuffer.allocate(16);
+        assertThat(IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(toInputStream("{foo}", UTF_16), charBuffer)).isFalse();
+        assertThat(charBuffer.length()).isZero();
+    }
+
+    @Nonnull
+    private ByteArrayInputStream toInputStream(String s, Charset charset) {
+        return new ByteArrayInputStream(s.getBytes(charset));
+    }
+}
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-api-plugin/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/plugin/api/ApiScopeInstrumentation.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-api-plugin/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/plugin/api/ApiScopeInstrumentation.java
index 957bc4786a..b1240c5f59 100644
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-api-plugin/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/plugin/api/ApiScopeInstrumentation.java
+++ b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-api-plugin/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/plugin/api/ApiScopeInstrumentation.java
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
  * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- * 
+ *
  *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
+ *
  * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
  * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
  * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 6064c2113a..0000000000
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/*-
- * #%L
- * Elastic APM Java agent
- * %%
- * Copyright (C) 2018 Elastic and contributors
- * %%
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- * #L%
- */
-package co.elastic.apm.es.restclient.v5_6;
-
-import co.elastic.apm.bci.VisibleForAdvice;
-import co.elastic.apm.report.serialize.DslJsonSerializer;
-import org.slf4j.Logger;
-import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
-
-import javax.annotation.Nullable;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-
-@VisibleForAdvice
-public class ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper {
-    private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.class);
-
-    private static ThreadLocal<byte[]> bodyReadBuffer = new ThreadLocal<>();
-    private static final byte CURLY_BRACKET_UTF8 = '{';
-
-    @Nullable
-    @VisibleForAdvice
-    public static String readRequestBody(InputStream bodyIS, String endpoint) throws IOException {
-        String body = null;
-        try {
-            byte[] data = bodyReadBuffer.get();
-            if (data == null) {
-                // The DslJsonSerializer.MAX_LONG_STRING_VALUE_LENGTH is actually used to count chars and not bytes, but that's not
-                // that important, the most important is that we limit the payload size we read and decode
-                data = new byte[DslJsonSerializer.MAX_LONG_STRING_VALUE_LENGTH];
-                bodyReadBuffer.set(data);
-            }
-            int length = bodyIS.read(data, 0, data.length);
-
-            // read only if UTF8-encoded (based on the first byte being UTF8 of curly bracket char)
-            if(data[0] == CURLY_BRACKET_UTF8) {
-                body = new String(data, 0, length, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
-            }
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            logger.info("Failed to read request body for " + endpoint);
-        } finally {
-            bodyIS.close();
-        }
-
-        return body;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
index 36f4807194..e24ee5b24c 100644
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
+++ b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import co.elastic.apm.bci.VisibleForAdvice;
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.AbstractSpan;
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.Span;
+import co.elastic.apm.util.IOUtils;
 import net.bytebuddy.asm.Advice;
 import net.bytebuddy.description.method.MethodDescription;
 import net.bytebuddy.description.type.TypeDescription;
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ public class ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation extends ElasticApmInstrument
     @Advice.OnMethodEnter
     private static void onBeforeExecute(@Advice.Argument(0) String method,
                                         @Advice.Argument(1) String endpoint,
-                                        @Advice.Argument(3) HttpEntity entity,
+                                        @Advice.Argument(3) @Nullable HttpEntity entity,
                                         @Advice.Local("span") Span span) {
         if (tracer == null) {
             return;
@@ -77,10 +78,7 @@ private static void onBeforeExecute(@Advice.Argument(0) String method,
             if (endpoint.endsWith(SEARCH_QUERY_PATH_SUFFIX)) {
                 if (entity != null && entity.isRepeatable()) {
                     try {
-                        String body = ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.readRequestBody(entity.getContent(), endpoint);
-                        if (body != null && !body.isEmpty()) {
-                            span.getContext().getDb().withStatement(body);
-                        }
+                        IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(entity.getContent(), span.getContext().getDb().withStatementBuffer());
                     } catch (IOException e) {
                         // We can't log from here
                     }
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
index 7b4eb43d7a..bb6f3c7a6a 100644
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
+++ b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-5_6/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v5_6/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
@@ -180,7 +180,8 @@ private void validateHttpContextContent(Http http, int statusCode, String method
     private void validateDbContextContent(Span span, String statement) {
         Db db = span.getContext().getDb();
         assertThat(db.getType()).isEqualTo(DB_CONTEXT_TYPE);
-        assertThat(db.getStatement()).isEqualTo(statement);
+        assertThat((Object) db.getStatementBuffer()).isNotNull();
+        assertThat(db.getStatementBuffer().toString()).isEqualTo(statement);
     }
 
     @Test
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ccd4c321aa..0000000000
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/*-
- * #%L
- * Elastic APM Java agent
- * %%
- * Copyright (C) 2018 Elastic and contributors
- * %%
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- * #L%
- */
-package co.elastic.apm.es.restclient.v6_4;
-
-import co.elastic.apm.bci.VisibleForAdvice;
-import co.elastic.apm.report.serialize.DslJsonSerializer;
-import org.slf4j.Logger;
-import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
-
-import javax.annotation.Nullable;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
-
-@VisibleForAdvice
-public class ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper {
-    private static final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.class);
-
-    private static ThreadLocal<byte[]> bodyReadBuffer = new ThreadLocal<>();
-    private static final byte CURLY_BRACKET_UTF8 = '{';
-
-    @Nullable
-    @VisibleForAdvice
-    public static String readRequestBody(InputStream bodyIS, String endpoint) throws IOException {
-        String body = null;
-        try {
-            byte[] data = bodyReadBuffer.get();
-            if (data == null) {
-                // The DslJsonSerializer.MAX_LONG_STRING_VALUE_LENGTH is actually used to count chars and not bytes, but that's not
-                // that important, the most important is that we limit the payload size we read and decode
-                data = new byte[DslJsonSerializer.MAX_LONG_STRING_VALUE_LENGTH];
-                bodyReadBuffer.set(data);
-            }
-            int length = bodyIS.read(data, 0, data.length);
-
-            // read only if UTF8-encoded (based on the first byte being UTF8 of curly bracket char)
-            if(data[0] == CURLY_BRACKET_UTF8) {
-                body = new String(data, 0, length, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
-            }
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            logger.info("Failed to read request body for " + endpoint);
-        } finally {
-            bodyIS.close();
-        }
-
-        return body;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
index a290d971f9..ed972d4157 100644
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
+++ b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/main/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentation.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import co.elastic.apm.bci.VisibleForAdvice;
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.AbstractSpan;
 import co.elastic.apm.impl.transaction.Span;
+import co.elastic.apm.util.IOUtils;
 import net.bytebuddy.asm.Advice;
 import net.bytebuddy.description.method.MethodDescription;
 import net.bytebuddy.description.type.TypeDescription;
@@ -75,10 +76,7 @@ private static void onBeforeExecute(@Advice.Argument(0) Request request,
                 HttpEntity entity = request.getEntity();
                 if (entity != null && entity.isRepeatable()) {
                     try {
-                        String body = ESRestClientInstrumentationHelper.readRequestBody(entity.getContent(), request.getEndpoint());
-                        if (body != null && !body.isEmpty()) {
-                            span.getContext().getDb().withStatement(body);
-                        }
+                        IOUtils.readUtf8Stream(entity.getContent(), span.getContext().getDb().withStatementBuffer());
                     } catch (IOException e) {
                         // We can't log from here
                     }
diff --git a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
index 0b887ba5f2..cd3d942f7c 100644
--- a/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
+++ b/apm-agent-plugins/apm-es-restclient-plugin/apm-es-restclient-plugin-6_4/src/test/java/co/elastic/apm/es/restclient/v6_4/ElasticsearchRestClientInstrumentationIT.java
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ private void validateSpanContent(Span span, String expectedName, int statusCode,
         assertThat(span.getContext().getDb().getType()).isEqualTo(DB_CONTEXT_TYPE);
 
         if (!expectedName.contains(SEARCH_QUERY_PATH_SUFFIX)) {
-            assertThat(span.getContext().getDb().getStatement()).isNull();
+            assertThat((CharSequence) (span.getContext().getDb().getStatementBuffer())).isNull();
         }
     }
 
@@ -181,7 +181,8 @@ private void validateHttpContextContent(Http http, int statusCode, String method
     private void validateDbContextContent(Span span, String statement) {
         Db db = span.getContext().getDb();
         assertThat(db.getType()).isEqualTo(DB_CONTEXT_TYPE);
-        assertThat(db.getStatement()).isEqualTo(statement);
+        assertThat((CharSequence) db.getStatementBuffer()).isNotNull();
+        assertThat(db.getStatementBuffer().toString()).isEqualTo(statement);
     }
 
     @Test