Jason Macek
I have a pair of Air-trekkers and they're an absolute blast. I would suggest anyone with two legs get themselves a pair!
herbpiper
Hi Powerbocking appears to be an interesting device. (I've seen others of similar description.) These devices -- do you have any information on injuries used. Types of injuries, frequency, severity, that kind of stuff?
Stretch@StiltWalker.com
Not to quibble about an otherwise very nice article, but to suggest that "the art of stilt walking was developed in Gascony, France" is very incomplete! Stilt walking is pretty much world wide, and has been for centuries. Bamboo stilts have been used in China and other countries, and the use of stilts for religious pageants and ceremonies has been, and are used to this day in African, Native American, and Aboriginal societies, as well as elsewhere. For more information see the history photos and world record sections at StiltWalker.com. For a look at another style of pogo stilts from 1954, see the history photos section at StiltWalker.com. Contributions welcomed. Bill Coleman
David Churchill
Great Article. Mainly they are lots of fun. They have for kids too.
Become a facebook fan if you want to try it out for free or learn more about using power stilts: http://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Power-Stilts/36211289883
Charles Sonnabend
Echoing what herbpiper said: sounds fun, but I think A LOT of people are going to hurt themselves doing this. You can already hurt yourself by tripping while walking/running normally. Imagine how much worse it will be if you trip at 20mph. I want to try it, but I'm going to wear my bike helmet.
Mark Zinzow
I bought a pair of Poweriser spring stilts years ago, but after my first painful fall from that extra height, never mastered the art of balancing on them. I do not know about learning in 30 minutes. I found it quite difficult. These things need some kind of extra stable footing for learning analogous to training wheels and padded armor to work for me. I would sure like to find someone that could show me how to use the pair I paid around $200 for.
Henrik Lund-Hanssen
Will this work on forest roads - gravel and dirt?
David Churchill
They work on gravel and dirt, and they are fine for jumping but you don't want to run on them if there is a loose surface. Also gravel is really hard on the standard hooves, so you may want to enhance it with material from an off-road tire.
Google "lessons power stilts", and you'll see that some sellers offers lessons on how to use them, but businesses for the most part have shied away from that.
Dave B13
I am in the same boat as Mark Zinzow in comment above. Recently I ran across what strikes me as good advice for a facility to set up to learn with. A rope suspended lower than armpit level to hang onto, and a surface of sufficient height to put the stilts on and then stand up in them. I'm going to ratchet a 3/4" yellow rope between two trees 35 Feet apart in my yard and place a picnic table near one end for putting the stilts on. DO NOT FALL BACKWARDS was also included in the advice. Padding up with every piece possible of inline skate crash gear is a given for learning. View youtube videos for these and also the Flybar & Vurtego pogo sticks. A very closely related device also inspired by the Kangaroo but patented by a man born in Hawaii is this item which may be way better for running in then the Boek design. I found his new video just a few days ago on youtube, He also has a web page, but it's pretty sparse compared to the web page he used to have. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCnT-qWTE84 http://www.bionicboot.com/ Per notes his arm movement is exagerated for the video and production is not curently planned, so it's not his day job. Below is a 2006 video on the powered stilts covered long ago on Gizmag by successive series of students. Funding for commercial production has eluded them for decades. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyyh8JUFw8Q
rik.warren
Look like fun, until the fall, which is inevitable.