Bock Report: Midwest Meet of September

This last Sunday on the 27th of September. The Midwest area had a small meetup. We all traveled to Plainfield, Illinois to get together and Powerbock, and discuss all things Powerbocking.

The local members of the XD Bockers, Chris and myself meet up with BboyVC at Renwick Skate park. We each had a 2 and half hour drive. But it ended up being well worth it. Despite the low turn out (this time).

Arriving at just after 11AM. We all checked out the park on what it had to offer.

Free public park, features: mini ramp-funbox-4ft quater- 6ft quater with declining hieght. Pyramid with down rail and ledge. Cement hips allow you to roll into the park, there are two down rail down the hips.
no running water
no electric
port-o-johns

Strapping our Powerstilts on. We headed to a nearby basketball court to essentially warm up. After several minutes of jumping, bounding, and stretching our muscles. We headed to the park to jump off a grind box, attempt to walk along a grind rail, and to each take turns showing off tricks, and our jumping technique.


It was a real good time. For about an hour or so, split kicks, spring grabs, straddles, toe grabs, 180s, and 360s could be seen in the park. Which was surrounded by two local soccer games. After taking turns jumping off the 6 foot ramps, and attempting to vault their back guard rails.

I actually broke a stopper coming down from a split kick to toe grab. So I had to put my powerstilts up for the meet. At which point we all attempted a new method of getting off the ground unaided called the "Eltovator" (I'll get a tip guide to this soon).

Here is videos of my success.



Here is XDbockerChris






After pulling that off several times. We moved to other zany antics in the grass as shown...





BboyVC took the chance to show off his flips. He actually landed nearly all of them. Of course the videos I have are of his bails.



following that he attempted a cartwheel.




Needless to say at around 4pm we were all pretty much wearing down. Practicing that weird method of getting up turned out to be very taxing. I'd strongly urge anyone else that attempts, to try it in the grass first. The chance for injury is far greater.

After cooling off by a closed concession stand for half an hour. We all headed off to Mcdonalds for some dinner before heading our own ways back home. Overall the meet turned out to be a good time. Hopefully, with more planning our future meets will be even bigger, and better. Keep an eye here for more future announcements of meet ups, and be sure to keep an eye on the XD Bockers facebook group for more planning details.

For more details on the past event. Please check out it's official event page here.

If you are unable to view the videos. Please click the "View original post" button in the note section on facebook.

First look: PowerStrider Olympics (CZ Model)

In Summary:
This new model has a good design and offers innovative features and impressive weight reduction without compromise in performance... I'm excited about this model, but how well will they hold up? More testing is needed.

The Details:
Shipping for this model consists of a smaller box and the lighter weight is immediately evident. The reason the box is so small is because the leg cuff is not attached. I actually think this is a smart move because it saves on box volume and assembled stilts still need to be adjusted and fitted by the end user. The stilts are not symmetrical, so the user needs to figure out right and left during assembly. (Remember the buckles should be on the outside when attached.)

Impressions while putting them on. Again the lightweight nature of the stilts is very nice. The footpads are minimal but it saves on weight and they look cool. Wearing boots, the front foot strap was a little tight, so it seems like people with unusually wide feet may need to add washers or do some tweaking to get a comfortable fit on the front foot strap.

Unfortunately the metallic-painted buckles are completely plastic. So they won't have the durability, grip and power that a metal buckle would offer. They do work nicely, so out-of-the-box they seem fine.

The instruction manual goes beyond the normal operating instructions and offers some good tips for learning and doing tricks. Unfortunately it's been translated mostly into "ingrish" and could use some editing by a native English speaker. I also noticed that the content was slightly different between the Chinese manual has different content! For example, the English version of the manual offers tips and photos from the Swebounce website while the Chinese version doesn't seem to have the photos and descriptions of jumping tricks.

The Cuff is comfortable and easy to adjust thanks to an innovative new clamp that can be loosen or tighten for adjustment via one lever and a thumb screw. The cuff is adjustable in the usual ways, so be sure you check to make sure the height and centering are correct.

A detachable hoof is a great idea, but one drawback is that the rubber hoof gets metal screw attachments sticking into it, which kind of makes those become weak points for wear. Of course, it is very nice to be able to just replace the rubber part without replacing an entire hoof assembly.

Starting out the first thing to note is how the bBearings are super smooth on these. Whisper quiet, There is no "clack"! The reduced weight of the stilts seem to make everything a little bit easier. The springs are nice and responsive and don't bottom out from running or jumping big. I'm in the middle of the 70kg weight range, so it seems that they are well calibrated.

Jumping and running works the same as any other pair of stilts but the lighter weight of the PowerStrider Olympics (CZ) feels good with every step.

After a couple hours of running and jumping, getting yogurt and hanging around town on these stilts there aren't any noticeable scratches, and the springs are pretty pristine considering that there is no spring cover. Inspecting the cuff attachment points, the single-screw and lever seems to have held them tight and there aren't any signs of splitting or wear on any of the parts. Wear on the hoof seems normal.

So far we are excited by the PowerStrider Olympics (CZ) since there don't seem to be any inherent flaws or design compromises. They offer good design, impressive weight reduction, and some other innovations.

More Testing is needed since we've only been on the stilts for one day. DC Power Stilts wants to see durability and performance over time, with a range of conditions. We will most likely endorse it if it hold up.

Pricing and economic factors are going to be important to the overall picture and DC Power Stilts will need to examine that to know whether we can offer this product or whether it will be a good value to our customers.

Tips for Newbies: Inspect your powerstilts!

One key thing to remember when you're out having a blast on your powerstilts. By either standing high above the crowds, running at great speed, jumping really high, or by pulling off some insane tricks. When you land, and sit down to take them off. Be sure to inspect your stilts after each use.

Look them up and down to ensure that all the bolts are secure, nothing is lose, and everything is in tip top shape. Doing this will help you get the most out of the life of your stilts.

If you do eventually find a problem, fix it and don't hesitate to get replacement parts! Doing so early on will save you loads down the line if that simple part ends up causing major damage later.

Summer Shipment has Arrived

The Summer shipment has arrived! We once again are ready to immediately ship replacement hoof rods, cuff upgrade kits and aluminum clamps and: everything else Poweriser related.

For DC Customers, I also have Poweriser stilts in every category and size, so that you can buy stilts and take them home without paying for shipping! FYI, make you appointment today for demos on Labor day weekend.

Poweriser Kids stilts: still just $165