poweriZer Upwing - A.k.a. SpeedJumper Redoxx - A.k.a. Pro-Jump Elite

[BackB0NE]

Up-Wings. CZ90 181-200 (82kg-91kg)

I am 150 lbs (68kgs) and I was told to get at least 2 weight classes above me due to the softness of the springs.

First Impressions.

What I like:

1.   Lighter. Each one weights about 8lbs.
2.   Great looking design, black metal and chrome. The orange footpad looks good.
3.   Better (more durable, it’s a harder compound) and bigger rubber feet.
4.   They provide a carrying case. Although cheap and very snug. And you have to dissemble the stilts for transport.
5.   Less bulkier. They look good on girls with long legs. o.0 My friend came over to try to them out. No pics though.
6.   The instruction booklet has much better English grammar.
7.   The springs seem to require less effort to walk in. They provide a nice spring, when walking with very minimal effort. Feels very natural. I am not sure if this is due to the springs, my weight to springs, or my strength in my legs.  I was told to get 2 weight classes up on the springs due to the new springs being softer.
8.   Tilting footplate with locking mechanism for fixed plate or reduce the degree of tilt.
9.   Calf Cuffs. The Velcro is very secure.
10.  Adjusting the height of the calf cuff requires loosening one bolt. You can do this while on them.
11.   The back padding for the calf is good.
12.   No noise when jumping, so far. Unable to test thoroughly until a few issues resolved. Read below in what I don’t like.
13.  All the bolts are rounded and with sunken hex heads. No nuts. So no sharp points and only need a set of 3 allen wrenches.

What I don’t like:
 
1.   Some assembly required.
a.   You have to attach the foot support bar to the spring
b.   You have to put in the footplate tilting pin
It looks like this was done to compact the stilts for shipping purposes. The machined parts are very exacting so putting in the pins requires use of a softheaded hammer. I am a bit worried when/if I have to replace the springs. Getting that pin out will be a pain.

2.   Bindings. Man they suck and a pain in the butt to tighten. Also, adding snowboard binding will require additional work as they made slots instead of drill holes for the webbing. So most likely you will need to sew double layer webbing with good nylon thread double stitched and then holes punched through to attach snowboard bindings.

3.   Calf Cuffs lack of lateral support stiffness. Front to back support is excellent. However, the lateral support is shockingly skimpy. The back plastic that is the calf cuff is way too thin. You can manually bend it in and this needs to be very rigid. It gives an unpleasant feeling of wobbliness.

UpDate: I made a webbing belt with quick clips that I use to wrap around the entire calf cuff. This has helped the lateral stiffness and I feel much more secure.

4.   The Velcro system needs to have a slight change. Instead of the current system of crossover with one side stitched with stretch webbing. It should not have stretch webbing. That’s the last thing you want your straps to be doing. Also, on the first layer, the Velcro should first go across the shin, then looped through and come back across the shin and then Velcro. This will provide optimal leverage in tightening the straps across the leg.

5.   For shorter people, like myself – I’m 5’6”, with the loss of the footplate side support bars adding height risers will be a challenge. In the old styles, the side footplate support bars helped secure the heel of your shoe. In the Up-Wings, this is removed so that once you put in those flip-flops, the heel catch is used and nothing is available to secure the heel. The tendency is the foot to slide back and the toe to come dangerously close to not being held tight by the toe straps. The positive is that the top of the spring is much wider and rounded then the other models, so that it won’t be digging into your hamstrings when doing tucks or standing up if you decide not to use risers for safety purposes.


Not sure if good or bad:

1.   The exposed spring by the feet. This was done to minimize weight. But the loss of protection to the lower spring might be an issue. I have wrapped with inner tube and also extended the bike tire to cover the backside of the spring up to the bolts that secure the footplate support bar.

Final analysis

The up-wings could be for you. If the two major issues can be addressed either through the manufacturer or the power stilt community, the lateral support of calf cuff, and the bindings, then yes, I would recommend these compared to the only 2 other models I have tried, the Powerizer Classic and Pro.

The design, weight and ease of getting in and out should be very positive. If you are a performer, and need to make changes from being in stilts and out of stilts, the Up-Wings would be a huge time saver once the bindings have been replaced.

For acrobatic performers, the lighter weight should be a welcome to doing flips and other tricks.

For walking / running purposes, Up-wings are perfect with the tilting footplate and lightness. For the cost and features, they are exceptional jumping stilts for these activities.

Durability is still to be determined as these are just out. I have not had a good spring test as the bindings and calf cuffs need to be fixed first.

Update: I was able to use them for 2+ hrs yesterday, and I am really starting to like them. I have locked the footplate for now. The heal tilting is different from the Powerizers Pro and so feel ackward. I am sure with more time, it will be very natural.

I will be doing mods to the bindings and the calf cuffs soon, and I will post them when completed. (3-4 weeks, as I will be out at burning man for 10 days)

Hope this helps.

[Sprog]

Thanks for such a fantastic review backBONE.
I don't like the idea of having to assemble them either, thats a bit weird and should be done in-factory!

[Bill C.]

So what about going two spring weights above your weight?  Are you finding that to be what people would need to order?  Thanks for the review.

Bill C.

[BackB0NE]

Yes, on initial day of use, it seemed like that was just right. Stiff enough that my weight alone is not compressing the springs, and bouncing me around, but not so stiff that I can't get any air.

It seems like they are soft on the top end, meaning that for walking, it compresses just enough without much effort to give you a comfortable walking stride.

When you jump, as it goes through the compression, they get much stiffer in the mid range requiring more leg strength.

I'm still fairly new to bocking, only serious for about 2 months now. My experience on evaluating springs is very limited.

[tundrah]

Keep us posted on the feet straps.  I have just ordered a pair and wasn't too keen on the webbing for the feet.  If you do come up with some mod, please let me know.  Thank you for a good review though.

[XarnuSonci]

please tell me you adjusted the knee bars to be higher, having them that low out of the box is dangerous, people will strap them on like that and break their legs, that's not safe, and the assembly done by the buyer is just stupid, they should finish their stilts before they ship them.

[Sprog]

please tell me you adjusted the knee bars to be higher, having them that low out of the box is dangerous, people will strap them on like that and break their legs, that's not safe, and the assembly done by the buyer is just stupid, they should finish their stilts before they ship them.

OMG I didn't even notice those pictures... If you used them that low you are suicidal! They should really be just under start of your shin.
Are there any instructions telling you to adjust them to a higher position?

[BackB0NE]

If you see #10, adjusting the calf cuff can be done while they are mounted. But, yes I did raise them before I put them on.

I just took the picture after I got done with the Tire, Tube, and Taping mods.

[Great Balls O' FIRE]

i jsut thought of something...dont know if its been said before, and if so just tell me and i can delete this.

with the different spring mounting, does that mean that it is not possable to put other brands of springs on these? such as powerskip springs? if so, that could be a huge deterence

[badambomas]

yer i see your point GBoF
this could be a falling point,
but maybe people wont need to
chage them in a sence of getting better ones
becasue they would prob.. be better

oh never mind, if you understood that then
good but i don't quite get it and i wrote it!

Cheers badambomas

[Wrasse]

I understood it... now I am scared... very scared...

[badambomas]

oh yes the fear developes of being an
uderstanding adult!!
AHHHH!!!!
lol just relax.
There's no place like home.....
There's no place like home.....
There's no place like home.....
There's no place like......

Deep breaths now everyone.

[NathanCooper]

lol, we could just go out and get some ruby slippers and that could make things right again   

[Dome]

Oh what a .....
Until today I just knew these new upwings, or whatever name they ware just from pictures. I had ma doubts about certain points concerning that construction, but they left a damned good impression to what I could take from a picture.
Now today I had my first contact with this stilts and what did look very very nice at the first look, left kind of shock at a closer inspection.
1. The bearings are completely crap and the lever from the footplate to the spring moves very hard.
2. The fixed footplate is at the fixed state everything else than fixed.
3. The knee part that I did like from the look at the picture very much, is not done the way it should be. It is much to less stable at the side parts.
4. The finishing at the brand new model I saw today has been done very bad.
5. The footrubber part is in my eyes just crap.
6. The spring protection is absolutely ridiculous.

So to bring it to a point: That stilt which looked soooo nice to me in first instance, I do consider now as just crap.

Have fun, jump high says Dome

P.s.
I saw today a stilt with no carbon or fibreglass, but a plastic spring. Don’t have any idea, how this would work, and if there isn’t kind of steel in this plastic. But never saw such a crap before and it’s real amazing what kind of stuff one can find already, if it comes up to stilts.

[Sprog]

P.s.
I saw today a stilt with no carbon or fibreglass, but a plastic spring. Don’t have any idea, how this would work, and if there isn’t kind of steel in this plastic. But never saw such a crap before and it’s real amazing what kind of stuff one can find already, if it comes up to stilts.

Display model perhaps?

Thanks for the input Dome, looks like these are just as bad as I was hoping they wouldn't be