Updated again!

It's just a bit of fun!  It's fun to make common logos into bocking things because bocking has no representation in common society.

If you aren't fit, bocking will rapidly change that...

I had a run-in with such a person in a mall once.  Short old little guy with a permanent scowl and a salt-and pepper mustachio under white, balding hair.  I noticed him eyeballing me for a few minutes, and as I passed by him he told me I would have to remove them.  Rather than humor the man, I let out a scream of mock terror and dashed off to the other end of the mall and outside.  The higher-up rent-a-cops were forced to come find me in the parking lot and ran through the motions, but did nothing.  I believe that old sourpuss became the laughing stock of the mall.  My friends reported the other security guys laughing their rears off over it.

In no way am I implying that my behavior was at all appropriate, but if the guy didn't have that "order for the sake of order" look about him and/or he approached me a little more politely, I would have cooperated.

I love the fact that my introduction didn't get a single reply.
Then there's a new introduction posted by a female and the thread is already flooding.

I'm sorry, that's rather unfortunate...  I do hope you don't feel unwelcome here.  It's probably too late, but...
Welcome to our forum!  I hope you find it interesting and helpful.

That goes for you too, kitkatz.

And that isn't a moving part.  Neither does it support much load.  If the spacer were metal, it would get bent and scratch the spring.  it touches the bushings, but plays no role in their movement

What kind did you get?

Ahh, internet drama...  Only on the internet can a French guy and a middle-aged American man get into a fight without meaning to.  Well, I'm glad this didn't escalate.

For people who haven't been paying attention to this thread, the original point was a simple warning that pushing down on the kneebars of your bocks in order to flex the spring for one reason or another is a bad idea because it can bend the tube.  Seems obvious enough, but it is human nature to make dumb mistakes when they're excited, so it's still worth mentioning.

If you want to compress the spring for demonstration, to play with the spring when it's first out of the box, or whatever other reason, I'd suggest pressing down on the footplate instead.  It's probably not as much of an issue with cuffs as the bars only go out half as far and have half the leverage, but still not a good idea.

In my opinion, running and sprinting are harder and more dangerous than jumping.  Doing tricks can be harder, but only flipping is more dangerous.  The problem with running is that you're going so fast and physics of bocks mean you are pretty much doomed to land flat on your front with no opportunity to roll or anything.  Jumping, you are actually moving much slower, you can stop faster, and it's much easier to save yourself.  Although a failed jump would be much more spectacular, it would not be as dangerous.  Before you try running around much, you should be very comfortable walking and jogging.  You should nearly never trip up (pretty much every beginner forgets to lift their feet enough when walking, and most beginners bang their bocks together), and when you do, you should be able to recover without falling.
It's also a good idea to learn how to get up unassisted before you try anything interesting.

Err, do you have pads??  If not, you should.  At least wrist guards.  Kneepads and elbowpads are highly recommended , and a helmet is a good idea too.

Those things go crazy fast, making normal sprinters look like they're out for a light jog.  The force may not be so bad, as it doesn't seem to be enough to jump really high with.

I am a pretty avid biker, on the level where I think I could start racing, and I still felt it for weeks.  Strength in the legs helps, but bocks require a lot of strength in muscles that don't normally do much, and it takes a while to build up that strength.  I think your back beefs up in one way or another (muscle, bone, cartilage, maybe all three, not sure) to withstand the G forces too.  It may take you a while, but you'll gain the endurance.  And I think the strength from bocking generally makes you stronger and tougher for many applications.

Most people can't last more than a half hour until they have some experience.  You don't look any more or less tired and awkward as I did when I was new.

The reason why they're so expensive near the mountains themselves is that if you're right near the mountain already and for whatever reason you need new bindings, the odds are that you're a captive audience and they can get away with charging whatever they want.  Farther away or in the off season if there is one, it is rational to assume the customer has a choice and some time to make it, so prices are competitive.

Oh, I'm sorry...  Conning is so common in this business that the possibility of you being innocent as to what you got hardly crossed my mind.  If your listing is, in fact, a picture of what they gave you, they are Skyrunners, which run around or just under 300 USD, or maybe around 120-130 pounds.  Skyrunner is the lowest-quality brand, and its vendors are generally the most deceptive.  It is far from uncommon to see Skyrunners marketed as Powerskips or Powerisers at cheezy sites designed by unscrupulous Chinese businessmen.

You can pick out Skyrunners by their distinctive colored frames.  All other brands are sold with bare aluminum frames and a limited or nonexistent choice of colors in the plastic bits.

Here's a quick explanation of each brand, listed in decreasing quality and price:

Velocity Motion Stilts
Sold by Stiltwerks, Inc., an American company, they are Powerskips that have been stripped down to reduce weight and fitted out with any number of features, as per the customer's order.  They are preferred among profesionals and performers, likely because the groups that purchase them for their performers are too clueless to realize they can get Powerskips, which are really just as good, for a few hundred dollars less.

Powerskip
The original brand, looks like you've read up on them a bit.  The baseline model has a very distinctive yellow "pixie boot" binding on the foot, and the rest of the plastic is either yellow or blue.  The Pro model has a pivoting footplate and you must bolt on a pair of shoes to the footplate for the bindings.  Powerskips are also the only ones that appear to have bare springs in youtube-quality footage.  They actually come with very tough clear tubing over the springs.  The springs are pale yellow.

7leagueboots
Spring quality is close to Powerskip for about half the cost, although they weigh just as much as the cheaper brands.  They are distinguished by the bright yellow and substantial spring covers they have and their big, tough black hooves.  They are also unusually quiet.  The springs are pale yellow.

Poweriser
They have a baseline model with few distinguishing marks aside from the tan, non-scuffing hooves, and their Advanced model has the tan hooves along with black foot bindings made for snowboards and the only calf cuffs you can get unless you get Velocity Stilts.  Powerisers come with black spring covers, but usually have a layer of tape or two over them because the tubing is insufficient.  The springs themselves are pale green.

PoweriZer/Powerstrider/Pro-Jump/a few other brands (Flying Locust Products)
These are all identical, coming from the same Chinese factory and sold by different vendors under different names.  The springs are black and nearly always have tape, as the black cover is insufficient.  The hooves are black too.  The rubber part of the hoof is removable from the metal part, making replacement hooves cheaper and less wasteful.  They have a non-distinct baseline model, a Pro model with pivoting footplates, and used to make a model called the Up-Wing and a few other names, which had a radically different frame design and some unusual cuffs.  They didn't hold up too well and generally sucked for several reasons, so they don't make them anymore.  I have, however, heard of a remake and seen pictures of people using them, and the remake looks very nice.  There are a few unscrupulous vendors here and there along with some very trustworthy vendors.

Skyrunners (what you have)
They are bottom quality except for some seriously flimsy ripoffs with plastic frames I've seen in Chinese websites.  They have colored frames, but that is the only distinctive mark as the company has gone through many permutations in imitation of one brand or another.  I've seen tan and black hooves, springs of all colors, and even a pair with a color scheme to mimic Powerskips.  The great majority of their vendors are unscrupulous, consciously doing the type of thing you did by accident.  They will try to pass them off as any other brand they can; they will not mention that customs may destroy your stilts because they are illegal to sell in the UK, USA, and a few other countries; they steal youtube videos, stamp their logo on them, and write the description as if the professionals were using Skyrunners, which they never are; they will often call their stilts by several different brand names in order to promote general confusion, which they benefit from: people either think there is one brand with many names or that the stilts are a higher-quality brand than they really are; they lie about the warranty; and they do not pay Alexander Boeck any royalties.

If you sell your Skyrunners under their true name with a picture of them that clearly indicates that they are in your house, I think you'll be OK.  If you wish to market them, I'd suggest you say that they would be great for beginners to use to see if they like it or not, because new stilts are a large investment and a waste of good money is the top concern for all prospective buyers or their parents.  If you're open and honest I'll think things will go well, although you won't get any windfall profits off them.  By the way, what kind of contest did you win them in?

You had  better have whale-like powers, then, because I'll be surprised if he replies any time soon, if ever.

Yeah, watch out for anything named in all caps...  "POWERSKIP ORIGINAL BRAND" is almost guaranteed to be a lie.  The explanation for why he's selling them is also extremely suspect.

ES pretty much nailed that one on the head.