I think the exercise in the calves comes from running, in which I realized I often put pressure on my toes near the end of my stride.  No parts of me or my bocks visibly move, but the purpose of that action seems to be shifting the weight forward, inducing a controlled forward falling motion, adding more energy so each stride.

That's actually not a bad idea.  Capital Bocking is much harder to implement here in the USA than in he UK, because our country is so much larger.  Besides, California may as well be a different country anyway.

When they're ready to be sold to the public, I think they should keep the name "Mystery Springs" as a brand name.

I'm guessing that's not too good either.  If they're on warranty, you can probably get a new spring.

Oh, it didn't take me too long.  I have a habit of writing long-winded posts.  I'm glad I could help.

Definitely some ab workout going on there.  My calves and thighs are about the same because I'm an avid biker, but the muscles around the pelvis (particularly the ones that bring the femur up and forward) have gotten huge on me.  I can't legally show any pictures, but there's definitely a very visible difference in a number of my muscle groups.

Mech-Boots

Some wanker posted a comment on youtube saying something like "I bet you can't flip without those mech-boots".  I promptly replied to him that flipping on bocks is about as hard and more dangerous than flipping on foot and that I bet that he couldn't even run on those "mech-boots".  Somehow the term stuck in my head until one day, as I was out for a run late one afternoon along the sea wall near my house, I took a look at my shadow as I was running and thought, "Damn, he was right about one thing!  these ARE mech-boots!  I feel like a cyborg."  I'm gonna have to make a good Halloween costume.

Well, the obvious next step is to find a bigger set of stairs.  And I'd also suggest trying to bounce back up to the same height you jumped off from.  I know it's tricky with what seems to be rather stiff springs for you (I faced the same problem when I was new, which wasn't so long ago), but don't be afraid to just fall onto your springs and let them take you where they will, within reason.  People have a natural reaction to soften their impacts on the ground, which saves your joints when on foot, but limits your bocking height.  You'll notice that pro bockers have a stance very much like just standing around, even when they hit the ground.  They are relaxed and erect, and have very little motion when they hit the ground

I'd like to have worded that better, but I'm not sure how else to say it.  It's hard to describe, but practice will teach it perfectly well.

Dealing with falls seems pretty instinctual to me, although a tutorial video would not be a bad idea.  It would definitely reduce the scary factor of bocking to prospective buyers.  A big part that's not so instinctive is to try and land on your pads instead of unprotected surfaces.  And if you're falling on the ground without any pads on, you've kind of earned the scrapes.

Sounds to me like the first snap was a crack starting, then the second snap was the crack getting bigger.  Since one is now softer than the other, it sounds like there's a crack slowly expanding and you don't want to be on them when it goes completely.  Take some pictures, look at the spring for anything sticking out (you may even want to go as far as taking the protection off), and look for white streaks of death.  Those are the fault lines, but small white marks can just be from random scratches.

Sweet!  That would make MY day, definitely.  That's a fine pile of change you collected.

That's true... Plus, California is a long way for a lot of bockers and DC, although it favors the east coast, is more centrally located.

Tire socks are strips of bicycle tire attached over the hoof to protect the hooves from wear, or to cover over worn-out hooves.  Hooves die faster than any other part, so many people use them.  If you pick the right tire, you'll get more traction too.  Check out the mods section of the gallery to get a better picture of what they are.  They're usually fastened with jubilee clips or zip ties, but if you step with your feet a little out of alignment, they will slip.  I didn't notice my right foot turned outwards until my tire sock kept slipping.

And yes, using bocks will definitely make you better at lunges and squats.  There are few muscles they don't work out.  Legs, abs, back, shoulders if you use your arms to balance, pretty much everything is tired when I bock for too long.

They are nice and light, particularly around the hoof where weight counts the most, and believe it or not, they haven't collapsed under anyone as far as we know.  But  the cuffs are uncomfortable and unstable, and not totally failing does not mean that they are of good construction.  Jollyjumper has put out a few pictures of prototypes for an Up-Wing remake with either normal kneebars or Poweriser-style cuffs, better foot bindings, and a bike-style quick release on the knee bindings, but don't expect that to come out any time soon.

Perhaps you could put more padding on the inside of the kneebar so you don't need the kneepads for the bars to fit right?  Foam pipe insulation from a hardware store is supposed to work pretty well.  It's less gear to put on and probably cheaper than buying new kneepads, but it may interfere with your current pair of kneepads, I'm not sure.