Help With Stilts....
Mercy Circus
considering conquering stilts. I am curious about just about everything
regarding stilts.
1. Where to get them (websites and such; I live in the US)
2. Range of prices from cheapest to most expensive
3. What are the best kinds?
4. Where to get those really long pants (or how to make them)
AND 5. I really don't care if you think stilts are stupid, please, if you
are not trying to help me out, don't write useless nonsense on here.
-Aaron
--
----== posted via www.jugglingdb.com ==----
Little Paul
>
> 1. Where to get them (websites and such; I live in the US)
Depends on the type of stilts you want. (See question 3)
If you want "peg" stilts, your best bet is a juggling supplier of
some sort. Try finding one relatively local to you in the list
hosted at: http://www.jugglingdb.com/vendors
If you want durastilts (aka drywall stilts) then your best bet is
to ignore the juggling retailers and instead start looking
for tool suppliers, or DIY suppliers. You'll get the same stilts
for quite a bit less.
> 2. Range of prices from cheapest to most expensive
Cheapest will be peg stilts. Most expensive will be durastilts.
The range of prices is probably somewhere between low tens of
dollars to a couple of hundred.
There is a lot of middle ground though, and you very much
get what you pay for in terms of durability and safety.
> 3. What are the best kinds?
OK. There are 3 basic types of stilts:
1 - Hold on stilts. You have to hold these with your hands,
which makes them a really sucky choice for anyone who might
want to juggle, wave, or scratch their arse whilst on the
stilts. So we'll ignore them.
2 - Peg stilts. Sometimes called chinese stilts (no I've got
no idea why) These are your basic "pole with a foot platform
which you strap to your leg". These are at the cheaper end
of the scale as they're fairly basic construction.
upside - cheap, there are "diy" plans for how to build your
own on the interweb
downside - If you want to stay in one place, you have to
shift your weight from one stilt to the other - or constantly
march on the spot. This gets tiring, and makes you look
like a 5 year old who needs the toilet.
3 - Durastilts, drywall stilts, plasterers stilts. "Durastilts"
is a common brand name, although like "hoover" it's often used
to describe the style of stilt. The alternative brands are
usually just as good.
These stilts have an articulated foot platform, and much more
complex construction than peg stilts. This makes them more
expensive - and there's more to safety check before you
put them on. These are sold to plasterers and decorators
as an alternative to ladders when decorating ceilings.
upside - They allow you to stand still, in one place. This
makes it easier to take rests and makes your stiltwalking
experience more comfortable
downside - They're more expensive, and you can't put silly
little wellington boots on the bottom for comic effect.
What's best?
For a casual, hobby, not-sure-if-it's-for-me stiltwalker
I'd say gets some peg stilts. If you're considering doing
even one gig - get the durastilts. If you're gigging
they'll pay for themselves very quickly anyway.
A quick note about stilt height.
You don't need huge stilts to make an impact. I would aim
to be no higher than 7 foot tall (floor to head) - any
taller than that and you'll have trouble interacting with
people around you (unless you've got long arms) - 7' is
enough to make you the tallest person in most crowds.
Also, the shorter your stilts are, the less distance you
have to fall. This is good.
Don't forget that you can increase your apparent height
by appropriate use of costuming.[2]
Stilt heights tend to be specified in terms of the
distance "floor to footplate" - so subtract your height
from the 7 foot target, and that's a good guide for
what size to buy.
> 4. Where to get those really long pants (or how to make them)
Where to get them - talk to a costumer, dressmaker, or
friend-with-a-sewing-machine. Unsurprisingly, they're
not easy to come by on the highstreet.
The easiest way to get a patern for making your own,
is to buy yourself a pair of cheap trousers. Unpick
the seams, and work out how they are constructed.
Then use the pieces of material from the trousers
you've just dismembered as a pattern. Adjusting
the leg length as needed.
It's not rocket science, and you'd be surprised what
you can get away with if they don't have to be worn
everyday. (Do you really need pockets? Do you
really need a fly? Can you get away with an
elasticated waist rather than belt loops?)
When measuring up for your design, don't forget
that they have to be wide enough at the "knee"
to accomodate your foot, and the footplate of
the stilts.
> AND 5. I really don't care if you think stilts are stupid, please, if you
> are not trying to help me out, don't write useless nonsense on here.
Stilts are stupid, but you would be more stupid if
you used them without considering safety. So a quick
idiots guide to saftey may be useful.
Whatever stilts you get, do the following:
- Learn how to fall off them. Even the most secure
and stable, experienced stilt walker is at risk of
being rugby tackled by a drunken idiot. Learning
how to land when you fall over could save you from
a pair of broken wrists, or all manner of other
more serious injuries.[1]
- When learning, the best thing to do is to have
an experienced stilt walker around. If you can't
manage that, have some spotters handy.
- Knee pads are useful. If you're wearing extra
long trousers over the top no one will see them. I
would also recomend wrist guards until you are sure
that you can fall over in a safe and controlled manner.
Oh, and always take note of where you're putting
your feet. Banana skins aren't all that slippery
but dog turds are.
The last thing you want when you're a couple of
feet off the floor is to loose your footing.
-Paul
[1] Not that broken wrists aren't serious... My
mother-in-laws wrist still gives her terrific
pain 5 years after she broke it. Her surgeon is
surprised that she's got as much movement back as
she has.
[2] I pretty much mean "a big hat"
Mercy Circus
stilts, though, maybe see if I can find myself a local experienced stilt
walker.
It's Him
<a lot of sense>
>
> A quick note about stilt height.
>
> You don't need huge stilts to make an impact. I would aim
> to be no higher than 7 foot tall (floor to head) - any
> taller than that and you'll have trouble interacting with
> people around you (unless you've got long arms) - 7' is
> enough to make you the tallest person in most crowds.
>
> Also, the shorter your stilts are, the less distance you
> have to fall. This is good.
>
I'd say that 8 foot tall is probably better than 7 foot. At 8 foot I can
shake hands with all but the very smallest child by bending, at 7 foot it
doesn't really look like stilt-walking is that hard. Mind you I'm 6 foot
tall and Little Paul is somewhat shorter so perhaps it would be better to
say that a platform height of 2 foot (60 cm) is about right.
Nigel
popstar_dave
>
> AND 5. I really don't care if you think stilts are stupid, please, if you
> are not trying to help me out, don't write useless nonsense on here.
Purple, Monkey, Dishwasher.
MuHuHahaha... you asked for it.
Actually, I'd suggest going with all Paul's comments, but I'll agree with
Nigel about height. I think 8' is a nicer medium between impact and
interaction.
Dave
AnthonyH
I agree with most of what LP said, except for the dura vs pegs. it really
depends on what you plan to be doing.
if youre going to play an instrument on stilts, or tie balloons or
anything like that then id go duras all the way.
but if you want to (eventually) dance or do acrobatics on your stilts then
you will need pegs.
and for general roving, walking around looking pretty and interacting with
the crowd, you can really go either way. i prefer pegs because of the
added mobility they give me. i can do turns, spins, little jigs etc much
easier on pegs than on duras.
Jay Linn
<stuff>
Just a few points that LP missed/didn't quite get right, in no
particular order :-
As others have said, go for stilts that bring your eye level to 8' to
8'6". Enhance the impression of height by wearing a suitable hat, e.g. a
stovepipe. You can also accentuate height with a tall walking stick -
mine is around 8' long.
Durastilts have various benefits, but only for the performer, not the
audience. Duras are clunky, large, slow, and most of all irritatingly
squeaky. Pegs are harder work, but otherwise more adaptable than Duras.
Duras win hands down on beer soaked club floors, though.
Stilt trousers are a doddle to make. Don't worry too much about getting
a perfect pattern - no one is going to be examining you tailoring
skills, they'll just be looking up at the tall fella. The easiest way is
to fasten the waist with a drawstring. You will need wider legs than you
expect, for them to hang comfortably over your footplate.
There is another kind of stilt - PowerRisers/PowerSkips. I don't think
they have a generic name yet. These are the sprung foot kind that allow
you to leap and run. Don't think about them for a moment for performance
work, until you have a working knowledge of the different types of stilt
- they are potentially dangerous, and will contribute little to your
performance until you have some experience.
Wearing safety gear is not a bad idea, but the single most important
factor in personal safety *when working with the public* is to have a
personality which will never, ever inflame a situation, but will stand
for no nonsense either. Seriously, your attitude and the way you project
yourself will have a much greater impact on your safety than any
equipment. And if you find yourself in a situation where your safety is
compromised, either remove yourself from the situation or come off your
stilts, immediately in either case - no ifs, no buts, just do it.
HTH. Good luck.
--
Jay Linn
It's so pants that I think pants might have been named after it.
Little Paul
>
> As others have said, go for stilts that bring your eye level to 8' to
> 8'6". Enhance the impression of height by wearing a suitable hat, e.g. a
> stovepipe. You can also accentuate height with a tall walking stick -
> mine is around 8' long.
Yes. I'll concede the 8' point - my 7' comment was based on some
handwaving and an estimate based on ceiling height.
One note about tall walking sticks - they're very useful on pegs
as they give you a third foot. This means you can lean on the stick
and stand still in one place without jiggling about and have
a much needed rest.
> Durastilts have various benefits, but only for the performer, not the
> audience. Duras are clunky, large, slow, and most of all irritatingly
> squeaky. Pegs are harder work, but otherwise more adaptable than Duras.
> Duras win hands down on beer soaked club floors, though.
I'll agree with this too. Especially the squeeking - although that's
not noticable on those beer soaked club floors ;-)
> There is another kind of stilt - PowerRisers/PowerSkips. I don't think
> they have a generic name yet.
I thought about powerskips just after I hit send last night. I
then thought "oh well, they'd just confuse matters and if you
don't know you need them you're probably better off not knowing
about them" :-)
> These are the sprung foot kind that allow
> you to leap and run. Don't think about them for a moment for performance
> work, until you have a working knowledge of the different types of stilt
> - they are potentially dangerous, and will contribute little to your
> performance until you have some experience.
I've seen a lot of people using powerskips over the last year
or so. I've only seen one person moving on them in such a
way that it looked like they were actually using the springyness
to add something extra.
Not 100% sure it's relevant, but it smacked of "these are neat
toys" rather than "I need the extra functionality these give me"
> Wearing safety gear is not a bad idea, but the single most important
> factor in personal safety *when working with the public* is to have a
> personality which will never, ever inflame a situation, but will stand
> for no nonsense either. Seriously, your attitude and the way you project
> yourself will have a much greater impact on your safety than any
> equipment. And if you find yourself in a situation where your safety is
> compromised, either remove yourself from the situation or come off your
> stilts, immediately in either case - no ifs, no buts, just do it.
I should have been a little clearer, my notes on safety were aimed
more at the learning stage - what Jay says is very true when you
start going out and about! :-)
Quick note on character. One of my pet peeves is stilt walkers
who think being tall is enough. It's not. You should develop
a personailty, have a character, think about your costume, how
you move etc and make it reflect your character.
The best stilt performers are *all* character. Being tall is
only a small part of it.
-Paul
Trog Woolley
> considering conquering stilts. I am curious about just about everything
> regarding stilts.
For peg stilts, this style are far superior to the usual type
http://www.eenwieler.nl/product.php?idObject=750
They come with interchangable sticks, for different heights.
These http://www.eenwieler.nl/product.php?idObject=746
are supposedly as easy to walk on as durastilts.
Having said that, I always found durastilts very heavy
for long sessions, such as walking in a parade and preferred
aluminium pegs. I never had any problems standing still on pegs.
You might consider powerskips or similar; you can get some
extra height and run and jump with ease.
--
Trog Woolley | trog at trogwoolley dot com
(A Croweater back residing in Pommie Land with Linux)
Isis Astarte Diana Hecate Demeter Kali Inanna
popstar_dave
>
> While stranded on the hard shoulder of the information super highway
Mercy...@aol.com.nospam.com typed:
> > First a juggler, then on a rola bola, then a unicyclist, and now I am
> > considering conquering stilts. I am curious about just about everything
> > regarding stilts.
>
> For peg stilts, this style are far superior to the usual type
> http://www.eenwieler.nl/product.php?idObject=750
> They come with interchangable sticks, for different heights.
Fair enough... but at €300 it's a lot to pay when the home made wooden
ones aren't too dissimilar.
>
> These http://www.eenwieler.nl/product.php?idObject=746
> are supposedly as easy to walk on as durastilts.
I thought the ease of duras was that they had a lot of surface area at the
foot for ease of static balance. These seem to have a spot foot, and as
such I'd assume they'd be designed for dynamic balance, like peg stilts.
Dave
charliejuggler
> On 2007-08-26, Mercy Circus <Mercy...@aol.com.nospam.com> wrote:
>> 1. Where to get them (websites and such; I live in the US)
>
1. Peg stilts are a bit lighter than duras, especially if aluminium -
mine are built by Ian of Albert's
http://www.albertandfriendsinstantcircus.co.uk/ and are pretty
wonderful. If you get them in wood, make sure it's strong enough, which
may make them heavier. Fix boots permanently to the footplates if you
can. Pad the straps to save your legs. Mine are 3 foot tall - which
makes me between 8 and 9 foot - any taller and I'd have trouble getting
through doors.
2. Kneepads. I know of at least one ex-stiltwalker with a permanent
limp. If you are coming off due to someone pushing you, use them as a
handy crashmat (although it should never come to that).
3. Trousers are pretty easy, I made my own - basically two tubes, then
pinned together to fit me by a friend before sewing them up. Get a
simple old sewing machine, you'll use it for a lot more than just the
trousers, they're great fun. Try and make the rest of the costume a bit
oversized as well to enhance the effect.
4. Find some old crutches and replace the downtubes to make handstilts -
you can then make all kinds of weird four legged costumes!
Cheers
Charlie
Rob Stone
Mercy...@aol.com.nospam.com (Mercy Circus) wrote:
> First a juggler, then on a rola bola, then a unicyclist, and now I am
> considering conquering stilts. I am curious about just about everything
> regarding stilts.
>
http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~rfs1/juggle/stilts.html
might help its soem notes on building stilts
GuyHeathcote
> >
> > These http://www.eenwieler.nl/product.php?idObject=746
> > are supposedly as easy to walk on as durastilts.
>
> I thought the ease of duras was that they had a lot of surface area at the
> foot for ease of static balance. These seem to have a spot foot, and as
> such I'd assume they'd be designed for dynamic balance, like peg stilts.
>
Yes, these are definately still in the 'peg' category and feel nothing
like duras. I've used this type of stilts for years and have been very
pleased with them. I like being able to move my feet around freely - it
seems much more comfortable over longer periods.
Roy Lambeth
pegs supplied by Albert & friends Circus, although I understand that they
no-longer manufacture these stilts.
Try http://www.firetoys.co.uk/
who sell underfoot wooden pegs, or
www.butterfingers.co.uk
who sell ordinary wooden pegs either 18 inches or 30 inches high
and are agents for Voltige Stilts Pro adjustable height 40 & 95 cm which
come from France and are metal construction.
If you are interested in stilt uses, go to www.youtube.com and do a search
for 'lampwort' where you can watch me going cross-country on peg stilts,
getting into difficulty and sometimes failing to stay vertical. Please
leave comments. Any thoughts are always welcome.
Roy Lambeth
should try them at least once.
Since you are in the US have a look at:- http://uk.tribe.net/home
That is the UK branch but it links into the USA main site. Join it for
free and look at the following Tribes:- Critical Stilts, Stilt Dancers,
Up on all fours, Cross Country Stilting. There you will find plenty of
people buying , building and selling stilts.
Also look at www.stiltwalker.com and www.stiltman.com Both men (Bill
Coleman & Larry Dobson) have years of experience on stilts of many types
Hope that helps.
Get high and enjoy new experiences
IJDb Video Tag v1.1
http://www.jugglingdb.com/videos/tag.php
#begin#
Date: 2007-09-22 11:02:57
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4qx5kkQe4Y
Thumbnails:
Title: Cross Country on stilts
Performers: Lampwort
Keywords: Danger
Props: Non-juggling
Number:
Description: Going cross-country on peg stilts
#end#
Jason Kollum
"hey shorty" or "how's the weather up there" is being clever, because
you will hear that expression 30 times at every gig, and the adult
saying it always thinks he/she is the first person to ever think of
that, and it's much easier to just accept that that's the way it
is. ;-)
Ok, so I would definitly set about 8'5" as your standard walking
height, at that height, I've noticed I'm one of the tallest stilt-
walkers around my area. I would not go 7'. The whole joy/mystery
behind a stilt-walker for those kids who still have a sense of wonder
in them (and are young enough to believe you are actually that tall)
is that you are not just tall...but really tall. I think as a stilt-
walker you should tower about the crowd. I have met many people while
on stilts who were actually 6'10"....if you were 7' only on stilts,
you would basically be looking at them straight in the eye.....you
need to much much taller than the tallest person you will ever see.
It gives the kids a sense of joy/wonder, and the parents will think
it's hard as well. I can interact with everybody at that height, and
reach down to give hi-five's to most kids.
I have met many other stilt-walkers who are really really short......I
just don't understand why you'd be a stilt-walker but only be like 7'
tall. And...if you are really short, and do a gig with a stilt-walker
who is really tall on stilts, be prepared to have him/her say in front
of the crowd, "hey everybody, look....it's my little brother." I
raised my stilts after a stilt-walker said that to me for the first
time.
I'm going to get myself a set of peg stilts soon. Many circus artists
are partial to that type of stilt only, and I could increase my
hirings by being available to stilt walk with pegs. Also, with pegs,
I can go 10-11' or so, with my same costumes, because it is okay for
the peg part to show, at least I think. I want to learn free standing
ladder too, I hear peg stilts helps with that due to the same motions
used.
I will say, there are a lot of circus stilt-walkers who think that peg
stilts are the ONLY type of stilts you should use....that dura-stilts
are too easy, and you are not a REAL stilt walker if you use dura's.
Although, I've realized too, circus artists, who dance on stilts, are
not doing stilt gigs at festivals, community events, parades, etc.
I've only seen peg stilt-walkers at corporate masquerade type of
events where they are not interacting with kids and other people,
mostly dancing around the area. It looks nice and elogant, but if you
take peg stilts to a festival, where you have to interact with
everybody over many types of terrain, it doesn't look natural....."Hey
mom, why is that man so tall....um, but...but, he doesn't have any
feet, only pegs for feet?" Using Dura Stilts with shoes looks more
natural....and believable....to many kids...and I think parents too.
I've had circus artists tell me that dura stilts are easy, not really
any talent. It's not the learning stilts that is hard....it's
constantly being aware of your surroundings, all the time, on every
type of land terrain, during different weather conditions. Always
watching the kids/adults around you, watching your footing. That is
the real skill that takes time to learn.....learning stilts is the
easy part, everything else takes time.
BTW, I use S2 Magnesium Stilts from the below site. I'm the only one
in my area who is using them. They are nice, light weight, have
support on both sides of your thigh. I got them to do a price match
because I found them from another site for cheaper.
http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/S2_Magnesium_Stilts.php
It's Him
> I've had circus artists tell me that dura stilts are easy, not really
> any talent. It's not the learning stilts that is hard....it's
> constantly being aware of your surroundings, all the time, on every
> type of land terrain, during different weather conditions. Always
> watching the kids/adults around you, watching your footing. That is
> the real skill that takes time to learn.....learning stilts is the
> easy part, everything else takes time.
>
I teach peg-stilts to kids age 5+. I have had children of 6 walking on
stilts un-aided in under 5 minutes. Peg stilts are no harder to walk on
than dura-stilts. The only thing about walking on stilts is the fear
factor and that is dependant on height and not the type of stilt.
Nigel
working on getting his 4 year old to stilt-walk
Roy Lambeth
Have a look at www.youtube.com and do a search for:- bicycle 13
See a 6 yr old girl who only started with stilts in June this year up on
pegs up to 5ft high in New York