Took it out on his first troop today. Went pretty well. Cannot say enough positive things about having a spotter, especially when wearing stilts. Hearts of gold, every one of them.
This troop was at Fred Meyer for Salvation Army bell ringing. I thought it would be a good first try troop as it was indoors, level floors, and there was a changing room. The changing room worked well and I am definitely slow when walking in my stilts. I learned a few important lessons.
First, I need to trim the fur down on the inside of the feet as I kept stepping on it and that constitutes a tripping hazard. I'll need to trim it down or else it can become a problem in the future.
Second, there is a very slight transition to the cart area at FM and it is only a rise of about a half an inch, but that was enough for me to get a stilt on it awkwardly and almost fall over at the very beginning. My absolute nightmare in this costume is to fall as there is no way that I can catch myself. Luckily, I flailed around for a bit and was able to regain my balance. Spotter or no, if I fell forward, she likely wouldn't have been able to catch me and then we have 2 injuries.
Third, the costume is hot. All costumes are hot, so that is not a surprise. I wore sweat pants and a light long sleeve underneath as I wanted to absorb some sweat, but I may need something that is more specifically designed for cooling.
Fourth, my fans did very little to help. My right eye fogged up immediately and never cleared. My left eye stayed clear. May attempt to adjust the fans around to see if that can help.
And, lastly, the hands and arms worked. They are heavy and holding on to the bar worked but once it gets sweaty, they get a bit slippery. May try to create some kind of strapping system to hold them in place when my arms are at rest. That may just be too much work. Gloves may be a cheaper and more effective solution.
BUT, all complaining aside, it was an amazing troop and a lot of things went right. The kids, big and small, smiled and really seemed amazed at the costume. I got a lot of really kind and heartwarming comments and there were many more people that recognized a wampa than I thought there may be. So, yes, there are a few things I need to tweak, but what costume doesn't have that after the first 5-10 troops? Overall, it was a really great experience and I'm looking forward to wearing it again!
Here are a few pics of the troop:
received_735286836839430 by
Michael Halstead, on Flickr
Blizzard Force!!!
received_2276594539243468 by
Michael Halstead, on Flickr