Basejumper.com - archive

I broke my ankle (tib and fib, just above the joint) at the end of August while jumping. It's interesting that once you're on crutches and have a cast, it's like having a sign that says "please, come tell me your broken bone stories". Hanging out with parachutists of various stripes, I was amazed to learn how very common this injury is.

Since lower leg injuries are common in BASE (and skydiving), I thought I'd do a public service and let everyone know about the iWalkFree, the hands-free crutch:
http://www.iwalk-free.com

Due to the complexity of my injury (and the subsequent surgery), I've been condemned to 3 months in a non-weight bearing cast. After 7 weeks of languishing on crutches, I finally got this and it's changed my life. I highly recommend it to anyone with a lower-leg injury as it is vastly superior to crutches.

I got it last Monday and by Thursday, I was playing tennis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpWQNryAQLk
Ok, not playing great tennis, but it felt great to be somewhat active again.

I talked to the inventor of this device and he's been struggling to get exposure for the device. So I thought I'd post here to help him out, and to help out any fellow jumpers who have been condemned to crutches for any length of time.

Obviously the best advice is to avoid breaking your leg. But if that's not feasible for you, iWalkFree is the only way to go!

Looks goofy as hell, but great idea

Hope I never have to wear one..

damn, that thing looks awesome. I'll buy two and use it as my halloween costume.

but seriously, had I known that existed 2.5 years ago, i would have bought it. pretty cool.

I have also recently been using a great piece of recovery type gear. I rolled my ankle 8 weeks ago speeflying and just started jumping again this week. I didn't want to jump without a brace as my ankle still has some instability.

I ended up going with something called the donjoy velocity: http://www.donjoy.com/index.asp/fuseaction/products.detail/cat/7/id/176

3 decnet hikes/jumps later and super psyched with this piece of gear. I am considering getting one for my good ankle for preventative measures. I guess it would be important to mention that I don't jump with high cut boots, but I now feel low cut boots with a good brace provides more support anyway.

Seriously, if you have ankle stability issues or land in places where you can't get hurt... Check this thing out...

So... the real question is, can you wingsuit in it?


(too soon? sorry man... couldn't help it)

How much are those braces? I couldn't find a price on the website.

Ranging from $60-$100 if you don't go through you insurance company. It was actually more ($250) to go through the insurance company but I guess some people prefer that sort of thing because it helps them meet their deductible.

So yea, on the expensive side but you get a high quality brace from an extremely experienced company.

Do a google search and you can find pricing options...

About the wingsuits: Yes, you can wingsuit in it. I have not yet, but you can still point your toes and it's not super bulky so shouldn't be an issue with suit performance.

that was pointed at brian, his break was right before i big wingsuiting event.

Does anyone have any experience with shouler braces to prevent dislocations? I've had surgery on my left shoulder twice now. I'm in recovery right now and reading this thread made me wonder if there is a brace that could help, when I get back into jumping. I did a search on Google. the EVS SB02 SHOULDER SUPPORT, link below, seems to be the most popular brace, but it doesn't look to me that it would make any real difference.

http://www.mountainpeaksmotorsports.com/....php?products_id=247

Hey Andrew,

Yes, I will be flying in the wingsuit record (a week from Saturday, Nov 8-12). I won't be using the iWalkFree in the air, but once I land (slide in on my ass like a tandem to protect my casted right leg), I'll put it back on to walk back to the packing area and do the stand-up part of my pro-pack.

I'm actually going for my first jumps this Sunday. I'm very confident I can pull this off safely, but I'm still going to be fairly nervous for that first landing. Triumphant return or tragedy compounded?...

dhracer33 - That donjoy velocity looks great. I'll probably pick one up when I get my cast off. Maybe get a matching pair to provide bonus protection for my "good" left ankle.

After my motorcycle accident my ortho
ordered a kick-ass custom brace for
my bad leg, however it felt weird to
run with only one on so I switched
to using 2 over the counter types.

yo yo brian its marko form your base course...whats up brooo....what did you doo?!?!

for shoulder injuries Hookitt created an awesome brace that you can totally jump with. It has two loops, one large that wraps around yourchest and a smaller one that wraps your upper bicep. They are connected with a small bungee that slows the outer ranges of motion so your shoulder doesn't have to. That and a persistant schedule of PT. He may chime in here.

I would also like to know how much the iWalk price. Might be good to keep around just in case, for practice, yeah. :/

My motorcycle accident happened in 2002.
With 37 BASE jumps I do NOT teach BASE
courses I think you are confusing me
with Tom Aiello from Twin Falls.

Nah, he just replied to your post, instead of Brian's. He took his FJC at the same time as Brian, from Apex.

Hey Brian, it's Brett. love that video, showed it to Sarah and a few others and we think it's crazy every time we watch it! you play tennis with that thing on than I do without a gimpy limb

I got it for $322 (incl shipping) from a med supply company that sells them (new) on ebay.