By Justin Iannello

The evolution of Xpogo has led to an impressive collection of assorted tricks. Part of the reason is due to the variant and diverse styles of jumping. The other reason is due to the recent manufacturing of extreme sticks: Flybar 1200, Flybar 800 and the Vurtego to name a few. For the most part, Flat-Land/Technical jumping has lost the impact it once had on riders. Now, there’s nothing like seeing a high ULBS or full-flip in mid-air. Here are some series of tricks that are virtually forgotten in the Flat-Land/Technical jumping arena:

• Peg tap series
Variant forms of peg taps are more difficult than most tricks and even look cool- to some of us at least. Yet, the love for big height, enormous shaft lengths and the soaring rise of testosterone levels has led to more risky behavior, leaving peg taps in the dust.

Nick McClintock doing a Peg Tap with the Motostik

• Stalls
Stalls were one of the favorite series of tricks a few years ago and still are for some beginners. Nevertheless, novice and advanced riders are looking for a little bit more excitement and creativity.

• Reverse jumping series
Reverse jumping certainly hasn’t died, especially with the Gravity Games back in action, but performing in reverse just isn’t what it used to be. Body wraps and leap frogs have dropped down a few notches on the popularity chart.

• No-handed, no-footed, one-handed and one-footed jumping
Variations of no-handed, no-footed, one-handed and one-footed jumping are nowhere to be found anymore except with beginners and novice/advanced riders using them as a warm-up.

The large library of tricks has led to new and improved tricks that are more creative, harder and breathtaking. Depending on your favorite style: Big Air, Flat Land/Technical, Street or Aggressive Free-Riding, a particular stick will be suitable for you. Let’s briefly look at some of the better sticks and the style that fits them well:

New Sticks:

Flybar 1200: A powerful stick built on thick rubber bands permits great height, lots of air time and a smooth landing with an increased “relax time¹”. It’s similar to jumping on a trampoline. Big Air and Aggressive Free-Riding are appropriate styles for the Flybar 1200.

Flybar 800: A smaller and lighter version of the Flybar 1200 with the same feel and effect. This stick can pretty much fit all of the styles. Its proposed style is, however; Aggressive Free-Riding topped with various combinations of flips, peg grabs, ULBSs, bar spins, can-cans and nothings.

relax time^1: The pause time in between jumps where the shaft is fully compressed and ready for propulsion.

Vurtego: Another powerful stick built on a great deal of air pressure. This stick permits great height, lots of air time and a smooth landing with a decreased amount of “relax time”. It’s more of an explosive feeling when jumping. Big Air and Aggressive Free-Riding are appropriate for the Vurtego.

Motostik: Not quite a powerful stick, but not quite a technical stick. This stick is built on multiple springs (four to be exact). It has a soft and quiet bounce for a spring system. It’s good for Flat Land/Technical and can even be used for more moderate forms of Big Air and Aggressive Free-Riding, but its most adaptable style is street.

Gravity Games: This stick is built on a large spring that stabilizes the infrastructure of the stick. It can be considered an in between stick like the Motostik with its ideal style being Flat Land/Technical. Forgotten tricks rise to the occasion when you bounce on the Gravity Games.

Other sticks:

Power Pogo: This is the only stick I haven’t tried but from what I’ve heard, it’s a downgraded version of the Vurtego. Therefore, Big Air and Aggressive Free-Riding are suitable styles for this stick.

Master: This is a “baby” version of the Gravity Games. It can fit the same styles and assortment of tricks as it too. Height and weight determine whether the Gravity Games or the Master is a good fit for you.

Pro-Go: This stick is also built on air pressure, but not quite as extreme as the Vurtego, or even Power Pogo. This stick best fits Flat Land/Technical jumping.

GoGo/GoGo Jr.: Other sticks built on a smaller degree of air pressure. These sticks adapt well to Flat-Land/Technical jumping.

Razor Gogo: This is also another stick built on a smaller degree of air pressure and is grouped into Flat Land/Technical jumping.

Bottom Spring Sticks: This stick is built on a spring system, but the spring isn’t the central infrastructure of the stick; the spring is attached to the shaft underneath the pegs. This is suitable for less aggressive forms of Flat Land/Technical jumping.

This is by no means a complete list of sticks or an in-depth analysis of sticks. If you’d like to learn more about the sticks above, proceed to http://www.xpogo.com/stickreviews.html.

If you’d like to learn more about tricks, proceed to http://www.xpogo.com/trickinfo.html.