People who have jumped with me in rebound classes know that I am really fussy about getting the right boots on each person, to maximize their chances of having a great time. Shoe size is definitely the starting point, but it's not enough. Using a predetermined weight as the dividing line between harder and softer boot parts is better, but definitely not enough. There are ways to configure your boots to suit your weight, your jumping style, your level of athleticism, and your body's existing conditions and replaced parts. The benefits of exercising in rebound boots all depend on the person in the boots being able to compress them when she lands. If the boots won't compress enough, or sometimes at all, you are basically jumping around on curved three pound bricks. This may help train your balance, but does not decrease the impact on your joints. The good news about not compressing much is that you can keep up with faster music more easily, because you are not waiting for the longer time a deeper compression and rebound cycle takes for each step.
Conversely, if the boot is compressing too easily, or too far, you have more difficulty with music whose tempo is faster than your boots can rebound from each compression. It's possible to keep up, but it takes athletic skills, using your muscles to pull up as you land each step, so you are working against the compression (and limiting the height of each step and each rebound). Depending on why the boot is compressing too easily, or too far, you may be at greater risk of breaking parts on your boot after fewer hours of use.
The sweet spot, of course, is to custom configure your boots to the amount of compression with which you are most comfortable, at the tempo you usually jump, and to minimize risk of premature breakage for the boots. The picture shown here is three pairs of medium size rebound boots, configured for three different jumpers. They happen to be boots from Bounce by Dianna Rojas, but you can also custom configure boots from Kangoo Jumps or Aerower. The left has harder blades (curved pieces) and harder bands (looks like rubber bands in parallel). Someone carrying more weight (whether muscle or fat) or who jumps with more energy or enthusiasm, and has few or no joint issues to consider, would be most likely to use these. The pair on the right has the gentlest configuration, with softer blades and softer bands. Jumpers carrying less weight, jumping with less energy, or seeking to ease into rebounding in light of joint issues would be well-served by these.
The middle pair has the configuration I use, with softer blades and harder bands. The harder bands prevent the softer blades from compressing too far, but do allow a significant enough amount of compression to reduce the impact on my totally replaced right hip joint. The harder band also allows for a rather energetic rebound effect that gets me more time in the air when the music allows. The mismatch of soft/hard does mean I need to replace the bands slightly more often to prevent breakage of the blades. Note that the blades all match on each pair in the photo, so left and right, top and bottom, are all four the same on each pair; I never use or rent boots with unmatched top and bottom blades.
Coming back to shoe size for a moment, some feet will feel better in different brands of boots, just like we don't all wear the same brand of sneakers / trainers / athletic shoes. Both the thickness and shape of the liner and the feel of their rebound are considerations that may inform your choice of brand. If you have a chance, try on a couple different pairs of boots before you buy. Size charts are not perfect, and you may be a different size in different brands. For example, I wear a small in Kangoo Jumps boots, but a medium in Bounce by Dianna Rojas; my feet seem to shrink and swell too, so I try to bring both thick and thin socks most of the time. For teaching rebound classes, I have boots of both brands because neither feels best to everyone. I have not had a chance to try Aerower's boots yet, but that's on my "to do" list.
I welcome your comments, because I am always trying to learn more about how to make rebound boots work better for a wider variety of people. Let me know how you prefer to configure yours, and the pros and cons. Thanks!
