The challenge doesn't end once the project is finished. Wearing this build was a challenge all in itself. BUT it was less than it looked. The lighter you can make the build the better. Overall I'm guessing mine was a total of 50-60 ish pounds. Just a few adjustments made a WORLD of difference walking the loader around the convention floor. My time at Dragoncon was almost a completely different experience.

MEGACON:

Because my apartment is small, I hadn't actually had a chance to walk very far in the loader before the day of con. So my first real test run was at the convention itself. It hurt. A lot. First thing I learned was that I needed better shoes and more padding for the drywall stilts. I had walking shoes on, and the ankle straps dug painfully into the top part of my foot/ankle. With the stilts being extra heavy this got painful quickly. I ended up using socks to pad strap. The other two days, I used my work shoes, but they were not ankle high, so it only helped a little. The straps need to be as tight as possible to stay sturdy, so padding is essential.

The second thing I learned is how uncomfortable PVC pipe handles are. I didn't think much about padding the grip. Holding on to the bare plastic gave me blisters over time and dug into my hand. This wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the over sight on the arms. The arms were very light weight.....at first....and very easy to handle.....at first. But since they had no straps or bungy to hold them, they were 100% held up by just ME. Holding any weight for a long period of time at a 90 degree angle with your arms is difficult. Especially if you're like me and have the upper body strength of a 6 year old.

The third thing was the pack...Oh the pack. I have never been a fan of heavy backpacks. It was always the worst thing about walking to school. I've never liked them. The weight really wasn't really bad. But over time it get's heavier and heavier. Since the pack was pretty cheap it dug into my shoulders and hurt by back. Anyone who saw me at Megacon noticed a continuing readjustment of the pack. I also ended up buying strips of moleskin to wear on my shoulders. This really helped prevent blisters from the straps.

Exertion- The nice thing about cons, is that the collective energy is revitalizing! The adrenaline I got from walking around the floor was better than all the caffeine or energy drinks in the world. I was able to go much longer that I ever thought my body could. I wouldn't describe the exertion as a cardio burst or anything. I was similar to using the stair machine. It was definitely a workout but I was never breathless. I was able to go an hour or so more at a time each day. Luckily I was stopped for photos often, so I got lots of breaks.

DRAGONCON:

FIX ALL THE PROBLEMS AND EVERYTHING IS BETTER! SO much better! So much! I bought brand new steel toed work shoes(I needed them for my job anyway). I got some with a strong base and a high lip. Drywall stilts are made for workmen and a workers boot made the stilt less wobbly and felt better. I was able to pull the ankle strap very tightly without any problem. To solve the issue of the calf strap, i bought a pair of foam knee pads and wore them lower. Worked perfectly. Incredibly tight strap with no pain. Feeling steady on your feet is amazing.

The arms got a "Duh why didn't you do this right away" strap that held them at 90 degrees when my arms were at rest. I still had full mobility of the arms and the straps could be removed if needed. But it took the workout off my arms by about 80%. I covered the entire handles with foam cushioning and then wrapped them in black grip tape. So much better!

I couldn't get a new backpack. But as shown in the previous post, some simple padding and the addition of the hip strap was a huge difference. My shoulders still hurt over time. But it was low enough that I could Power through.

The costume was easier to wear also, because I decided to train before con! I felt pretty out of shape and tried to focus on getting better at endurance and building up my upper body strength. I think it made a big difference.