David Williams Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 The left shoulder buckle exploded on the job today. Kind of surprising considering I only had a grand total of 7 odd Kg on board. Close inspection shows no obvious distortion or wear in the broken item, and the sled was resting in the sweet spot while I waiting my call for a live to tape show. It just went pop, and my camera tried to head butt the wall. These buckles are pretty light weight, considering the constant pressures the under go. Looking at it now, it has all of @ 1.5mm of plastic between the rivet hole and fresh air. It broke right there of course. That's all that's holding the whole chest plate to the shoulder buckles? They are also riveted on, so you can't inspect them for wear and replace them without drilling out the rivets. I was able to wire the vest together and carry on, and now I'm looking around for some decent quality buckles to replace the originals. I found that Fastex are actually based in Melbourne where I am, so they may be my best bet. Anyone have any other recommendations for shoulder buckles for a Flyer-LE vest? I'd recommend any one else with a Flyer replace there buckles as soon as practical, because they are not particularly good if mine is representative of the general quality :( http://www.fastex.com.au/plastic_buckles.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Jess Haas SOC Posted March 16, 2009 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I have found that with Fastex style buckles if they are put under load while not completely closed it will cause them to snap. They also wear out after a bit of abuse which is what they are likely to see on a steadicam vest. When I was looking for replacements(not for a flyer LE vest) I was having trouble finding a place online to get the ones I wanted but the US distributor happily sent me free samples. ~Jess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Williams Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I have found that with Fastex style buckles if they are put under load while not completely closed it will cause them to snap. They also wear out after a bit of abuse which is what they are likely to see on a steadicam vest. When I was looking for replacements(not for a flyer LE vest) I was having trouble finding a place online to get the ones I wanted but the US distributor happily sent me free samples. ~Jess Aww, don't tell me that :) I was pleased to find one right near by! Ah well, thanks. I will pop in and have a look at their range, they have a few. There might be some suitable ones...I'll keep looking around though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Williams Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Tiffen stepped up and offered warranty replacements. Thanks Michael! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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