Premium Members Russell McElhatton Posted June 7, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 I went to Cinegear specifically try on this vest. I found it very comfortable and very customizable. I have a barrel chest and have always had trouble with bowing out between the shoulder straps and my chest when extending the arm way forward. No amount of tension on the back straps have remedied this. The adjustments on the ACT2 address this better for me than any other vest. I have always used front mount and find no motivation to change so I will be purchasing one of these. Reviews to follow. Anyone want my spare 3A vest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members James Davis Posted July 27, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 I went to Cinegear specifically try on this vest. I found it very comfortable and very customizable. I have a barrel chest and have always had trouble with bowing out between the shoulder straps and my chest when extending the arm way forward. No amount of tension on the back straps have remedied this. The adjustments on the ACT2 address this better for me than any other vest. I have always used front mount and find no motivation to change so I will be purchasing one of these. Reviews to follow. Anyone want my spare 3A vest? Hey Russell, Really interested in a more in depth review on the ACT2 Vest if you feel up to it at any time, still really not liking my LX vest all that much at the moment and having had it for a while now I think i've given it a fair chance, would be good to see some detailed feedback and maybe some close-up photos of the vest for sure from an operators perspective. Thanks James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Thomas K. Jensen Posted July 27, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 Waiting for IBC to get to try the ACT 2 vest again, before buying one for myself. James, looking forward to read some of your experiences, as your in the same situation as I am (too wide around the chest) can't use LX vest at all. The back padding digs into my neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members James Davis Posted July 27, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Yeah it's a pain in the proverbial, it's tolerable but certainly not comfortable....and I am slowly getting tired of tolerating it. Especially after trying on the Pro Vest, which was lovely, but my wallet is not quite so fat right now that I am prepared to stretch to that, especially when this vest seems like a really worthy alternative, at a really reasonable price. IBC is not too far away either, Sachtler will be there right? Maybe we can grab a beer while eyeing up all the gear eh? Edited July 27, 2011 by James Davis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Thomas K. Jensen Posted July 28, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Maybe we can grab a beer while eyeing up all the gear eh? Hey, let's do that. I will be there 9. and 10. september. Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Russell McElhatton Posted July 29, 2011 Premium Members Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 I did buy the Act2 vest and have used it for about three weeks now. I am quite happy with it and my first impressions were largely correct. This vest is so customizable that I feel as if I should be trying to fit it different ways! I have not had a chance to try different configurations, but there was only half a days worth of moving things around to get to what feels right. The fit in my chest was an easy fix, but I found that going back to a bit of room there is more comfortable. I also found that when I was really fit tight in the chest I seemed to impart unwanted movement to the rig. I did not really do a comparison with my old Greg Smith vest as I bought this during hiatus and thus had not flown a rig for three months. Have not been inclined to go back however. The function of mechanical adjustment is first rate and the ability to move pads seemingly anywhere you want is excellent. The padding is rather thick compared to past vests but quite firm and stable. I do not find any unwanted movement of the vest because of the thickness of the pads. I normally cinch my vest quite tight and the overcenter buckles are a very comfy addition, I have found myself forgetting to tighten them before shots with no ill effects. One big caveat is that the spar which carries the socket block is quite a bit shorter than either of my old vests. This means that the arm does not wrap around me as much and tends to fold nearly in front of me as I bring the sled in tight to my body . This results in limiting the space I have to pan left (goofy) without hitting the monitor on the arm. When I tried the vest I used Sachtlers arm (nice piece) and it mated better with this vest than my PRO arm in that regard. This is an easy solve with an extension plate to move the socket block about four inches around my waist. Don't know if a longer spar is offered by Satchler but I will inquire. To have a sexy piece made to match the build quality (very high) of this vest would likely be pricey. The only other annoyance is that no solution has been designed in to tidy up loose strap ends that flap in the breeze. A few loops of wide elastic will solve this. Wardrobe is working on this. I have no second thoughts about this vest and would recommend it highly to most anyone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members James Davis Posted February 16, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Finally got round to trying this vest today at BVE courtesy of Mr Curt Shaller the designer/founder. W O WWWWWW fantastic is all I can say, in terms of fit it felt better than the pro vest, performance wise there was very little in it, both are made to an exceptionally high standard, but when I consider the incredibly good price of this kit and the fact that it seems to fit far better than any other vest I have tried (LX Vest, flyer vest, zephyr vest, Ultra 2 vest, Pro GPI Vest) I am massively impressed. Mr Shaller will be seeing some an order from me sometime soon for sure. I also got to fly their Pro HD Sled and their arm, I wasn't massively impressed with the arm, but the sled was superb as was the gimbal, fantastic functionality, rock solid design, very very nice and with proper big rig weight capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert G. Christman Posted February 21, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Any smaller operators out there wear the sachtler Act2 vest? If so, I'd really like to hear opinions. -Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Haris Pallas Posted February 21, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi guys, I'm also a very happy buyer of an ACT2 vest...I bought it 2 months ago and have tested it only with medium weight on the sled untill now. No problems so far! Everything is adjustable..everything is velcro mounted and can be removed,replaced,washed,repared.Very comfortable pads,very good straps and locks, everything is toolless exept from the socket block plate that has 2 allen bolts for up/down adjustment. The quality and price is A+...I totaly recomend it!! For ROBERT: I'm 1.78 cm and 70kg. Anything I can help you with please PM or email. Greetings from Thessaloniki,Greece, - Haris - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert G. Christman Posted February 21, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks Haris! I'm 5' 5'' and 120lbs. Do you think I can make the vest work for me on the tightest adjustments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Haris Pallas Posted February 22, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hi Robert, Yes I think you'll have no problem fitting it to your dimensions. I'm 5' 10" and 140lbs in your height and weight system and still have some room for tightening if I want to! So I guess with the minimum adjustments you'll be ok...just don't loose any more weight!! I'm here for anything you need, - Haris - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Robert G. Christman Posted February 24, 2012 Premium Members Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Awesome, thank you! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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