New Fawcett/Tiffen exoskeleton vest

[Thomas K. Jensen]

$5200

[Benjamin Treplin]

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

 

HAHAHAHAHA! Spot on as always!

[Louis Puli SOC]

$3500 my call

[Tom Wills]

My bet's $5000, right where the current Ultra2 Vest is priced.

 

 

In terms of what I thought of the vest - it had some fit issues with me, but Chris mentioned that they were going to be including some different padding options, which hopefully will solve the issues I had. I did love the rigidity of it though, and I liked how much airflow there was - one of the things I really enjoy with my Klassen. Overall, not bad, though I really hope the pricing is a pleasant surprise.

 

 

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

I thought your money was always on Pedro. Traitor!

[RonBaldwin]

I thought your money was always on Pedro. Traitor!

 

I wouldn't give him a dime...just a vote!

[Brant S. Fagan SOC]

Vote for Pedro, flan, and that new Vest is $4,250. Just my guess.

[Alex Kolb]

Going back to what I had said about the safety release, I just wanted to point out I was only saying it would be wasted on me. I wasn't having a gobat Chris or his great design.

 

My bet's on $5241.50

[Sanjay Sami]

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

 

That would be Benjamin ;)

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

 

That would be Benjamin ;)

 

 

You sure about that?

[Sanjay Sami]

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

 

That would be Benjamin ;)

 

 

You sure about that?

Sure about the equipment he owns

[Sanjay Sami]

there's gonna be a fight! My money is on the guy with the pro arm and xcs sled!

 

That would be Benjamin ;)

 

 

You sure about that?

 

Don't tell me you own an XCS sled and PRO arm as well Eric ?

 

I was sure you would be a Tiffen supporter ......

[kurt nolen]

Just got back from helping out at the Pennsylvania SOA workshop. Since all those other guys are lucky skinny bastards, I got to spend some time in the prototype exovest they had up there so they could put a fellow of more "full frame" in it. After talking to Chris and Jerry about it at some length this past week I completely understand the concept, and if the production model works the way they're saying it will; it solves most of the problems I've been having with the vest designs that are out there right now.

 

it was whispered around a bit that the expected price point will be "around that of the current ultra vest." This could obviously change between now and whenever the production model comes out and I'm not a "screaming to the rafters 'I'll pay anything' " kind of guy. That being said, the theorized pricepoint is a little steep. What is the solution to my chest compression gripes worth? I guess we'll find out when the vest is released for sale.

 

My impressions: at first it feels astoundingly weird. The pivot points were throwing my walking off until I acclimated to them. At Chris' suggestion I took a fast run in it and realized half way through it that I wasn't seeing any bobble or subtle shift in the monitor telling any kind of motive transference to the sled. Once I stopped trying to walk in it like it was my regular front mounted vest the weird factor went away and I primarily noticed how easy it was to breathe in the thing. I'm hauling around 15-17 lbs I could live without and my original concern at the vest's design was thinking it would cut into the middle of my stomach. That didn't happen at all. Initially the aft rods dug into my back but some additional pads took care of that. After lifting the rods off my spinal column, my only complaint was the that yoke was too close to my face. I've been told this has since been redesigned. My shoulders (shoulderblades specifically) felt the weight of the rig and my hips mainly felt like they were working in concert with the rig's own weight to stay firm on my frame. The connection to my body at the waist was extremely comfortable to the point that I have no critique of that element of the vest's design. The emergency ejection mechanism seems a little complicated and looking at the prototype I have minor concerns about accidentally snagging the mechanism's activation cord. Prototype...

 

I'm still in the LX vest after eyeballing the ultra vest for a couple years. I've stayed off the Klassen primarily because it's so bloody heavy. Possessing something of a barrel-like chest and broad shoulders, the Ultra just doesn't fit correctly for me. I was taking a hard look at PRO's vest but I hadn't gotten enough time in it to talk myself into making the jump yet - particularly since my main concern about a vest is it's weight and how much it compresses my chest. Love the PRO's weight, but the siren song of the back mounted vest kept me in a holding pattern... ah... yet its corpulent weight pushed me away. The exovest prototype I got to monkey around with feels in the hand a tiny bit lighter than the LX. No connection to my front, no connection to my back, free breathing... stuff was looking good. About 10 minutes in I started feeling the strain in "that muscle" that I usually have in my lower back right between my shoulderblades and it was time to get out. All of this is derived from my 11.5 minutes in a prototype that according to Chris had undergone several revisions since the version I was testing.

 

Bottom line: I liked it. Jerry (and I think Chris too) said that the tingler I got between my shoulderblades would be eliminated by additional padding at the collar of the vest on the back. The sizing system as it stands now requires an extra pair of hands and apparently a bit of tweeking, but I was told the pads would all be affixed with industrial velcro and should squarely stay in place during removal of the vest and sit right back in place when you put the vest back on. I'm going to hold off on a new vest until the production model comes out to see if it does what they say it will do.

 

I would also like to throw out there something David Svenson brought up: Since it's just 19mm (or so) rails on the front and back, why not make an assistant's handle to just bolt onto it? (I hate assistants tucking their fingers under my vest. it's distracting).

 

Flan is good. I'm for flan.

[Jerry Holway]

Re pricing.

 

There is no price, approximate price, or target price as far as I am aware.

 

Because the final design isn't in, there is no way to know what it will cost to make. No way at all.

 

For instance, we've eliminated about 20 small machine parts from this (the NAB) prototype to the next iteration.

 

I haven't done a count recently - but there is really no way to know or even speculate until the design is finished. We are trying to add in adjustability and strength, ease of use, modulairty of padding, etc.

 

It is a lot more than a few rods. Without getting into the details (which are not finalized yet, anyway), there are 8 centerless ground tubes, four pivot and angle limit mechanisms, and two precision clamps. Two waist plates, chest plate, back plate, hinges, custom clips, overcenter levers, and an assortment of pads and straps and strap guides. Lots of machine parts.

 

Right now we are concentrating on getting the concept right and user friendly.

 

Jerry

[kurt nolen]

Re pricing.

 

There is no price, approximate price, or target price as far as I am aware.

 

Because the final design isn't in, there is no way to know what it will cost to make. No way at all.

 

For instance, we've eliminated about 20 small machine parts from this (the NAB) prototype to the next iteration.

 

I haven't done a count recently - but there is really no way to know or even speculate until the design is finished. We are trying to add in adjustability and strength, ease of use, modulairty of padding, etc.

 

It is a lot more than a few rods. Without getting into the details (which are not finalized yet, anyway), there are 8 centerless ground tubes, four pivot and angle limit mechanisms, and two precision clamps. Two waist plates, chest plate, back plate, hinges, custom clips, overcenter levers, and an assortment of pads and straps and strap guides. Lots of machine parts.

 

Right now we are concentrating on getting the concept right and user friendly.

 

Jerry

 

 

I think I need to clarify my phrasing regarding the rod supports on the front and back because the wording I used was crap: the statement about it "just being rods" on the front and back related to the minimalist design of the vest's unobstructed interface with the operator's front and back only - which for me is a definitive plus. There's a lot more going on there than "just rods." I was genuinely impressed with the prototype and the removal of all that material from the front and back of the traditional vest is an exciting prospect.

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

It is a lot more than a few rods. Without getting into the details (which are not finalized yet, anyway), there are 8 centerless ground tubes, four pivot and angle limit mechanisms, and two precision clamps. Two waist plates, chest plate, back plate, hinges, custom clips, overcenter levers, and an assortment of pads and straps and strap guides. Lots of machine parts.

 

 

I think I need to clarify my phrasing regarding the rod supports on the front and back because the wording I used was crap: the statement about it "just being rods" on the front and back related to the minimalist design of the vest's unobstructed interface with the operator's front and back only - which for me is a definitive plus. There's a lot more going on there than "just rods." I was genuinely impressed with the prototype and the removal of all that material from the front and back of the traditional vest is an exciting prospect.

 

 

Except in quantity things like center less ground rods aren't that expensive..... in prototype quantities you are looking at less than $10 per foot and in production quantities..... much less than that, same for machining