Back mount vs. side mount

[chris fawcett]

Hey Osvaldo,

 

Sorry about that. The Exovests are currently back ordered. I'm still using an old prototype myself so that Tiffen can fill orders to customers. This situation should be resolbed in October as production ramps up to cope with the demand.

 

All the best,

 

Chris

[Jerry Holway]

ummm, I'm not aware of Chris claiming being a doctor or a race car chassis designer or anything other than someone who loves Steadicam operating

[Frederic Sturm]

I think there was a (slight mis)interpretation of my maybe poorly chosen words.

Please let me clarify.

 

"If you consider at an Exo, Chris Fawcett will be able to provide tons of researched anatomical reasons
for the new design, and thus explain health benefits. After all it has been designed with nothing else
in mind than supporting a Steadicam in the best way to suit human anatomy."

 

Please substitute "possible health benefits" or better yet scratch that part of the senctence entirely.

 

If you meet Chris and hear him talk about the Exo, and show his presentation on anatomy, you quickly

now this guy has done a lot of research, has a wealth of anatomy knowledge, and designed a vest from

a purely anatomical standpoint, to try and support the weight with the least negative impact on the body.

 

That's it. I did not claim that the vest actually achieves this goal (After all I'm not a doctor either...), or

that there was any track record. All I said is it's designed with certain goals in mind - please correct me

if this statement is wrong. The only claim I made, about comfort and endurance, came from a personal

observation of myself, and was labeled as such.

 

I only used the word "health benefits" because Danny had asked for health studies and other documentation,

and I wanted to point him to Chris. I understand it might have been a misleading choice of words and apologize.

Still, I think Chris' Documents will be interesting for Danny and thus please understand my point in the spirit in

which it was intended, which I have hopefully described better now.

[Joshua Gitersonke]

I would second the Actioncam vest. I have had it for 5 years and have found it more comfortable than any front mounted vest. I can stay in it a lot longer. Maybe it's just the way my body is built.

I haven't tried the exo vest yet so I can't compare them. Although I really want someone to design an accesories that places the back mounted vest socket block where the Front mountedsocket block is. Just for door Clarence issues. It could be a slim design that curves around your body. Just a thought. Combine the two options back mounted vest with an optional front mount.... Anyone?

[Michael Maga]

Joshua, Klassen has this already.

[max volokh]

my voice is for Actioncam RebelElit Vest too. Use it over 5 years, upgrade it to Carbon edition (all plastic parts changid to carbon). This upgrade helps me to survive under the 3ality)) For light cameras and small doors I use Actioncam Raptor Vest and Arm.

[Mark Karavite]

Joshua, attached are some photos of the Klassen Duo. The Duo was a combined effort of Garrett & Walter. It requires a Universal or Traditional vest with a hinge on one side of the front door and reinforced carbon fiber. I use it strictly for narrow doorways, but it allows me to quickly switch back and forth using the same harness. The Duo feels more like a front mounted vest, but works well. You'll notice mine has custom angles built in to work better with my harness.

 

Klassen says this item really never took off in popularity, but I find it invaluable for me, since I only carry one vest.

 

Best,

Mark

 

 

[Thomas Schnaidt]

I have both too. I find the Klassen to be perfect when I need to get extra low in Standard mode ( I have the three inch drop down arm) --- I can get the rig down an extra 8-12 inches than in my PRO vest. Its also great for when operating for long periods in that range of the arm where your pushed down to the lower boom range, it gets the arm out of your way. But I will say, I really really love my PRO vest. Fits like a Glove. And I have no issues with endurance in it. I used to think that I Breathed easier in my Klassen, and because your chest is open, You really may breathe easier. Certainly, if you are doing a lot of aggressive moves that may get you winded, the Klassen will allow your huffing and puffing to not influence the rig as much. I bought my PRO to have as a alternative to Klassen when I was noticing a really persevering tendency towards numbness in my right leg. Since I have gone to switching between them with some regularity, my numbness is easing and feeling is returning - albeit, slowly. But YES, Take that damn camera off if you don't need to carry it. Walter told me on the phone when I took delivery of the vest 5 years ago, many guys were saying that they had to remember to take it off. Well, if you don't, you will pay. Trust me on that. Tom

[Mike McGowan SOC]

Hummm..... A few thoughts. I get that it's not ideal to wear the rig all the time or wear it very heavy. It's also not ideal for foot ball players to get tackled but it's kind of part of the job.

A good portion of my work when I first started operating (1998) was being the guy that wouldn't complain and wear the rig all day and run up and down the beach. actually, my first commercial was an Arri 3 with throat mags and a 25-250 zoom lens in low mode running up and down the beach at 48fps for a maxi pad commercial in Aruba. Fortunately I get hired now for my expertise and ability to compose nice shots and my ability to 'get the shot' in one take on the 'big actor' and not screw up, etc. But I also still get hired because of 'tricky' shots or adverse locations where they need an athlete who can run up the stairs with the rig on (some times over and over). So yes, take it off when you can and don't volunteer to fly a 2k on top of the camera but we are kind of in the profession of carrying heavy shit..............

All that being said, I agree with good shoes, the right vest that fits you correctly, being sensible about how you use the rig, etc. But my biggest single piece of advice is to get a gym membership and even better hire a trainer. They are pretty inexpensive, a tax write off and for me at least they double or triple the effectiveness of my workouts.

 

All that being said, I have flown several of the vests out there but I own a PRO and it's my only vest. I've used it on 3D with close to 100lbs of rig and arm and I've used it on countless live events where I had the rig on for hours at a time. For me at least, the PRO vest is the gold standard of vests.

[Sam Law]

I just finished my first workshop friday. Chris Fawcett gives a lecture about posture and anatomy during the workshop, and after hearing how much he knew about the subject, I couldn't wait to try on the exo. I was not disappointed at all. As soon as I tried it I couldn't believe how much more comfortable I was, and how much it actually improved my operating. For someone a lot more experienced then me, that would probably be a much less drastic jump, but the exo helps me stay in good posture without thinking about it. I'm about to start piecing together a rig from used parts off the forum, but the only part I'm planning to buy new at the moment is an exovest. Considering how in depth his lecture was, if you talk to Chris he could probably explain a short version you could tell your boss about with how it prevents poor posture which can cause slipped disks, hernias, and other problems

edit didn't see Chris had already commented

Edited December 16, 2013 by Sam Law

[chris fawcett]

Hey Sam, thanks for the plug!

 

I'd claim that good posture prevents back problems, and I hope that the Exovest encourages good posture. Time will tell!

 

All the best,

 

Chris