From bears to bullets - New uniform proposal

[ark]

Inventor hopes to sell armour suit to the military
By Wade Hemsworth
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 11, 2007)
The grizzly man is back, and this time he's ready to take on bullets and bombs.

Troy Hurtubise, the Hamilton-born inventor who became famous for his bulky bear-protection suit by standing in front of a moving vehicle to prove it worked, has now created a much slimmer suit that he hopes will soon be protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
...
Already, he says, the suit has stood up to bullets from high-powered weapons, including an elephant gun. The suit was empty during the ballistics tests, but he's more than ready to put it on and face live fire.

"I would do it in an instant," he said. "Bring it on."

Yesterday, he returned to Hamilton to show off the suit, hoping to generate some publicity that will get him the meetings he wants with military and police outfitters.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1168470616997&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815

Pictures can be found in the full article.

 

[ThainC]

I have to say, that's definitely pretty cool lookin'.

 

[Mike Baker]

and could be mass-produced for about $2,000, Hurtubise says.

2 Grand for one suite, eh? Well, it's better then being blown up and shot. I would but one, they look amazing  ;D

 

[RangerRay]

I watched a documentary about him and his Ursus Suit (Project URSUS is the name of the movie I believe).

I'm surprised he isn't locked up in a padded cell.  The man is certifiable!

 

[chrisf]

I'd question the effectiveness of it in reality, as there's always a trade-off between protection and mobility, but $2000 for a suit isn't at all expensive, when you consider the cost of protective equipment we wear anyway... I'm guessing the cost of just body armor with hard plates, as well as ballistic eyewear, helmet, etc add up to well over $2000...

Don't know about immediate military applications, but who knows, if it works as well as claimed, but have a role in police emergency response teams...

 

[brihard]

I'd question the effectiveness of it in reality, as there's always a trade-off between protection and mobility, but $2000 for a suit isn't at all expensive, when you consider the cost of protective equipment we wear anyway... I'm guessing the cost of just body armor with hard plates, as well as ballistic eyewear, helmet, etc add up to well over $2000...

Don't know about immediate military applications, but who knows, if it works as well as claimed, but have a role in police emergency response teams...

I think the intimidating badass factor must be taken into account too.  ;D

On a serious note, who wants to bet DARPA is quietly looking at this in connection with their powered exoskeleton research?

 

[Spanky]

Looks like Robo-Cop ;D

 

[Devlin]

This guy used to show up at the armoury in North Bay and ask anyone wearing green to shoot at him to test his suit...needless to say we denied his requests.

 

[Scratch_043]

I think he's been playing too many videogames... I mean the Trojan suit??
all joking aside, if it works, it'd be a very welcome (and cool) addition.

(for anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, the Spartans are the suited troops in the HALO games on Xbox)

 

[Trooper Hale]

If i was a dirt poor Afghan farmer and i saw a bloke in that suit coming towards me i'd shit bricks! Definately lives up to the LCF and very much a intimadation factor there too. How hot would it be to wear though? It doesnt look very breathable does it?

 

[Scratch_043]

Apparently, it's got a NASA-esque cooling system for the suit, so I'm guessing that it would at least be bearable. (pun intended)

 

[Colin Parkinson]

My understanding is that the new style of Hockey equipment is based on his bear suit experiments. I saw a program where he was demonstrating his bulletproof material about a year ago, seemed at that time to need work to be practical. This guy is crazy with streaks of genius in between, he also doesn't seem to care about practical aspects much.

 

[Scratch_043]

I would agree with that statement for his 'ballistic cushions' due to the bulkiness and such of it, but this 'hockey equipment' actually looks both practical and feasible.

 

[PMedMoe]

Curious as to how much it weighs.

 

[Michael OLeary]

And how it performs in 35C plus heat?  How much more weight for the cooling system?

 

[BernDawg]

According to the article it weighs 18 Kg.  Didn't mention the cooling system. Let's hope it's included.  I've seen the bear suit documentry and yes I think he's nuts but he did survive several attacks and other traumas in it.

 

[Scratch_043]

weight is 18 kilos, and the cooling system is integrated.

I'm sure that all of this is in the article.

EDIT: I was beaten to the punch

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Um what is the purpose of the clock dangling between his legs? Is it sort of like that mental rapper guy who walks around with viking horns on his head and a big clock around his neck??? ;D
Love the suit though it looks really cool and hey maybe you could do a Robocop thing...you know add some bionic parts if you have to.

 

[geo]

wonder if the suit also has a heating system
Problem with some of the places we have to operate, it can be sweltering during the day and below freezing at night.  Then ther's also the issue of altitude and the need to get air into your lungs.

 

[Devlin]

Discovery Channel is covering this shortly...Daily Planet to be exact