See the Canadian Bear-proof suit

Tech TV ^ | March 1, 2004 | Suzy Brannon

[sociotard]

Introducing Troy Hurtubise. He's Canadian. He's a character. He's got a full-on Canadian accent. And he thinks he knows "aboot" grizzly bears.

"Project Grizzly" chronicles Hurtubise's quest to build a grizzly bear-proof suit and conduct "close-quarter grizzly research." But after listening to his crazy-talk, you begin to wonder if he really knows anything at all about bears.

To understand his misguided passion, you must go back to 1984. That's when this scrap-metal business owner had a run-in with a grizzly that he refers to as "the old man." While hiking in the woods he came nose-to-snout with the big beast. Surprisingly and luckily for Hurtubise the grizzly turned and walked away, leaving him completely unharmed. The experience inspired the idea for a grizzly-proof suit. And then he saw "Robocop," and that really got his imagination going!

Hurtubise is one of those guys who wears a military beret and camouflage. He has amazingly rounded up a "research team" (I use that term loosely) as crazy as him. Watching them makes you wonder if they're out in the wild for the bear research or just to live out war fantasies.

The result? A hilarious documentary -- and, after many years and over $100,000, a bulky 147-pound suit of armor. Will it survive "the bush" and a grizzly bear? You'll have to watch to find out!

[sociotard]

I don't know which to feel sorry for: the Iron-Man wannabe, or the bear who'll be put down for killing a man it was being attacked by. If you're interested, go to http://www.nfb.ca/grizzly/troy.html for more info. BTW: this is probably a double post, but I couldn't find anything with a quick search.

[martin_fierro]

Iron-Man wannabe

LOL

[sociotard]

Name:

Ursus Mark VI

Development Time:

Seven years

Total Cost:

$150,000

Materials:

1. Fireproof rubber exterior (from Minnesota)
2. Titanium outer plates (from Hamilton, Ont.)
3. Suit joints made of chain mail (from France)
4. Tek plastic inner shell (from Japan)
5. Inner layer of air bags

Height:

2.18 metres (7 ft. 2 in.), with head-top camera attachment

Weight:

66.68 kilograms (147 lbs.)

Headpiece:

Two-chamber headpiece. Inner helmet: specially-modified Shoei motorcycle helmet. Outer chamber: aluminum/titanium alloy shell. Dimensions: approx. 60 centimetres (2 ft.) deep; 45 centimetres

(1 ft. 6 in.) wide.

Cooling System:

Battery-powered twin-fan ventilation system draws cool air into helmet and vents warm air.

Radio System:

Voice-activited two-way radio.

Viewing System:

Helmet-mounted miniature camera with wide-angle viewscreen.

Black Box:

Voice-activated recording device located on the rear-right side of head piece, to record bear sounds or, in the event of a catastrophic failure of the Ursus Mark VI, last words.

Defensive System:

Trigger finger-activated "blaster can" on right arm, capable of spraying a 38 centimetre (15 in.) diameter cone of bear repellant for a distance of 4.6 metres (15 ft.), for a duration of 7 seconds.

Testing On Suit:

1. Truck: 18 collisions with a three-tonne truck travelling at 50 kilometres an hour (30 m.p.h)
2. Rifle: Shot at with 12 gauge shotgun, using "Sabot" slugs
3. Arrows: Armour-piercing arrows, fired from 45 kilogram (100 lb.) bow
4. Tree Trunk: Two collisions with a 136 kilgram (300 lb.) tree from a height of 9 metres (30 ft.)
5. Bikers: Assault by three bikers -- the largest, 2.05 metres (6 ft. 9 in.) tall, weighing 175 kilograms (385 lbs.). Biker armaments: splitting ax, planks, baseball bat.
6. Escarpment: Jumped off escarpment, falling over 15.25 metres (over 150 ft.).

Bite Bar:

Pressure-sensitive strip located on right arm, to measure the biting power of a grizzly.

[GeronL]

My cable company, comcast, don't give me no more Tech-TV. We buy a lot of channels and they still took it away... =o(

I wanna see a bear ripped the guy to bits!! *pouts*

[nikola]

I saw this guy on Discovery and he was showing off his "Fireproof" paste. Absolutely awesome stuff. Guy has like high school education and he's invented so much so far.

[GeronL]

to record bear sounds or, in the event of a catastrophic failure of the Ursus Mark VI, last words.

Hi-Tek redneck?

[sociotard]

to record bear sounds or, in the event of a catastrophic failure of the Ursus Mark VI, last words.

*Static crackles* come in alpha base, do you copy? You guys are still holding my beer, right? Good. Watch this! *static*

[martin_fierro]

Awww, who needs a suit.

All you gotta do is sidle up to the bear and tell it, "I loooooooove yooooooouuuuuu....."

<|:)~

[GeronL]

Sociotard... with a handle like that... maybe you need to start your own church... like that L Ron Hubbard guy did

[GeronL]

LOL

BTW- did he win the Darwin Award??

[Texasforever]

Red Green could make that same suit for a buck fifty Canadian.

[martin_fierro]

I dunno, but that was one of those UNBELIEVABLY stupid stories that I just can't forget.

[sociotard]

Sociotard... with a handle like that... maybe you need to start your own church... like that L Ron Hubbard guy did

I probably would, but as a sociotard, I doubt I could get people to pay attention to me long enough to brainwash them. ;)

[GeronL]

I liked that show.

[GeronL]

I think I'll copy it and read it later, all over again

[GeronL]

Hey, if L Ron Hubbard could do it.

[Texasforever]

I learned all my home improvement skills from that show.

[Fledermaus]

Two words: Duct Tape!

[GeronL]

Texasforever sings "My house, is a very very very gray house".

Duct Tape, the handyman secret weapon.

[Texasforever]

Two words?