Ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour

"The inventor of the bear protection suit has just built a protoype for a suit or armour capable of stoping bullets and knives.”



From bears to bullets

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.

He has spent two years and $15,000 in the lab out back of his house in North Bay, designing and building a practical, lightweight and affordable shell to stave off bullets, explosives, knives and clubs. He calls it the Trojan and describes it as the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour."

Using the hard-learned lessons of his Project Grizzly experience -- a 20-year odyssey that included a National Film Board documentary, an appearance on CNN and personal bankruptcy -- he's ready to start selling his newest idea.

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.

On Saturday, he plans to wear it to Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto and wait for the reporters. It shouldn't take long to create a stir.

Hurtubise, 43, wore his suit -- helmet and all -- on the four-hour drive down south, partly as a way of making sure it would be comfortable enough in the field. Even sitting on his armoured butt cheeks, he said he was fine.

As he drove his black pickup in his black getup, other drivers gawked and honked. Just south of Huntsville, he was delighted to be pulled over and gave an apprehensive OPP officer a close-up look at the suit.

Once he established that he could see just fine in his helmet and that the guns attached to his magnetic holsters were just props, Hurtubise was free to continue his trip.

The whole suit -- which draws design inspiration from Star Wars, RoboCop, Batman and video games -- is made from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam.

Its many features include compartments for emergency morphine and salt, a knife and emergency light. Built into the forearms are a small recording device, a pepper-spray gun and a detachable transponder that can be swallowed in case of trouble.

Dangling between the legs, that would be a clock.

In the helmet, there's a solar-powered fresh-air system and a drinking tube attached to a canteen in the small of the back. A laser pointer mounted in the middle of the forehead is ready to point to snipers, while LED lights frame the face.

The whole suit comes in at 18 kilograms. It covers everything but the fingertips and the major joints, and could be mass-produced for about $2,000, Hurtubise says.

He said he hopes to earn enough of a living from the suit so he can keep on inventing, but the real reason he did this, he says, is "for the boys."

thats got to be the start to a sick joke <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I wonder how it'd stand up to the DF? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I may get one of these for the next time I have to face the beloved after to many social shandies

Way-hey.. Halo for real- very cool! Just add a burst fire Beretta and go tame 'old Detroit'! Andy you can have the DF I'll take the Beretta and armour! We can experiment.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I think $2000 is a pretty good price for your own Robocop suit! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Might be good to have next time your wives find out you bought another expensive knife and come at ya with a rolling pin or cast iron pan. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

$2k mass produced. individually it's gotta cost way more.

I love this guy ,I mean sure he is a total whack job but he is a entertaining whack job. The flashlight between his legs is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It does not show it well in those pics but it extends like the landing gear on a plane. A 15 year old jihadi with an AK would cut this guy to pieces if he could stop laughing though. I want the helmet for my motorbike.

I actually have my own home made crimefighting suit. It is an ICON Merc synthetic motorbike jacket with some kevlar reinforcing. For pants I have canadian chemical warfare suit pants and I did have army kneepads but they were not comfortable on the bike. I have a HJC full face helmet with mirrod lens that I plan to have bluetooth enabled this spring. The Dogfather is going to be a nice addition to the suit.

I got some real kevlar fro a great guy who works at a plant producing body armour.
My alpinstars batman gloves were already kevlar reinforced when I got them


It was really cool when I went to pick up my Cheness katana from the post and I got to ride home with it slung over my shoulder. I felt very "Kill Bill".

Wow i remeber seeing this guy on tv when i was like 12 (22 now ) His first suit was made of plastic , foam , and alot of duct tape. It did stop a huge log tho.

It really does look like the suits from Halo.

The best part of the bear suit show was when he decided to shave with his 8 inch long bowie knife.

You're not serious are you. That's wild!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />