Same thought here.. IMO, unless someone is high speed low drag, body armor slows them down. Watching the news or documentaries show when Infantry fights or patrols; they are missing their pack and Infantry is high speed low drag. The IOTV weighs about 30 pounds and 40-50 with the plates. Add food, water, ammunition and a ruck and most folks might want to consider what they will give up to wear it.
My combat load of flak (with Small Arms Protective Inserts-SAPI), 210 rds of ammo in magazines (7 mags), IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), filled CamelBak, and combat knife weighs 63 pounds. I have back pain that will be my constant companion until I die. Wearing boots and utes, I can run a mile flat out in just over 7 minutes. Wearing my combat load, I have to stop and rest at about a quarter mile if I run flat out, or I can do a steady shuffle that will get me a mile in about 13 minutes. Finally, the IMTV (Improved Modular Tactical Vest) that the Marine Corps uses is so unwieldy that if you drop something, you have to back up, locate it, then move to where it is, squat and pick it up. Good luck jumping over anything or climbing a fence, crawling over a downed tree, or anything like that.
Replacing the canteen made Camelbaks the greatest thing since sliced bread. Do Marines wear the knee pads? Whoever invented them will keep knees in better shape than back in the day.. IMO, all Infantry have or will end up with back problems and tinnitus. A lot of Airborne need a torn cartilage snip. We carried more ammunition, 21-20s and a 30 in the weapon. Never wore the flak jacket for the reasons you mentioned. At the time the flak jacket weighed ~15# and the lemon weighed ~21 oz and M61 baseballs were a pound.
I have worn the knee pads. When you kneel on concrete, asphalt, or a rock, you are definitely happy to have them.
This will be in my Santa's wish list.... Although the EOD model may have prosthetic hands...his crown jewels will be nice and snug... his PUG (protective under-garment) boxers will help the dismounted from being dismembered. U.S. Army develops “Kevlar underpants” to protect soldiers' nether regions Blast Boxers by BCB Edit: Such a lifelike mannequin: He seems to dress to the right!
As they weren't available to us, I'd change that to grateful to be issued them? Back in the day, I saw artillerymen and mortar crews wet cigarette filters to use as ear plugs. The bottom line of being Infantry or Combat Arms hasn't changed, but some great perks were added. Bet the feet inside the chain mail booties grew a real case of trench foot. LOL
Dunno about that, but they'd be the berries on ice. (I use Yak Trax on moccasins to get to the mailbox when it's icy.)
As bare feet don't hold up well on ice, the foot needs protected. My guess is one's feet would freeze but never tried it. Mailbox is on the paved road so walking isn't an option. When the Michelin Hydra edges were on the AWD, I had to park and walk in. If the south sun hit the road, it was mud coming home and frozen in the morning. The best all around foot gear for me was a pair of cheap 18" rubber insulated boots similar to LaCrosse Burly Classic etc with a tread designed for slippery stuff. Ankle fit with thermal socks. To avoid the mud tucking pants in was not an option. As we enjoy a nature walk, we have similar over boot "tire chains" for people. I had a set of spikes bought for ice fishing years ago. They work great on ice, but for X-country around here the spikes foul up too much. In real estate they say location, location and did I say location... It appears location applies to what works with gear also..
I got into the habit of going barefoot around the house when I was living in a tropical climate, so the chain mail had a limited attraction. My drive is just under 150 feet, so while I think my tootsies would get cold walking out there and back, it's unlikely I'd freeze on so short an excursion. That said, I take my time and scope out the yard for critter tracks on the way, so yep, mail booties won't do for me around here. (Not to mention the snow that might stick in the chains.) I can appreciate mailboxes on paved roads, the moreso since I live on a dirt path, so to say. Others might say mud. But the drive is gravel. The first time my backside hit the ice, I started looking for cheap crampons. Found the YakTrax strictly by accident, and happy to have done so. The best thing since sliced bread for the service. And yep, you have to prep for the conditions, not some ephemeral disaster that is often imagined.
In the monsoon season in III Corps, everyone did or wore flip flops as that was how my toes stopped looking same as a kid's who stayed in the pool too long. A Bro was in the Mekong Delta AO. As the Mekong is lots of swamps and wetlands even in the dry season; they wore them in either season. Here it is mud, red clay mud. Since I've have lived here, the neighbors and I have spent $2-3K a year on the road or the steep sections of the road. We've used road bond, crushed up old concrete, stone etc; in late Spring every year. Every winter destroys it and what is left Spring rains take out. The neighbor with the Kubota moves the washed out stone etc so it lasts for a while longer. To fix it to last would require a DC 8 to move the rock, then proper drainage would need to be installed etc etc. Even by a good old boy the cost is beyond our means. Except for one other hill, the rest of the road is dirt and an occasional pick up of stone thrown with a shovel keeps it up. The old ice cleats are heavier and from what I remember they lack the forward facing spikes climbing crampons proudly display. Which is understandable as ice fishing is walking on ice not climbing it. These guys at this site are good: Grivel G10 Ice crampons: review My father must have went on his as he made me wear his or someone's hand me downs. Too big is better than nothing. Judging by what I read online; a lot of folks have trouble sorting the "ephemeral disasters" from those of a more likely occurrence. Same as everyone else Katrina and riots added looters, rape, murder etc to our lists. My favorite example is firearms; unlike all our other insurance policies; a firearm is one of the few insurance policies which is purchased outright and can be enjoyed by shooting target or in competition.
Here in Alaska, we wear ExtraToughs with Corked soles.... Yes, they DO Make them as an Option.... Like Rubber Golf Boots.....
No doubt, picture this. I had worked late and was asleep, wife went outside to feed the dogs, wife slipped on a frozen path. Down she went, broke her shoulder and of course laying on a slope with a broke shoulder it is almost impossiable to get up. Still luck was with us as she slipped just outside where I was sleeping and her screams woke me. Had she been in another location she might have died before I woke up and went looking. Crampons and cell phone from then on. Dead is dead, no matter the cause.
HK_User, be thankful as it could have been worse. As it is steep here when there is crust on the snow or ice, it is dangerous.
Here's a body armour development that some monkeys might find interesting.....Coconut Fibre Body Armour!!! http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/17/nation/12183946&sec=nation http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=coconut%20fibre%20body%20armour%20specifications&source=web&cd=4&sqi=2&ved=0CEoQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpublications.drdo.gov.in%2Fojs%2Findex.php%2Fdsj%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F1645%2F739&ei=xyX9UNiFIMSFkAXRwYDADA&usg=AFQjCNFJFXwTETHjunklG36aaje14H0qQQ
And in related news. All testing has been suspended until center-fire ammo has been banned and all remaining rounds have been confiscated. A shortage of testing volunteers is blamed for these developments.
