Project Grizzly inventor crafts real-world Halo suit for military use

While it's not likely that you'll encounter the Arbiter on any given day, the slightly off-kilter Project Grizzly inventor has gone out of his way (and possibly his mind) to create what resembles a real-life Halo suit, sporting protection from gunfire and ensuring you an award at Covenant gatherings. Troy Hurtubise created the suit, dubbed Trojan, in hopes of protecting Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and US soldiers in Iraq, and considering that it has withstood knives, bullets, light explosives, clubs, and even a round from an elephant gun, it sounds like quite the winner. Proclaimed to be the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armor," Trojan is crafted from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam, and features nearly endless compartments, morphine / salt containers, knife and gun holsters, emergency lights, a built-in recording device, pepper spray, ingestible transponder for those "last resort" scenarios, and there's even a fresh air system powered by solar panels within the helmet. Mr. Hurtubise claims the 18 kilograms (40 pounds) suit is comfortable enough to make road trips in (yes, he tried it), and if any major military would take him up on it, they could reportedly be produced for "around $2,000 apiece." Now that's a bargain, folks.

[Thanks, Alec]

[Genome @ Jan 15th 2007 6:15AM]

I cant believe its not the 1st of April already!
Nice suit, but wheres the sentient AI and shiny helmet?
Would the US military even pay that amount per soldier?
I guess for special units maybe. I cant see these appearing regularly in Iraq though.

[wasted @ Jan 15th 2007 11:54AM]

Do you know how much an M16 costs??? Or the cost of keeping a military aircraft in the air for an hour??? $2000 is peanuts for something like this, for the army its peanuts altogether!

[Snark @ Jan 16th 2007 1:28PM]

Given that we currently spend $27,000 per soldier for his personal gear (Up from around $7500 in 2000) this wouldn't be a serious expense. Given that the DoD estimates that each dead soldier costs right around $1,000,000 in death benefits, lost training that must be replaced, etc, an additional $2k wouldn't even show up on their radar, as long as it's actually shown to reduce casualties.

[g @ Feb 10th 2007 8:28PM]

ha! with 500 billion theyd better!

[Skorn @ Jan 15th 2007 6:18AM]

That sounds awesome, but slightly too good to be true. It looks really cool though.

[Henning Kilset @ Jan 15th 2007 6:22AM]

Actually, $2,000 is close to nothing when it comes to military equipment. I'm willing to bet the US military spends about ten times as much to outfit any random soldier in Iraq, for instance. Not counting vehicles, transport, choppers, tanks, etc.

[squeezee @ Jan 15th 2007 6:26AM]

I don't think any military would put their soldiers in such a gigantic bulky suit.

Its also called 'Trojan', .

[rua @ Jan 15th 2007 6:28AM]

Send it to http://www.theboxotruth.com they'll let us know if it works or not...

[Kris K @ Jan 15th 2007 6:30AM]

Since noone else has yet....

Here is the scene....

"HORSE NAYS's"

booming voice from the skies...

"TROJAN MAN!!!"

[fredouil @ Jan 15th 2007 6:47AM]

AK-47 is far more powerful than an elephant gun, i doubt the protection will resist.

[wolfpaw @ Jan 15th 2007 7:12AM]

Actually, the armor penetration for a standard 7.62mm bullet fired from an AK-47 is somewhere around 1cm of steel. Assault rifles are designed to be used effectively against soft targets, not for maximal armor penetration. An elephant gun, on the other hand (although just a generic description), would be far more inclined towards penetrating power, so more than likely the balance of power as far as it matters to armor would be on the "elephant gun"'s favor.

[Jared @ Jan 15th 2007 12:01PM]

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

An AK47 round is relatively low-powered -- approximately 1/2 the energy of the typical rifle round used in WWII. It has to be in order for the AK47 to be controllable on full auto.

The AK47 is chambered in 7.62x39. It typically has a 124 grain bullet with muzzle velocity of about 2300 feet per second. That's about 1500 ft-lbs at the muzzle.

As for an "elephant gun", that's a fairly nebulous term. Probably the smallest caliber recommended would be a .375 H&H Magnum. That's typically a 300 grain bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2400 feet per second, providing 3800 ft-lbs at the muzzle.

And that's a relatively small "elephant gun." Larger calibers, like 470 Nitro Express, have far more energy. 500 grain bullet traveling at 2150 feet per second, for 5000+ ft-lbs at the muzzle.

Assault rifles such as the AK47 have significantly LESS energy than standard .30 rifles used in WWII. For example, the US .30-06 used in WWII was typically a 150 grain bullet traveling at 2900 fps for 2800 ft-lbs at the muzzle.

[ssgtakeo @ Jan 15th 2007 12:07PM]

fredouil, Don't talk out your ass man, Ak-47 uses the old Russian m43 cartridge and is no where NEAR as powerful as an elephant gun. Ballistically it's similar to the old 30-30 lever action cartridge that is the weakest allowed round for hunting deer in most states.

I hate it when fanboys talk about guns.

[joseph le brech @ Jan 15th 2007 6:48AM]

Hey mister, if you don't manage to sell this, you can always pretend you're batman.

[hybridcountdown @ Jan 15th 2007 7:04AM]

@fredouil - umm no an AK47 is definitely not as powerful as an elephant gun (which, if you hadn't already deduced from the name, is used to drop elephants) It has a higher rate of fire but definitely not as much stopping power per shot.

Other than that this suit looks rather promising. It needs to be streamlined a bit but it's a good start.

[Ford @ Jan 15th 2007 11:53AM]

I contend that fredouil is correct. The smaller sharper bullets from assault rifles have a great deal of armour penetration. Standard buildings are considered concealment, not cover. The smaller bullet is WHY it will penetrate armour. Oh as a side note, this guy went to my sisters school and they all think he was a screw ball. I saw a discovery channel documentary with him in it. He fancies himself Nanuck of the North and refers to Grizzly bears as old man and talks about all you need in this world is a trusty knife. He made a Grizzly suit once, and it could withstand a grizzly attack, but he never wore it when looking for them becuase it was too impractical. He has a lot of ideas, that are almost good, but his crazy gets in the way.

[neil @ Jan 15th 2007 7:20AM]

fredouil, you can try to take down an angry elephant with an AK, I'll take the Elephant gun. Let's see who's not stomped into a puddle of goo afterwards.

[euan @ Jan 15th 2007 7:40AM]

No mention of mobility though. Comfortable doesn't mean you'll be able to effectively move through a building.

[xVariable @ Jan 15th 2007 8:08AM]

Prezzie: Hm, let's see: Which game are most people, including most Engadget readers going to recognize? Halo, or Battlefield 2142? Talk about head-up-ass-itus...

Troy Hurtubise has establish a reputation for strident torture testing with his Grizzly suit, so he has a proven track record. I believe his claims, but leave open the possibility that there's some hype here.

[chris @ Jan 15th 2007 8:15AM]

this is sick!!!!

And guys 2000$ is not much at all kevlar isnt cheap, hell, the scope o most decent rifles runs in the area of 1500-3000$....

By estimates before the iraq war each soldier is holding around 200,000$ worth of equipment at any given time.

[AndrewNeo @ Jan 15th 2007 8:16AM]

I'd go comparing it to Battlefield 2142 before we start going into technical aspects of the MJOLNIR armor, such as the fact it weighs two tons, contains Covenant shield technology, and other things.. I'm fairly certain this has none of that.

[Chris @ Jan 15th 2007 8:18AM]

This guy is from the same city as me. Read it in my local paper during school one day. Its good to see my city might actually be famous on the internet for something cool :)

HAMILTON REPRESENT

[JoJaysius @ Jan 15th 2007 8:51AM]

Yeah, this made the cover of The Hamilton Spectator a couple days ago. Reading about it over breakfast, I was a little skeptical. Does the inventor have any ballistics or engineering training? And I find it hard to believe that the military hasn't developed something like this already. On the other hand, if it saves the lives of soldiers, I'm in full support.

[Black @ Jan 18th 2007 6:55PM]

No one ever said the military hasn't already come out with this(ours anyway.) The fact that a civilian with probuly verylimited funding came out with this exoskeleton is amazing. If you look on the public domain enough, and in the right places, then you would learn to realize that we're more technicaly advanced than most people think. Two things I would suggest looking up is H.A.R.P. and F.R.A.C.T.O. These might make this seem a little, if not a lot, more realistic.

[tkn0spdr @ Jan 15th 2007 8:58AM]

I wonder how long it takes to don this suit? I mean, we had to get into full MOPP4 gear in like 3 minutes from the first time we heard "Gas, gas, gas."

[anonymous @ Jan 15th 2007 12:29PM]

but it was only 15 seconds to get into the mask or your dead.

[Rick Lyon @ Jan 15th 2007 9:10AM]

This is someone who takes video games way too seriously. Where is Snake's invisible (Solid Metal Gear) suit? Or the big laser blasters?

[brock_samson @ Jan 15th 2007 4:07PM]

Rick Lyon,

Ummm...if it wasn't for Science Fiction writers our progress in technology would be greatly deminished.
It was those writers that inspired all of the kids that became all the folks that make your life soo much easier. If Video games are another launch point for new inventors so much the better. Just maybe we'll all live long enough to see the results.

[Vince D @ Jan 15th 2007 9:13AM]

$2000? Not after the purchase and aquisition process, more like $20,000, AND it will be completely compromised. How about let's just not start any more unnecessary wars abroad?

[Larkin660 @ Jan 26th 2007 7:01PM]

Dude, in japan they do have an invisible "cloth." it uses tiny cameras and tiny tvs to display the pic behind you, although it may not be army worthy, it does make you VERY hard to see.

[Wonderboy @ Jan 15th 2007 9:19AM]

If we're getting suits that reflect video games, I want Mario's overalls that allows the wearer to fly when a feather is touched, jump extra high, spit fireballs, run extra fast, become temporarily invincible, and to have infinite lives... oh and always win the princess.

Halo, pffft... this guy is thinking way too small.

[cornelso @ Jan 15th 2007 9:40AM]

And exactly how long did he go humping around the desert wearing a full body armor suit? Iraq is hell of a lot warmer than Canada.

[steve @ Jan 15th 2007 7:06PM]

wonderboy, mario's hat is clearly his source of power.. gosh haven't you ever played mario 64?

[Jonathan @ Jan 15th 2007 9:39AM]

Here's a video interview with the inventor. He's...energetic, to say the least.
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/media_archive/jan-11-2007_a.html

Not sure why the article doesn't link to it, seeing as it's also from the Hamilton Spectator.

[Chris K @ Jan 15th 2007 9:43AM]

The one piece of information everyone has overlooked so far: 40lbs. The weight makes this gear a non-starter for any mobile soldier.

Soldiers are already overloaded today. Adding 40lbs to their kit is absolute lunacy.

Get back to us when it's under 10lbs.

[anonymous @ Jan 15th 2007 12:31PM]

to chris K.

yeah its 40 pounds but you would be shedding some of that un-needed heavy stuff that this thing is designed to replace. Im sure it would be an even or better tradeoff.

[Brian Nguyen @ Jan 15th 2007 5:53PM]

40lbs is not too bad considering the average weight of a US army soldier's vest is 35lbs.

[Sqube @ Jan 15th 2007 9:49AM]

Chris K, I imagine that suit would replace at least some of the stuff that your average soldier is wearing, as opposed to just adding weight without any sort of benefits.

It's got all kinds of pockets and what have you, so there has to be something in the damn thing which is making it lighter. I can't really see it just adding 40 pounds with no benefit (besides the obvious bullet-proofiness).

[Eagan @ Jan 15th 2007 9:51AM]

Crap. I can't believe no one caught the funnies line from the article yet. "Dangling between the legs, that would be a clock." That is damn funny. At least the designer has a sence of humor.

[Vince D @ Jan 15th 2007 10:17AM]

Hurtubise is a whackjob. An inventive, gutsy, entertaining whackjob, but still a whackjob. Then again, some of the most famous inventors have been somewhat, er, eccentric.

[Geoff @ Jan 15th 2007 10:31AM]

AndrewNeo: You are a fucking dork.

But hey, you're absolutely right. If ever alien shield technology should become available, I'm sure Troy will be the first to implement it. /rolleyes

[DrewDrew @ Jan 15th 2007 10:36AM]

You idiots. He isn't trying to make up stuff he sees on video games, if you look at the link that says "Project Grizzly", you will see that he starte long ago trying to make a suit that will withstand a Grizzly Bear attack.

[david @ Jan 15th 2007 10:39AM]

Pricing and availability?

[Ricardo @ Jan 15th 2007 10:49AM]

This is the ultimate FAN ITEM, ever to be bought by any HALO fan.

[icepop4who @ Jan 15th 2007 10:50AM]

"Hey, you got protection?"

"yeah, i got trojan."

[Joe @ Jan 15th 2007 11:06AM]

does it come with 4 plasma grenades?

[mithmusic @ Jan 15th 2007 11:15AM]

Cool suit. You could probably do better marketing it to the next generation of XBOX fans. Equip it with a HUD and a couple of wireless game controllers and you may have something. Good luck with the military.

[eric f @ Jan 15th 2007 11:25AM]

Trojan, because it's the closest he's ever going to get to getting laid wearing that thing...

[dgary1980 @ Jan 15th 2007 11:37AM]

I met Troy back when he was on Mark 3 of his Griz suit, and while the guy might seem like a kook, he's one sharp dude, a bit odd, but sharp.

His real failing is not being able to see the forest through the trees, he's obsessively single minded, so he'll work on the suit, and work and work, ignoring what could be horrible flaws, but adding an abundance of other features, kind of like what he did with his "angel light", if it exists its dangerous as hell but has some very unique abilities like seeing through flesh and killing goldfish.

[Hugh Bothwell @ Jan 15th 2007 12:08PM]

Cute - but how does this (jet-black) suit do in 140-degree weather? How does it stand up to IEDs? And what happens to "winning hearts and minds" when the local civilians see this walking down the street?