Hi guys, I’m going to perhaps start on a contentious note by saying that total accuracy isn’t my goal in making a proton pack. Whilst they are a visually wonderful prop they do suffer from a few usability issues the primary one (from my perspective) I’m hoping you’re open to a discussion on:
The gun mount is not good design.
Even with the greater angle of the vhook on the GB2 packs, it’s obvious that ergonomics was not the first consideration of the pack designers and the belt hook is most likely the response to this.
So my question to you is, how would you change the gun mount to make holstering it quick and easy?
My current ‘best’ idea is to have a dual mount - one in the standard position for storage, the second near the hip attached to the alice-pack frame on a short extension bar for fast access whilst on the user.
And about the only kind of response. In the movies, they are never reholstering their guns but rather hooking the gun onto a belt fob. Close to what I think you were saying.
Well there is always this thread here that deals with the same topic essentially. It shows the proper technique and even lists the name of the technique.
That thread prompted this. That thread points out the poor design and the effort one needs to go to to re-holster the thrower. This thread is an attempt to discuss the question ‘if you didn’t care about screen accuracy how would you design a gun mount?’. I appreciate that people can re-holster with practice but it’s evident that this is not an optimal solution to a design problem.
The belt hook works in a pinch but given the centre of mass (COM) of the thrower (which will vary according to build materials) and the hook proximity to the COM, one tends to have a thrower that flops around and doesn’t hang well. I did a mock-up of the belt hanging method and found that the thrower tended to slap against my leg when walking. Your experience may differ from mine of course.
jros3484’s suggestion seems reasonable and it’s something I’ve pondered - a mixture of a simple hook, a reasonably powerful permanent magnet to re-holster and an electromagnet to release. Getting the thrower back over one’s shoulder and onto the mount will still be an issue but the magnets will at least help guide it to the correct position.
The main issue is the hook’s opening is too small. If there was something that guided the entire guntrack into a slot it’d be easier to hit by feel. Magnets don’t work for vertical clamping as they’ll still slide, you’d need at least a ledge if not a full clip which defeats the purpose of the magnet.
I suspect you’re correct in this though I have seen some remarkably powerful HDD magnets. The liability with magnets of course is that you need to be careful what you put the pack or thrower near.
lunchbox739: Strictly speaking only an alternating magnetic field is likely to cause interference. I guess mechanical damage may be caused if the electronics contain any ferrous parts but that’s just a matter of making sure everything’s well attached.
You’re going to be putting a lot of work into the theorycraft of fabricating a mount on the actual ALICE Frame. For ‘quick release’, I’d use something like a trap holster that simply has the gun hooked onto it, although that would necessitate removing the S-Hook.
This is a pretty decent idea. The various trap holsters I’ve seen look sturdy and would seem to keep the trap from moving around too much.
I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to consider the greater angle on the v-hook introduced in GB2 to be a reaction to just grabbing the thrower. Our arms don’t work too well when trying to reach something behind us.
