My goodness, what a way to test your own product:
He didn't stop with that model, either.
(I wonder if that thing could protect a gorilla. Asking for a friend...)
Apparently, Hurtubise claimed the 50-pound suit was also able to stop everything from a 9mm handgun round to a large-caliber hunting rifle, and that the whole things only cost $2,000.
Here's a reported ballistic test:
A bear-proof suit that allows me to get hit by a truck, fall off a cliff, walk through fire, and survive a .50-cal round to the chest?
I know a lot of fine people who would love to have a boating accident with that thing.
Canadians preparing to go hunt bears:
Here's a crazy news story where Hurtubise showcased his suit back in the 2000s:
The story didn't have a happy ending, however. No one was interested in the suit (probably because force-on-force engagement doesn't work like a RoboCop movie), and development on the suit reportedly bankrupted the man and his family.
(If you think I'm being snarky about RoboCop, the man literally decided to build the thing after watching RoboCop.)
Hurtubise was ultimately killed in an accident in 2018 when he collided with a truck carrying gasoline.
Sad stuff.
It's easy to poke fun at him for having such an obsession, but for all I know the man was a genius and we could all be running around in cheap armored mech suits right now!!!
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