Uncomfortable armor

[RedGhost]

Hey all, So last weekend I went to a con cosplayed in my 3d printed ODST suit. Part of it was a printed backpack, which weighed 3 kg on its own, and the underarmor/backarmor which was also printed in hard plastic.

Now I'm no stranger to backpacking and heavy lifting without ever complaining, so I'm sure it isn't from me being weak and stuff but holy damn did that suit hurt. Day 1 of the con I couldn't even wear it halfway through because my shoulder was basically crippled from pain and all the way swollen. I took that as a hint, removed the armor altogether and enjoyed that day without armor further onwards. When I was at home, I quickly added a lot of padding on the armor's shoulder area so it would be more comfortable. Low and behold, day two arose and yeah, it was more comfortable, but I had to take off my armor 4/5th through the con because everything started to hurt and I became really fatigued. Not only that, but the added padding made the armor twice as hot. When I took off the armor it felt like a huge relief, but now, 4 days later, I'm still having trouble actually lifting my arms higher than my shoulders. :/

My question is, how should I go about to make the armor more comfortable? Even more padding? I'm scared that if I add so much padding to the shoulders I'll begin to look like a hunchback. Is your armor as uncomfortable as mine? Or did I royally screw up? Advice and comments are more than appreciated, thank you!

In case anyone is wondering, the entire armor (including under clothing without shoes) weights at 15kg

 

[xXDashIVXx]

Well, 3d printing can have wonderful results and detail, but it can be heavy and way too hard to be comfortable. Maybe if you would like to try this again, try using the rubber like filament that I saw in a punished props video. They used it to make shuriken. I prefer eva foam because it is flexible, cheaper, more convenient for me, and won't kill my shoulder, but get again I don't have a 3d printer :b

I hope some of the people that have done this before can answer and halo you out because I liked your suit and I would hate for all that time to go to ruin. Good luck

 

[PaiganBoi]

Like any armour in a videogame. It looks awesome and all but, doesn't mean it transfers well to real life. Majority of time it's an issue of mobility and range of motion. In this case it's a backpack that is directly attached to armour and all the weight is placed on the shoulders.
Like you mentioned adding padding helps but it turns into insulation and leads to other problems down the road. Instead of the backpack being attached to the back of the armour, you may need to figure out a strapping/harness set up that transfers/spreads the weight evenly instead of just the shoulders. Too bad I have no idea on how to do that. When I first joined a couple of years ago. Someone had built a functioning pack and made a strapping system to do just that. The name of that member or the thread name escapes me. Do a search and hopefully it pops up.

 

[Cadet]

Perhaps you can take an inspiration from a backpacking Backpack and find a way to distribute some of the weight onto your hips/waist. It definitely does sound like the problem is that since the backpack is mounted on the back plate, it will just pull down and against the shoulders. Maybe you can cut some slits into the back plate where it is covered by the backpack and run some straps from the backpack around to the front and have them clip there, and then be hidden by the abdominal armor plate section?

 

[PerniciousDuke]

It is possible that there was something wrong prior to the con, such as sleeping in a weird way, and the pain didn't surface until the armor weight exacerbated the pressure. If you know someone good at cracking backs, that would be my first action. Then test the armor out just at home and see if the problem is noticeable right away or not.

 

[pipninja]

With what Cadet said, you should find a way to distribute that weight to your hips. You can either try this on your own, or you can take a load bearing backpack, and find a way to mount directly onto it.