Retrofitted OTSRs?

I was looking at lifthill.net's coverage of the Intamin Zac Spin coasters and saw detailed photos of their "new" restraint.

Here's a little blurb from the article:
A new restraint system with soft-vests like the straps of a rucksack was developed for the Zac Spin Coaster. How did you come to the decision for modified restraints and what are the first experiences with the new vests?
The new "vest" - restraint system is an advanced development of our shoulder restraints, used for example on our catapult coasters (accelerators). All experiences and first of all the feedback are very positive.

Would it be possible to use this restraint system on other Intamin installations?
Yes, absolutely.

Am I the only one that would LOVE to see this installed on Maverick or any future Intamin looper? These just look 800 times more comfortable than the horse collars. I know a lot of you will say the restraints are fine, fight the ride, keep your head back, etc..... But, in reality, none of that works for some of us and the ride quality is affected.

Thoughts?

Looks good to me.

I still don't see any issues with Maverick's restraints. I'm not sure if it even makes a difference, but Maverick's restraints have much thicker foam by your shoulders than the other Intamin rides using the same design.

I'm guessing the reason for that new design is because of the extended periods you could possible be laying on the harness. There's never a point where you lay on the restraints on Maverick, unless you get a slow ride. Test rides in the morning really crawl through the horseshoe roll.

The only issue I see is that they didn't find better looking women to take a picture of in the restraints. :)

and they're not even wearing bengals jerseys...

:P

I wouldn't be complaining about harnesses already maverick isn't even a year old.

After riding Maverick 17 consecutive times...yeah, new restraints would be very good, plus, if they decreased the size of that crotch part where the seatbealt connects would be much appreciated, haha.

^Umm, don't ride it 17 times in a row.

My girlfriend and I will agree that the Maverick OTSR's come way too far down on your legs, and genital area.

It seems even if I gave myself an extra click or two that once over the hill it clicked down. In the end we're always anticipating being let out.

Maverick's restraints are horrible.

^^
These new type OTSRs are not going to change that feeling. They don't lock into place like Skyhawk's ratcheting system does, although that would be an awesome addition too.

If you're going to have turns of 90 degrees or more...OSTRs are not a good idea.

Leaning forward is the best way to have a comfortable ride on maverick. In my opinion the otsr system isnt even needed. A nice Intamin Tbar does the trick and is very comfortable. Oh and don't cry about the seatbelts, I don't wanna hear that.

and they're not even wearing bengals jerseys...

That would make the picture ugly.. we all know that.

As for the OTSR's.. they would be nice.. but they aren't going to get 6 new trains. Not many people besides enthusiasts really complain.

PS: I saw these probably as soon as Maverick was announced.. these aren't really new news.
*** Edited 10/2/2007 4:56:38 AM UTC by TTD4Life***

The thing I like about these restraints is it looks like they can easily be retrofitted to existing restraints like on Maverick, Storm Runner or Rita. The lap bar is identical and all the mounting points are the same. Even the seat belt mounts to the same location. So, there would be no reason at all to buy six new trains. Remove the rigid shoulder restraints, add the soft ones and voila, you're done. It seems like a lot less work than converting OTSR trains to lap bar only trains. And, we all know that's been done before on numerous coasters.

Zeek said:
After riding Maverick 17 consecutive times...yeah, new restraints would be very good, plus, if they decreased the size of that crotch part where the seatbealt connects would be much appreciated, haha.

Much agreed. At least we got 11 consecutive rides on Dragster with 4 rollbacks later that day to make the beating on Maverick worthwhile. :)

I wish we could have 4 point safety harnesses. Obviously you need a device that is not adjustable by the occupant and locks into place, but they would be nice.

Maverick always busts up my shoulders. This looks like a comfortable solution.

We can only dream that it will happen.

^^ The 4 point safety harnesses always seem to cause problems, and I can guarantee that it would make the line move slower. Look at Perilous Plunge with the old boats. Those harnesses took way to much adjusting and were way too restrictive for who could ride with them.

While the likelihood of seeing these on Maverick is at-or-near zero, they do look far better than the current setup. Not that I have a particular problem with them, beyond feeling a bit too 'closed in' for my taste.