HOW MUCH SLACK?

[tnt-k9]

Just acquired an Excal II. It seems to be quite heavy and I would like to lighten the load. It came with a "hip mount" assembly but I've heard so much about the risk of damaging the connections with the hip mount set up. So, if I hip mount it, what would be the rule of thumb for slack? Or should I invest in a straight shaft? (For what I paid for this 8 month old unit, an additional $90.00 - $130.00 would not hurt the budget).

I like the idea of a straight shaft since everything is contained/secure. The BH ID 300 has the option but I chose to leave it connected to the shaft. A fellow MDer hip mounted his and dropped the control box and subsequently damaged the knobs $$.

All advice would be appreciated.

Good luck out there and be safe.

 

[Da Sand Crab]

The stock shaft is designed to wear your arm out real quick.
I bought an Anderson straight but it still wears me out pretty quick.
I made my own hip mount and have finally realized that the coil is just
plain heavy and bulky, so unless I'm submerged in water I can't
swing for very long. I'm sure some others have invented and created
some nice working balance shafts that work well.
As far as slack goes, try to keep the connections as straight as possible
with as little or no bend.

 

[general]

I would avoid the hip mount. I had to send my Excal back after about 8 months for a battery cable issue that might have been caused by the hip mount. I now have a modified Anderson over and under shaft. I added the hip mount shaft by making a short extention. The Excal is now a balanced machine and I can swing it all day.