Yet Another Bag Question

[thunderquack]

Just a quick question, if the strap buckle is correctly worn Indy style in the middle of the chest, where should the bag itself sit on your hip? I know its a matter of preferance but what do you guys and gals think?

[IndyBlues]

MY guess has always been that the top of the bag should meet the bottom of the jacket, so you can access the bag without lifting the jacket.
'Blues

[agent5]

MY guess has always been that the top of the bag should meet the bottom of the jacket, so you can access the bag without lifting the jacket.

True dat, but it was also worn underneath at hip level for certain scenes too. Depends how you like or want it. I prefer it under the jacket because it gives more of an illusion of longer legs.

[indybill]

MY guess has always been that the top of the bag should meet the bottom of the jacket, so you can access the bag without lifting the jacket.
'Blues

That's my take too. The top of the bag should be at your hip so that you
can stash you're artifacts quickly without having to fumble with your
jacket.

Regards,
Indybill

[J_Weaver]

Take it easy Clinton, you're thinking too much.

If your buckle is 2 or 3 inches lower that mean 1 of 2 things.

1. You're strap is the same length as Indy's, but you're taller than he is.
2. You're strap is too short. Thus you can't place the buckle in the same place as Indy's

Solution: Decide if #1 or #2 is your problem. Then get a longer strap.

[Indiana Jerry]

Yeah, I can't add much more there, except punt.

Do you want a measurement for how long the strap needs to be to sit right, or for it also to have extra to come back to your sternum for buckle-placement? (I'm ball-parking the sternum, cause as 5 said, it's all over the place in different scenes.)

I don't know any magic math for this, and I don't think you're going to find any, since everybody's a completely different shape. Personally, that's why I don't think looking for a magic 65" strap does anybody any good.

The only suggestion I have is loop a cloth measuring tape, over your right shoulder and join it down at your left hip. That's about the closest you can ballpark the total effective length w/o using a bag for the measurement, I guess - it worked for me, anyway. Now you add extra to bring the buckle back up from the hip (where it would be if there were no extra strap) until it hits where you want. Say, from the hip back up to the sternum.

I'm using a 55" rifle strap. I've got some 10 inches of it excess, so the buckle comes back to just below my sternum. This works for me, and the bag rides right at my belt line. But see, that 55" may or may not work for you just like the 65" may or may not work for you.

(If I could find my measuring tape at the moment, I'd do more, but can't find the blinking thing.)

J

[Swindiana]

I wear it so that I can reach inside to the bottom of the bag without having to pull the strap to lift it up, with less fumbling as a result. I have pretty long arms so the bag will still hang pretty low down on my hip. All a matter of personal taste I guess... My ToD strap is cut a bit longer and I find it quite convenient to be able to adjust the length with the roller buckle when the bag is fully packed with stuff.

Anyhow, I'd love to see a formula... Da Vinci style.

Regards,
Swindiana

[Indiana Jerry]

Anyhow, I'd love to see a formula... Da Vinci style.

hehehe...I was thinking about The Divine Proportion when he asked that...and I was looking for a magic body length to make this work.

Ball parking it, I was thinking just use the length of your wingspan - arms outstretched, tip to tip. On me that gets about 67", which sounds like the 65" number I hear a lot. I really think I need less, so I was comparing my measurement to my bag strap, and I think the same measurement, wrist-to-wrist is as good a guess as any. But not so elegant...try wingspan instead.

Swindy, you're right, you need to be able to reach the bottom of the bag. Otherwise I end up tilting my shoulders to reach lower, and gosh, I still can't reach, start turning round in circles, still can't reach...and soon I am reminded of the family dog chasing it's tail. There it is again! Grrrrrr.....

[Swindiana]

Oh, Gearheads. They are so cute when they...
chase Nazis in their sleep?


Regards,
Swindiana

[Shawnkara]

Check the Cairo sequence. It's worn with the top of the bag level to the waist of his pants. As for trying to achieve both correct placement and the correct length strap, you can't. Not unless you're Ford's height. Go for placement and not strap length. Accuracy is all about "THE LOOK"; how the gear fits you and scales to your build. I don't think you would buy a hat and jacket that didn't fit you just to have "film accurate" sizes.

[VancouverVic]

General rule of thumb:

If you have to choose between buckle placement and bag length, choose the bag length. The top of the bag should be just below the waistband of the trousers, no more than an inch or two below depending on contents.

Also, it's not just height, but the width of the chest, that determine the strap length. The same strap length will hang lower on someone with a smaller chest and waist.

[Indiana Jerry]

General rule of thumb: If you have to choose between buckle placement and bag length, choose the bag length.

Agreed, but there's also the question of screen-accuracy, and for those pursuing this highly-aspired-to quality, the measurement is the question that would result in a strap of the proper length to land the buckle in the desired place - making the choice btwn bag and buckle placement moot - they are going for both.

Me, I agree, bag height is close enough, but I'd like to hit the buckle placement as well. (Less Ben & Jerry's for me, I think.)