CathyInBlue
Grandmaster
Another oddball thing to look out for is whether the 1/8" thick aluminum slats are in correctly. Some of the 13 I brought to Terre Haute were in upside-down or turned front-to-back. Easily remedied by removing and replacing.
I think I've mastered the "quick" disconnect shoulder straps. I had thought that the pivotting piece was just a simple piece of plastic. Turns out it's actually L-shaped, so don't try to pry it open too far, or you'll break off the short side of that L. If that happens, though, it's far from tragic. The part you do not want breaking is the long side of the L and the buckle it's attached to. When the tongue is inserted into the buckle, the tip of the tongue presses on the short side of the L, even as the long side of the L is trying to latch onto the back of the tongue. If this buckle is too tight, it can be all but impossible to latch it. If it is too loose, for example, if the short side of the L is broken off, then when tension is removed from the shoulder strap, the latch could open up, even with the small strap snapped down. When the buckle is just right, you simply have to press the tongue firmly into the buckle while applying pressure to close the latch.
The "wiggle" trick is that if you're having trouble latching it, take the end of the shoulder padding in one hand, with the thumb resting on the latch. Insert the tongue into the buckle and then press firmly on the end of the tongue with the palm of the other hand. The "wiggle" is from side to side, not up and down, while pressing firmly on the latch. Only the tightest of buckles will not succumb to this technique. It may be that the end of the tongue is too sharp for the palm of the hand to apply sufficient pressure to close the latch. Perhaps use of a glove to spread out the force on your palm or a hard surface will be required to generate sufficient force to close a stubborn "quick" disconnect shoulder strap buckle.
I think I've mastered the "quick" disconnect shoulder straps. I had thought that the pivotting piece was just a simple piece of plastic. Turns out it's actually L-shaped, so don't try to pry it open too far, or you'll break off the short side of that L. If that happens, though, it's far from tragic. The part you do not want breaking is the long side of the L and the buckle it's attached to. When the tongue is inserted into the buckle, the tip of the tongue presses on the short side of the L, even as the long side of the L is trying to latch onto the back of the tongue. If this buckle is too tight, it can be all but impossible to latch it. If it is too loose, for example, if the short side of the L is broken off, then when tension is removed from the shoulder strap, the latch could open up, even with the small strap snapped down. When the buckle is just right, you simply have to press the tongue firmly into the buckle while applying pressure to close the latch.
The "wiggle" trick is that if you're having trouble latching it, take the end of the shoulder padding in one hand, with the thumb resting on the latch. Insert the tongue into the buckle and then press firmly on the end of the tongue with the palm of the other hand. The "wiggle" is from side to side, not up and down, while pressing firmly on the latch. Only the tightest of buckles will not succumb to this technique. It may be that the end of the tongue is too sharp for the palm of the hand to apply sufficient pressure to close the latch. Perhaps use of a glove to spread out the force on your palm or a hard surface will be required to generate sufficient force to close a stubborn "quick" disconnect shoulder strap buckle.
