The Grasshopper - 1958

From The World Book Encyclopedia 1959 Annual:

ANTIGRAVITY BELT, a jet device that turns men into human grasshoppers, was unveiled by a New Jersey chemical company in 1958. It promises to be useful to soldiers, construction workers, policemen, and fire fighters. The 55-pound rocket belt, strapped around a man's waist, holds two small nitrogen gas tanks and jet nozzles. When the wearer pushes a button, gas escapes and thrusts him into the air.

Company testers, dressed as army infantrymen and wearing the belt, ran 35 mph without tiring, jumped Over 2o-foot trenches, and soared over cliffs and walls. The company said it planned smaller, lighter models, and expected to perfect a model simple and cheap enough for general troop use within two years. The belt, similar to that worn by the comic strip character Buck Rogers, was called "Buck Rogers," "The Grasshopper," and "Jump Belt."