In fact, if you depict futuristing infantry combat in hostile or inhospitable environments and do not use combat armor, then informed readers will wonder why not.
Don't limit the suits to what Heinlein imagined, though. Think of what you would want in such a suit and decide whether you can make it plausible.
I don't think that it would be a bad idea. I think that one of the Honor Herrington books talks about something that something and they refer to it as the heinlein maneuver or somesuch. And certainly, in other books, I have seen or at least felt that someone got their idea from someone else I wrote.
However, his stuff is obsolete. Very good, it is just that it is much bulkier than is currently necessary. When he wrote that suits had to be bulky and big, or so it was thought, and today we know that that is no longer the case. - and science has altered our opinions of what is needed.
In the book "Engines of Creation" by K. Eric Drexler - on nano-technology, it isn't fiction - he talks in there about suits built and controled by nano-machines which are essentially like putting on a wetsuit, but they have nanomachine muscles, which allows you to exert more force on the outside than on the inside. but they are completely selfcontained. working in outer space they can probably get their power from solar. so you might want to take a look at that. (You can find a copy on the net if you can't somewhere else)
In John Ringo's books, "march up country", "march to the sea" and "march to the stars" they talk about combat armor and reactive armor. Also take a look at "a hymn before battle" also by John Ringo. In that book the battle armor is closely related to Heinleins battle armor. - strange book, but well done. (John Ringo's books are available directly from the publisher in pretty much any format you want.)
depending on how much you will be using the suits during the story, you might want to check out the books by Ringo anyway even if you end up going in a different direction, as he does a fairly decent job on going into the limitations of the suits.
drop me an email if you are need help finding any of the stuff that I mentioned.
[This message has been edited by mags (edited February 27, 2003).]
). I always thought it was possible, after all the improvements, but think of the recources! 
can you imagine how much that would cost in reality!
Eh...what?
quote:
Robert Anson Heinlein was born on 7 July 1907, in Butler, Bates County, Missouri. On May 8, 1988, he died peacefully in his morning nap.A selection of his letters, heavily edited by Virginia Heinlein (who passed away in January), was released in 1989 as Grumbles From The Grave, a title Heinlein thought up in the 1970's.
for more about Heinlein, you can look at the site: http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah/archives.html
TTFN &
Cosmi