Should I buy a jumpsuit or not?

[WatchYourStep 0]

That's right I've got over a 100 jumps now and no jumpsuit to call my own.

Each weekend I get to the DZ and grab a suit off the rack. Sometimes I get one that is a little big, sometimes a little small, no booties etc. Our DZO is very nice about letting people borrow gear.

My question is does having your OWN jumpsuit make a big difference on your jumping or is it mainly just nice to have your own?

Just wondering because it seems a good jumpsuit with booties is a few hundred bones.

My avg fall rate is between 124-130 from my protrack.

Thanks

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[Elisha 1]

Yes. Consult your instructors and get your own. You have enough jumps. You should be working on technique to SLOW yourself down.

[justinb138 0]

Quote

That's right I've got over a 100 jumps now and no jumpsuit to call my own.

Each weekend I get to the DZ and grab a suit off the rack. Sometimes I get one that is a little big, sometimes a little small, no booties etc. Our DZO is very nice about letting people borrow gear.

My question is does having your OWN jumpsuit make a big difference on your jumping or is it mainly just nice to have your own?

Just wondering because it seems a good jumpsuit with booties is a few hundred bones.

My avg fall rate is between 124-130 from my protrack.

Thanks

I bought one before I got my my A

[markn 0]

It really depends on how serious you want to get about a given discipline. If you do want to get serious about a particular discipline then a good quality suit for that discipline that is fitted for you is a good idea.

A suit that was made for you, as opposed to one that sort of fits, does make a difference. I have two RW suits, one that was fitted for me and one that was not and I can tell a difference in how they fly. The one that was fitted for me flies better and I feel more comfortable in it.

Good suits do cost money but they also last many jumps and let you fly better. So if you want to progress in a given discipline investing in an appropriate suit is a good idea.

Pros and cons of particular brands and particular types of suits is a very large can of worms that I will not open here. There are many, many threads on that topic already and a quick search should yield lots of opinions.

If you are not looking to get very serious in any particular discipline and are just "having fun" then I would say keep using the suits you are using now. It is cool that your DZ lets you do that after being off of student status...

--
Mark N

[JohnRich 4]

You should get your own jumpsuit, just so that the feel is the same from jump to jump. Every time you use a different suit, you're introducing different variables which affect your flying. What works with one suit, may not work well with another suit. You're fighting the suits, rather than learning to fly in a consistent, reliable manner.

[WatchYourStep 0]

Makes sense.

Should I get a suit that is baggy or one that is a little tighter fitting? Of course I'm going to check with my instructor but just wondering.

I thought 125-130 was a good speed but according to the above I need to work on slowing down.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[Remster 24]

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I thought 125-130 was a good speed but according to the above I need to work on slowing down.

Thats a very fast speed to casual RW. It may be OK for some 4way team work is everyone is at that speed confortably.

For for learning, jumping with others, you will be low. Often. 115 to 120 seems to be commun for RW these days (tho 115 would be called slow by most, me included! lol), while 120-125 will be on the faster side but still within normal range.

But bottom line, get a suit. I'd suggest inside and outside leg grips, mega booties and not a lot of lycra, if any. (I'm 6'2 and 220 too)

Remster

[sundevil777 93]

Is that 124-130 TAS or SAS speed? Look at your protrack manual if you don't already know the difference.

My experience is that 112-118 SAS is typical for the RW loads I've been doing since having my protrack, typically 6 to 12 person groups with good organizers.

I've only had Tony suits, so if you get one of theirs, get the "Tony Suit" model with the heavy fabric - it is hotter, but you need the drag (don't even think about the swoop or comp model). Tell them to make the leg grippers like the swoop/comp models instead of that stupid 'S' style that is std on the Tony model. Get the inside leg grippers, and definitely get the double layer arms and cordura booties for extra drag, it does work. I also have the swoop cords, but have never needed them since buying a suit for my weight (6'1", 230 lb). Tell the suit mfg your weight now, not what you think it will be in the future.

Good luck.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[WatchYourStep 0]

See this is what I was worried about. When I called Tony Suit (very friendly, helpful, etc) they said that based on my height/weight I should get the Pit Special. If I read it correctly this is a fast falling suit. I told them my avg. fall rate.

My protrack is set to SAS, but I'll check again when i get home just to make sure.

Now I'm confused

Edited to add: 5'10" between 160-170lbs body weight depending on the time of year

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[sundevil777 93]

I assumed that you were more 'gravity enhanced/fatter' based on your fallrate.

You are not very heavy for your height, so their advise is probably good, although it is hard to reconcile that with your protrack data. I would probably still consider the swoop suit for a more versatile fallrate though. Are you perhaps arching a lot instead of being more flat? This can make a big difference.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[WatchYourStep 0]

I think I arch a decent amount. I do a lot of stretching along with normal workouts. I wrestled for a long time and we arched (we call it bridging in wrestling) or practiced bridging a lot during practice. However if you have to bridge in a match it's normally not a good sign.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[bob.dino 0]

If you want to do half-decent 4-way, you must have your own suit. Or at least the same suit, week in week out.

I've not done enough FF to comment.

[HydroGuy 0]

Quote

I think I arch a decent amount. I do a lot of stretching along with normal workouts. I wrestled for a long time and we arched (we call it bridging in wrestling) or practiced bridging a lot during practice. However if you have to bridge in a match it's normally not a good sign.

They are telling you to de-arch to slow your fall rate down. Arching hard will speed your fall rate up.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary