flotation devices

[piisfish 135]

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Most human beings really do need to keep their heads out of the water.... not their butt's

well some seem to be thinking more with their butts than with their brains... And technically, can't the exhaust pipe reverse it's function and we can start breathing with it ?

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[rhys 0]

We do every jump with flotation devices at my current dropzone, we have a simple purpose built pouch with an aviation standard life vest, exactly the same as you will be supplied in many commercial aircraft.

I don't know what your rules are but i'm pretty sure ours stipulate the vest must be TSO'd and that is why we use that type.

They cost $60 from paragear (i think), I paid too much for my pouch and vest AU$170 but it was there and I needed one to earn my income so i got it, I could have made it for less than $100 though. It has a whistle a light and compressed air/Co2 to inflate it.

The pouch is attached to me around my waist and has a lanyard between the vest and the pouch to avoid losing it in times of need.



My DZ has been opearting for over 10 years and only 3 people have been in the water, over 16000 tandems are done here annually for at least the past few years and we operate under cloud manual conditons (8/8) and the GPS/pilot was out of whack on those occasions. I sure hope i never go in the water, never say never, but I would hate to have to wear a vest like the one from bass pro you pointed out. they are perfect for fishing, no doubt, but for skydiving they look like a pain in the ass!

I also believe a vest that will inflate when it hits the water poses more of a risk, you may not be able to exit your harness, that in itself, may kill you!

Those that believe the reserve pack will save them, think again. My friend that went in the water was holding the tandem rig and stopping it from sinking in the ocean. They were rescued in less than 15 minutes.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[timmyfitz 0]

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It may be my inexperiance with water landings but what about a vest worn under your rig and/or the jump suit that is like what most wake boarders/ kayak guys wear, and looks like a flack jacket? From a quick google search it looks like most run around 40-80 bucks depending and what where and when you buy.

Think about this for a minute. Your rig should be pretty tight on your body right?????

Are you REALLLY sure you want to put something between that already tight rig with all that webbing.... and your body????


You might want to have a VERY sharp knife handy if you ever try it,

I believe he was referring to something like this worn under a jumpsuit.

http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog/Life_Jackets/Mens_Life_Jackets/OBrien_Mens_Traditional_Neo_Life_Jacket_OR0V36/index.asp

I don't see a real problem other than comfort.

[e_nevett 0]

My Home DZ is a sea-side airport, we use this flotation devices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNcRuiiT8Hg

[RIGGER160 0]

Once they are packed you can and should lock the pin in place similar to how a rigger does with your reserve. The thread should be easy to break when you yank on the lanyard to deploy them.. BUT not so strong as to keep it sewn in place.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

-1 for your attempt at stirring the pot...

[muff528 3]

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Seems reasonable. Are there issues with buying one that is "in good condition" and then finding out they are DRMO turn-ins (unserviceable)?

What about LPU-10/P? I found this online. It looks like a newer model.

http://flighthelmet.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=FHL&Product_Code=PRLP-LPU10&Category_Code=SURV

I've used what looks like "half" of this unit for beach jumps, etc. I didn't realize it was part of a "pair". I strapped it around my waist with a nylon "belt" before putting on my rig. It resembles a mini belly reserve when worn that way. Now that I've seen pics of how it is supposed to be worn and how it looks deployed (the LPU-2) I like that better.

[mjosparky 3]

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I think there's something in the SIMS about flying around bodies of water?

Whats the SIMS? The video game?

You need to go back to day care. This is the big kids playground.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[champu 1]

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I believe he was referring to something like this worn under a jumpsuit.

http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog/Life_Jackets/Mens_Life_Jackets/OBrien_Mens_Traditional_Neo_Life_Jacket_OR0V36/index.asp

I don't see a real problem other than comfort.

One jumper wore something along those lines on the San Francisco demo under his jumpsuit and harness and it looks like it worked out really well.

When picking something out it's important to consider how long you might expect to be out the water before someone comes to get you. Are you doing a high-profile demo with coast guard vessels patrolling the area or are you doing a night jump off some tropical coast at a boogie?

I also agree with rhys that an auto-inflating vest will probably cause more problems than it solves.

[Harmless 0]

I wore a similiar life vest for beach jumps at the ECSC memorial day boogie a couple years ago, worked out fine.

"Damn you Gravity, you win again"

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

I wear a UDT recovery vest for intentional water jumps and demo jumps which require water gear.

[riggerrob 558]

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I believe he was referring to something like this worn under a jumpsuit.

http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog/Life_Jackets/Mens_Life_Jackets/OBrien_Mens_Traditional_Neo_Life_Jacket_OR0V36/index.asp

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That would require a huge jump suit and a double-extra-large harness.

[timmyfitz 0]

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I believe he was referring to something like this worn under a jumpsuit.

http://www.bartswatersports.com/catalog/Life_Jackets/Mens_Life_Jackets/OBrien_Mens_Traditional_Neo_Life_Jacket_OR0V36/index.asp

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That would require a huge jump suit and a double-extra-large harness.

A bit of hyperbole? Double extra large harness? It's not as bulky as you are making it out to be in your mind.