demoing at boogies ?s

[countzero 7]

i am wanting to know about demoing at boogies.

do canopy companies have complete rigs to demo with or do you have to bring a container and have them put a canopy in it?

similarly do container comapnies have complete rigs or do you need to bring a canopy to put in thier container?

is it all 1st. come 1st. serve or is ther a way to get on a list to scheduel a demo prior to the start of the boogie?

for how long or how many jumps are you usually allowed to demo the gear?

hypothetically: if you're deoming gear and you buddy wants to buy you a chopper jump, will it be okay to jump with the demo gear or will the manufacturer frown on you doing that?

finally, what does it usually cost to demo gear at boogies?

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[MagicGuy 0]

I've only been to two boogies and neither of them had any companies demoing gear.

I have been at the DZ where Sunpath (the company that makes Javelin rigs) and PD were both there. The Javelins were complete rigs, main, reserve and Cypres. The only thing is that they didn't have many rigs. And the size of the harness may not have the appropriate sized canopies for every person.

PD had only canopies to demo. The canopies were connected to the bag and had a pilot chute. A simple connection of the risers to one's current rig and you were good to go.

Demos by both PD and Sunpath were absolutely free. I demoed a Spectre 170 and used it for the whole weekend. Overnight the PD guy just held onto my rig, just in case.

When demoing canopies I'd say you have to have your own harness and container system. When demoing containers, at least in my only case, it was a complete rig, and I believe it was a one time demo.

[piisfish 135]

depends on the manufacturers represented. People like aerodyne have the advantage to manufacture complete systems so it might be aesier for them to let you demo rigs and canopies.

Best is to have your complete rig and demo 1 item at a time.

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

[Slurp56 0]

Quote

i am wanting to know about demoing at boogies.

do canopy companies have complete rigs to demo with or do you have to bring a container and have them put a canopy in it?

similarly do container comapnies have complete rigs or do you need to bring a canopy to put in thier container?

is it all 1st. come 1st. serve or is ther a way to get on a list to scheduel a demo prior to the start of the boogie?

for how long or how many jumps are you usually allowed to demo the gear?

hypothetically: if you're deoming gear and you buddy wants to buy you a chopper jump, will it be okay to jump with the demo gear or will the manufacturer frown on you doing that?

finally, what does it usually cost to demo gear at boogies?

It's mostly canopies manufacturers that bring demos.

It is much harder for container manufacturers to demo their gear, simply because they have to provide a complete harness and container as well as reserve and main canopies. Most would also install an AAD. There is alot of overhead in complete demo rigs that you have to supply additional parts, which you dont make, as well as maintain them.


It is also not a good selling point to promote demo jumps on gear that is not tailored to your body. That's what makes them comfortable. It's not really beneficial to a container manufacturer to keep a fleet of demo gear. I'm sure though that similar sized jumpers around your DZ would be willing to let you use their gear for a jump or two, as long as the canopies are sized accordingly to your experience.




Canopies are pretty easy to demo because you stick them in someone else's complete rig and off they go.

Usually if there is no one else wanting to demo that canopy, they will let you jump it the whole duration of the boggie. But for the popular sized canopies, everyone needs to be able to have a turn.

Using a demo canopy for a helicopter jump kind of defeats the purpose for both you and the manufacturer. The whole point is to go and fly the canopy and see what you think. Keep in mind that its also new gear, you should be playing with it up high to get a feel for what its going to do close to the ground. Most helicopter jumps that I've been on were about 5,500 ft or below, not enough time to really play with a new canopy in my opinion.

It may not be your intention but your post is structured as though you are trying to side-step the cost of renting gear.

________________________________________
I have proof-read this post 500 times, but I guarantee you'll still manage to find a flaw.

[DENNISA 0]

Beware of "demoing at boogies". If you are demoing a new canopy you should open a little higher than normal. With the number of jumps you have, I hope normal is still around 3.5 to 4 grand. At boogies there are more than one aircraft flying jumpers and they frown on jumpers opening high. Remember there are more aircraft about to rain down more jumpers on top of you. UNSAFE for both them and you.

The best place to demo a canopy is at your home dropzone. More than likely there is only one aircraft flying at one time and they won't mind you going late and opening high. Most canopy manufacturers will send you a canopy to demo for not much more than postage both ways and you can keep the canopy and jump it all weekend.

Do it the safe way, at home.

Dennis
D-2759

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[billvon 2,400]

>do canopy companies have complete rigs to demo with or do you have
>to bring a container and have them put a canopy in it?

Generally you will need your own container. Often they have d-bags, pilot chutes and risers to make swapping easier.

>similarly do container comapnies have complete rigs or do you need to
>bring a canopy to put in thier container?

Generally they will demo complete rigs.

>is it all 1st. come 1st. serve or is ther a way to get on a list to scheduel a
>demo prior to the start of the boogie?

Usually first come first serve. If you want a specific canopy give em a call before the boogie.

>for how long or how many jumps are you usually allowed to demo the gear?

Generally one jump, or a few jumps, or all day.

I think you may have the perception that this is all a well-organized, carefully planned process. It's really not. Often a few guys will show up with an RV full of gear and will be amenable to talking about what you want to do. At busy boogies there will be other people clamoring for gear, so don't expect to get it for very long. At quiet boogies you will likely have more of an opportunity to try stuff for longer.

[countzero 7]

Quote

It may not be your intention but your post is structured as though you are trying to side-step the cost of renting gear.

i'd gladly rent if there are enough rental rigs available, having never been to a boogie i don't know what the rental situation is. what i am tyring to "side-step" is being a new jumper with gear fever and buying one of the first used rigs i can afford just to have my own rig for a boogie. i know of two newer jumpers who have bought gear very soon after graduating and have since said they wish they had demoed more gear before buying. i'm just wanting to gather as much info as i can in my quest for gear. thanks for the replies!

diamonds are a dawgs best friend