ripcord 0 #1 March 18, 2007 Hello, I am on level 4 of the AFF program. After I complete level 8, I have been told I can rent gear from my DZ for $75 per day. I am looking for advice. If I am going to stay in the sport and had the money, should I buy my own rig after completion of the AFF program? Also, what size chute do you recommend for me at this stage? I am 195 lbs. Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xHAVOCx 0 #2 March 18, 2007 First of all, let me say welcome! Second, the best advice will come from your coaches at this point. They will see your rate of progression and performance and will be able to make great recommendations. I have not been jumping for all that long and many other people could probably offer much better advice but I will offer you my $0.02. Renting gear can seem like a money pit especially for $75.00 a day. I would however highly suggest to continue renting until you have a little more experience and get a little more of an idea of what you want in equipment VS. what just looks cool or what everyone else has. If you are going to purchase a rig brand new it should be something that you can make a number of jumps on as well as be able to advance on before turning it around otherwise you may just loose a large amount of money. A good option would be to continue to rent your gear for a while. After you graduate AFF, take a packing class and become proficient at packing so you can maximize your time that you are jumping because with prices like that, it is my opinion that if you can't get at least 5 or more jumps out of a $75.00 rig rental it just seems like money wasted on a day. Next, start looking around...the DZ, here on the classifieds, for some good used gear that will be a third the price and last you for your first few hundred jumps before you pass it on to someone else. Get advice from your coaches and have a rigger check it out before you actually pay for it. Don't be hasty; you could end up with something that won't work for you. I am 5'10' and also weigh 195 lbs with out gear. I completed my jump course on a Fusion 230 at another DZ, came to my current DZ and jumped a Spectre 230 for two weekends and since jump 20 have been on a Spectre 210 jumping a rig I pieced together from used pieces I bought from friends and DZ.com. I have invested a little more that a thousand dollars in gear and another 400 between rigging and service and have my own rig to include a Cypres. I hope that this can be of help. Please consult a coach or an experienced jumper who knows you and your ability level before purchasing any gear. You will learn a lot from the people around you. There is tons of experience and lots of great people who love to offer their time and advice. I hope you are having a blast! Be safe and have fun. ~Z Main Entry: 1hav•oc Pronunciation: 'ha-v&k, -vik Function: noun 1 : wide and general destruction; DEVASTATION; great confusion and disorder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #3 March 19, 2007 Reading your profile, it says that your home DZ is Perris. The gear store there has one of the best programs in the industry for new jumpers. If I'm not mistaken, you can go in for a gear consultation and order appropriate gear and use their gear to downsize and use until your custom gear arrives. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #4 March 19, 2007 QuoteRenting gear can seem like a money pit especially for $75.00 a day. $75 a day is a good deal when you can do an unlimited number of jumps per day on up to date gear. At Perris, that's exactly what is offered. Add in the fact that Square One (the store at Perris) has over 100 different mains and 20-ish different container/reserve/AAD set ups available for rental and it becomes the best deal out there. People who rent (or better yet, get on the "demo program") from Square One have the chance to safely downsize from student rigs to what they will be happy with for their next couple hundred jumps before they buy their own rig. If the person gets on the demo program, they can put down a certain amount of money and jump the gear without paying a daily rental fee (instead they pay a $99-ish monthly maintainence fee; that amount drops as the amount the person puts down increases). As Bonnie said, it's the best program for new jumpers in the industry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
