Adding removable padding to the leg straps, what do you think?

[autoset 0]

I don't have my own rig yet but I'm almost there, college sucks money wise, I'm jumping rented gear right now

Anyway I was thinking about buying one of those removable Velcro seatbelt paddings and somehow configurate it (adding even more cushion material) to use it over my leg straps, those huge bruises and pain in my thighs from the ocassional hard opening have to stop

I just got this idea yesterday and won't be able to go to the DZ until next weekend, if some of you could just measure the thickness of your leg straps real quick and report back that would be great, I suppose all leg straps should have similar thickness regardless of the manufacturer

I will make the extra-padding according to the measures you guys give me, will try it out when I jump next weekend and report back if it worked or not in case anyone is interested in making their own extra-padding

Some pics of what I'm talking about attached.

[FFAddict 0]

A much simpler solution and one that your dropzone is probably going to be happier with (people don't like when you attach ANYTHING to rigs) is buying yourself some padded cycling shorts. The padding should be more than enough and wont mean trying to attach padding to a rig that is bound to get lost in freefall eventually anyway

Good luck

[koppel 3]

I used just those things all the way through my course. Only mine had cute little teddy bear heads on them

I like my canopy...


...it lets me down.

[slotperfect 7]

A simple solution is a set of knee or elbow pads. You can get them at a sporting goods store. You'll want them to be oblong rather than square, and the type (knee or elbow) just depends on how big you are and how big you need them to be.

Route the leg straps through the pads and you have what you need. Of course, you will want to get persmission from your Instructors before you do anything to the equipment.

Arrive Safely

John

[VTmotoMike08 0]

I have seen some CRW dogs who added padding to their leg straps. Obviously, it can help a lot when you are under canopy for an extended time. Maybe post this on their forum here or better, look for people doing CRW at your DZ and ask them what works.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Anyway I was thinking about buying one of those removable Velcro seatbelt paddings and somehow configurate it (adding even more cushion material) to use it over my leg straps, those huge bruises and pain in my thighs from the ocassional hard opening have to stop

You probably have two problems:

1. Packing. Any modern canopy (even Sabres and Monarchs which are purportedly notorious) should open acceptably given reasonable care (perhaps including attention to slider placement, rolling the nose, etc.) packing it. Packing for yourself should avoid the problem (or at least let you know who to blame).

2. Rig fit. When the rig fits you can have extremely hard openings without bruises (although your back and neck may feel it the next day). If the rig doesn't fit, it slows down and you run into it still going 120 MPH a split second later. Small people have had luck putting oven mitts between themselves and legstraps which can't be tightened down enough.

[birdshit 0]

buy a pair of sweat pants. Cut them off till they are like sweat shorts. Sew/tape/glue a few washcloths to the inner thighs.

Works like a champ. My 1st jump i got f**ked up big time. Straps werent tight, they were in the wrong spot on deployment, and I got huge bruises. It was an old beat up tandem rig with no padding left in the thighs.

I asked around and the up jumpers laughed and told me to stop being such a 'girly-man' so I basically had to invent this method.



It works great... It like sitting in your grandpas Cadillac.

Making sure your leg straps are tight and they are in the right spot will make 99% of the difference too. That way you aren't trying to artificially relocate skin from down mid thigh 3 inches closer to the family jewels at 100mph...

Take this with a grain of salt, as you can see from my jump numbers, I have VAST experience in this area.

[riggerrob 558]

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buy a pair of sweat pants. Cut them off till they are like sweat shorts. Sew/tape/glue a few washcloths to the inner thighs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That trick got me through Army jump school ... you know, the school where you spend hours or days ... of it felt like weeks ... hanging in suspended harnesses, with folded, sweat-soaked leg straps that felt about a thousandth of an inch wide.

But the long-term solution is finding a harness that fits properly.
In lieu of that, tighten leg straps HIGH in your crotch. Leg straps are going to end up HIGH in your crotch during opening shock, so you might as well pull them high in your crotch before boarding the plane. If you are silly enough to let leg straps sag low in your crotch, you WILL get slapped in the crotch AND you will have to explain embarrassing bruises to your "significant other."

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[riggerrob 558]

The last pair of leg pads - that I copied - were four inches wide, so aim for a 4 1/2 inch inside dimension on your after-market leg pads.

[AirMan 0]

Mirage makes slip-on covers to protect the leg pads, and I believe they're padded. They also have "Swoop Armor" covers padded with Spacer Foam...but I think they are $60 and $75 a set respectively.