New flyer with gear questions

[DustyStunts 0]

Hey guys new to the board and the sport I am still a student with my 11th jump. I am wanting to buy my own gear instead of renting. I belly fly and also learned a little bit of free flying. what kind and size chute would you guys recommend for someone who is 5'7 at 235 lbs. looking for a not too fast decent. on a limited budget for entire rig about 3500, considering buying used. any advice i can get i would appreciate before heading down to the pro shops or ordering online. don't want to get ripped by some sales guy. Thank you all!

[mr_music11 0]

1st and foremost!!! I am NOT an instructor/coach so, please talk to them as well!!

As far as type of eq(manufacturer).. totally up to you

With only 11 jumps, you may not have an idea of what you want. I rented my gear all the way thru my A lic progression, jumping as many diff types of harnesses and mains as I could to find out what was comfortable to me. After that.. MY budget (and probably yours too from the $$ shown) Did not allow me to go new (because I was looking for the complete set up.. harness, main, reserve, helmut and altimiter, NEW AAD (gloves and suit optional and I do have them, but what I considered "required" and what is just "wanted" are 2 diff things! ) Used is pretty easy as long as you are patient to wait for the right harness, main etc.... to come along. Took me about 2>3.5 months to piece together my rig. As far as what size.. again, talk to your instructor to see what they might reccomend. Your own gear is obviously the cheaper route in the long run, but don't be over anxious to get something that you might end up turning around and selling for a loss when it comes time to downsize. Theres a lot of used gear out there, buy from someone you know (or friend knows) or from a reputable used gear seller that will have a return policy. Good luck. Blue skies/soft landings

If flying is piloting a plane.. then swimming is driving a boat. I know why birds sing.. I skydive.

[DustyStunts 0]

Cool, thanks for the info. Maybe i'll rent a few and check out the size. I am considering used to save me some money but again from reputable dealers not e-bay. Just wanted some info so i can approach some shops with a little info. The coaches and instructors at the dz where i learned were jerks and uptight so i plan on not going back there anytime soon. I'll ask the folks at a new dz when i get there thanks again.

[erdnarob 1]

Congratulations for having 11 jumps. It's a good beginning. But with that amount of jumps, you should keep on renting a rig for a while to keep on with your progression and get knowledgeable about canopy control other than student parachutes. Try to rent a sport rig suitable for you like a rig equiped with a zero porosity 230 square foot canopy. The canopy could be a Spectre 230 or a Sabre 2-230. After the zero porosity 230, if things are going very well, try a zero porosity 210 (Spectre or Sabre 2). After say 10-15 jumps on that kind of parachutes you will know if you like them and then you could decide to buy a similar equipment. In all cases get an instructor supervision and briefing.
You certainly wouldn't like to buy something you would regret later on.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[jhilden 0]

welcome to the sport! One thing to keep in mind is that the people on this forum are very knowledgeable but do not know your skill level and comfort level. Your best bet is to talk with your instructors and a rigger at your DZ.

Cheers

[Gary73 8]

Is that 235 lbs. with gear or without? Keep in mind that USPA recommends keeping your wing loading less than 1.0 PSF until you have 200 jumps. Lots of people ignore that, but lots of people get hurt, too! If 235 is your exit weight, go with at least a 260. If 235 is your regular weight, 25 lbs. of gear will make your exit weight 260, in which case you should be looking at 290s.

You'll definitely have to get at least some used components if you want to keep the cost under $3,500. The Dropzone Classifieds are great for finding used gear, but have an Instructor or rigger you trust look over the ad before you commit to anything. Good luck!

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

[kmills0705 0]

Quote

Congratulations for having 11 jumps. It's a good beginning. But with that amount of jumps, you should keep on renting a rig for a while to keep on with your progression and get knowledgeable about canopy control other than student parachutes. Try to rent a sport rig suitable for you like a rig equiped with a zero porosity 230 square foot canopy. The canopy could be a Spectre 230 or a Sabre 2-230. After the zero porosity 230, if things are going very well, try a zero porosity 210 (Spectre or Sabre 2). After say 10-15 jumps on that kind of parachutes you will know if you like them and then you could decide to buy a similar equipment. In all cases get an instructor supervision and briefing.
You certainly wouldn't like to buy something you would regret later on.

This post comes as a surprise to me as you are an instructor. A student with 11 jumps at 235 pounds (255 or so with gear) should not have a wing loading more than 1:1. IN fact PD would recommend a 260 for an intermediate level jump at this wing loading.

Jump it a few times and down size to 210? Holy crap and we wonder why people die unnecessarily in this sport.

To the OP: Talk to knowledgeable instructors in person. If the instructors at your dz are asses get to know some instructors elsewhere who can help and guide you. Please don't get advice from people you know nothing about and know nothing about you/your skills or your abilities.

Kim Mills
USPA D21696
Tandem I, AFF I and Static Line I

[nerd137 0]

Quote

Quote

Congratulations for having 11 jumps. It's a good beginning. But with that amount of jumps, you should keep on renting a rig for a while to keep on with your progression and get knowledgeable about canopy control other than student parachutes. Try to rent a sport rig suitable for you like a rig equiped with a zero porosity 230 square foot canopy. The canopy could be a Spectre 230 or a Sabre 2-230. After the zero porosity 230, if things are going very well, try a zero porosity 210 (Spectre or Sabre 2). After say 10-15 jumps on that kind of parachutes you will know if you like them and then you could decide to buy a similar equipment. In all cases get an instructor supervision and briefing.
You certainly wouldn't like to buy something you would regret later on.

This post comes as a surprise to me as you are an instructor. A student with 11 jumps at 235 pounds (255 or so with gear) should not have a wing loading more than 1:1. IN fact PD would recommend a 260 for an intermediate level jump at this wing loading.

Jump it a few times and down size to 210? Holy crap and we wonder why people die unnecessarily in this sport.

To the OP: Talk to knowledgeable instructors in person. If the instructors at your dz are asses get to know some instructors elsewhere who can help and guide you. Please don't get advice from people you know nothing about and know nothing about you/your skills or your abilities.

DustyStunts: the little lover's quarrel quoted above is exactly why dz.com often isn't the best place to ask questions like yours. It can be difficult for a student to discern the difference between rabid, subjective opinion and good, solid advice. And here you'll get a lot of both, all mixed together. Talk to your instructors; it's a better path to getting good information.

[erdnarob 1]

He has already 11 jumps and I assume he is probably off AFF instruction. A zero porosity 230 canopy (with briefing) will give him more support than a student 260 (made of F111) parachute and certainly a better flare without being too touchy to handle. That's why I said "with a briefing" as always. I can see you are on the conservative side and it's OK but people get hurt from a bigger parachute as well thinking nothing can happened to them and giving them a false safety feeling. Being instructors (just like parents toward the children), we have to make sure to avoid transfering our own fear to beginners. Spending time with beginners and briefing them correctly is a good way to get our sport better. You should read again my precedent post second last sentence.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[erdnarob 1]

Thanks for your help...! However I disagree with you when you say Dropzone.com is not the best place to ask his question. This jumper with 11 jumps may have many good reasons to look for a second advice. And an advice is not a contract, that's why there is no cause for panic. FYI big guys are very often turned down by ignorant skygods at the DZ. A person can also lose confidence toward an impatient instructor. Anyway, Dropzone.com as far as I can see is unique and there are a lot of experience on the forums. Answers vary a lot, some are short while other are longer. Some are not answering the question at all but commenting about answers already given. We need you all, that makes the richness of this site.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[DustyStunts 0]

Thanks for some of the info u guys i appreciate it. its given me a decent guideline as far as pricing goes. i moved from cali to az and drove by some dzs in eloy and gonna check out coolidge. i myself for sure would consult a couple of coaches/instructors before anything. which in this case the dz wants me to jump with a coach cause its been a few months. i understand a few peoples concerns about givin the advice. just in case its the wrong advice they dont want anybodies injuries or death on their conscience. and i thank u all again for being kind to a new jumper. my last dz everbody was a dick and didnt even wana conversate with a new guy. everybody jump safe and enjoy the spring

[erdnarob 1]

You have the right attitude. NEVER let somebody putting you down or treat you badly. I spend a great deal of time to talk and encourage beginners because they are the new blood of our sport. We are doing a social sport and people who refuse to see it that way by having an antisocial attitude like jumping just with friends or talking just with people at their level and not welcoming beginners are killing our sport. Those people have forgotten their early days in the sport. They just take without giving (like babies) but you can be sure they will be the first to criticize easy target like beginners.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[riggerrob 558]

Eloy is a good place to find knowledgeable coaches.
Remember that most DZs will require you to do a coach jump or two after a lengthy lay-off.
It is just good business practice.

Forget about Coolidge. It is only a military DZ. They could teach you lots about jumping huge canopies, rucksacks and rifles and snowshoes and oxygen masks and 500 pound bundles, but little about the finer points of brightly coloured parachutes.

[martlet 0]

Congrats on your 11th jump!

Honestly, as others have said, I wouldn't buy any gear until you've progressed a little more in the sport.