ruanjjoubert 0 #1 December 1, 2010 I'm a student (almost have my A) and looking to buy my first rig. Word is that I should rather buy second hand and not new yet. What gear should I be looking at in this early stages? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflymat 0 #2 December 1, 2010 Speak to your instructors mate!!!! They know your experience level, wing loading etc. Then have a look on forums for similar gear for pricing. Good luck Blue Skies. Slow is Fast!!!!!!!weather holds make me hungry! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peej 0 #3 December 1, 2010 You have so many quality instructors to seek advice from at Skydive CT, speak to anyone of them and they will give you the best advice. However if you're looking for an answer in the mean time. i always advise students to buy peripheral gear first: a helmet, an alti, some goggles and so on. And encourage them to get 50 or so jumps under their belt before they jump into buying gear. By that stage you should have progressed down through the "student" size canopies and, depending on your weight and skill level, be on the size canopy that you will stay at for the next few hundred jumps. There is always second hand gear floating around and when you're ready to buy it is a good idea to send out a mail to other clubs email listserves like JSC and PSC. And always ask your instructors opinion before buying anything. Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruanjjoubert 0 #4 December 1, 2010 Surely will speak to my instructors... just thought it would be a good thing to post on here and get lots of opinions. Quality wise, what brands should I be looking at? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #5 December 1, 2010 QuoteQuality wise, what brands should I be looking at? Again, this is too broad a question to really answer. You need to have some sort of a starting point, and this is usually determined by chatting with your instructors. Quality? Most rigs are certified under a TSO, so the designs are sound, and every rig is inspected by a rigger before a repack to ensure they are airworthy, so for the most part every rig is a 'quality' rig. Give us an idea of what you need - How many jumps do you have, and what canopies have you been jumping? What is your body weight (in pounds)? How many jumps are you planning on making on a yearly basis? What sort of jumps are you intending to do? How much do you want to spend? If you can answer those questions, more information will come your way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruanjjoubert 0 #6 December 2, 2010 cool thanx, I'll go look at that then before I go any farther. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaVincisEnvy 0 #7 December 2, 2010 This is just from my own experience buying my first set of gear a few months ago: Don't be in a rush, but keep your eyes and ears open (at your home DZ and with any used gear sellers, like the classifieds here on dz.com). Before buying gear, I spoke with my instructors and the experienced jumpers at my DZ to narrow down what type of gear I should be looking for (what size canopy, what type of canopy, which containers have good reputations, date of manufacture, how many jumps on the gear, etc). When I came across some gear that I thought might be suitable, I ran it by those experienced folks at the DZ for advice. After a couple of months of this process, I found a complete rig here on DZ.com, checked it out via "riggers escrow", and bought it. Was a great transaction, and knew that I was getting gear that was suitable for me. Good luck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zen_mtn_climber 0 #8 December 2, 2010 QuoteThis is just from my own experience buying my first set of gear a few months ago: Don't be in a rush, but keep your eyes and ears open (at your home DZ and with any used gear sellers, like the classifieds here on dz.com). Before buying gear, I spoke with my instructors and the experienced jumpers at my DZ to narrow down what type of gear I should be looking for (what size canopy, what type of canopy, which containers have good reputations, date of manufacture, how many jumps on the gear, etc). When I came across some gear that I thought might be suitable, I ran it by those experienced folks at the DZ for advice. After a couple of months of this process, I found a complete rig here on DZ.com, checked it out via "riggers escrow", and bought it. Was a great transaction, and knew that I was getting gear that was suitable for me. Good luck! +1 to all this. I just bought my first rig at the beginning of the summer and I followed the same path as DaVincisEnvy to the 't' Worked out wonderfully"Whatever the future holds down the road, being true to yourself is something you won't ever regret doing. " - airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites