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How important or "precise" are harness sizes?

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I have the option of purchasing a crappy old rig that might be just right for me, except the container (Javelin, DOM 1994) has a harness size of C16 which fits 5'7-5'8 according to:

http://sunpath.com/old/web_en/index.php?menu_level1=3&menu_level2=4

I'm just about 6ft and of a medium to slim build. Is there any way this would fit me, realistically? I've been jumping random rental rigs and I've never even checked their harness sizes, I must admit.

Thanks for any quick responses!

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Pretty much anything you can get into will get you under canopy but as far as comfort :S

Try before you buy if at all possible. or get the things serial and contact the manufacturer. they should be able to bring up the measurements it was made for and advise you better

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Before you buy any second hand rig: Try it on!



Of course - not possible in this situation, unfortunately. It's being sold cheap and the vendor is unwilling to send it to my DZ to try on before I buy it. Probably not worth the trouble for that amount of money.

It makes it a risky purchase but it's cheap and fewer people will be interested...

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it's less about body height and more so about Torso length. if you are 6' with a shortish body it would be OK. If (like me) you have a long torso it will be tight and not overly comfy. but it will work for a 1st rig.
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

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It all depends of your torso size.

The best thing you can do is to have somebody measure you according to Sunpath measuring guide and send your measurements together with the serial # of the rig to Sunpath.

The should be able to give you the best advice...
"My belief is that once the doctor whacks you on the butt, all guarantees are off" Jerry Baumchen

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It's being sold cheap and the vendor is unwilling to send it to my DZ to try on before I buy it



If they are unwilling to do this, or allow you a 10 day 'money back guarantee', so you can both try the rig on and have your rigger do an inspection, take a pass no matter what the deal is.

Given that a 'cheap' container is going to be under $500, and if it turns out that it needs some work to be airworthy, you could end up spending $200 or $300 on rigging and repairs just to get the rig up to spec. In the end, you could have avoided all the trouble and just bought a better container for all the money you invested.

Again, send a PM to likestojump, he's got (or can get) the gear you need. Cheap gear doesn't have to be old and outdated. Ugly colors will really lower the resale value on used gear, and he's dug some ugly stuff in the past.

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Could of ideas:

Find a local rig with the same harness size and try that one.

If it's a bargain, you could take the risk and sell on (maybe even for a profit) if it doesn't fit.

Neither's the 'best' solution but needs must sometimes - it's about managing and understanding the risk you undertake.

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Thanks, the rig has sold now anyway but I'll know in future!



Well, for the future, you might have your measurements taken for each of the H/C manufacturers that you are interested in. That way you have them available, and as soon as you see a rig that interests you, get the S/N and send it and your measurements to the mfg.
They will tell you:
- If it will fit
- If it can be resized to fit
- How much a resize will cost.

Each mfg has slightly different measuring processes, but they are all very similar.

And have the measurments taken by someone, DO NOT try to take them yourself. It doesn't work.
A tailor or seamstress will do the best job, but really, anyone who can follow directions and read a tape measure can do it.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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Thanks, the rig has sold now anyway but I'll know in future!




I'm 6'4" and never had a harness that fit right for the first 15 years I was jumping.

I have long thick legs and a long torso so the legstraps were almost always way out and the MLW too short...not as comfortable as a custom harness but obviously it worked fine.

If you're 'looking' on the net, I'd be trying on rigs at the DZ and keeping a notepad on what fits and what doesn't...what you can 'make do with' so to speak.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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Personal opinion... get a container that fits you (yoke) and then get the manufacturer to reharness to your measurements.

If you're going to stay in the sport for any length of time (or number of jumps) it is hard on the shoulders/back to be trying to arch against a too small harness. Which gives first (over time) joints or webbing?

Yes, you can leave the harness looser, but then how secure are you in it?

Just sayin',
JW
Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

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I am 6'1"ish and have a 33" inseam, with a C18 with a 3" split. If you are about the same then the 16 will be uncomfortable and probably difficult to arch. One would need an inseam of around 36" to have a torso of 16" at 6' tall.
Height less, inseam, less 20" should give you a good idea on your torso length. If its not 16-17, move on to another container.
And of course one would want to know the weight of the original owner to make sure the laterals were inline as well. good luck



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As has been stated, the harness length really has nothing to do with how tall you are. I'm 5'11", but have a 31" inseam, which means my torso is long. I need a 17 1/2" harness to be comfortable in a rig. I've bought a number of used rigs over the course of my skydiving, and from my experience a harness that is more than 1" too short will be very uncomfortable, assuming it isn't so small that the leg straps have to left completely loose (which to me would chnage the description from uncomfortable to not real safe). If you measure yourself to fill out a new gear order form or try on a few different rigs, you should be able to determine what size you need. Don't use student gear as a reference as most have ajustable main lift webs and are designed with a much wider range of use that regular skydiving containers.
The one good thing is that most manufacturers harness size measurements are pretty comparable.
This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

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i too have a long torso. i bought a rig (which i have up for sale) about a year ago just to get airborne. the guy said it was fine for someone 6'1", which i am, and that was bullshit.

im stoked because it got me back skydiving, and i put probably about 30-40 jumps on it, and it did the job. it hurt my inner thighs after a few jumps in a day, and i couldnt really tighten the legstraps very efficiently. so to answer your question, for function, it absolutely worked, but for comfort, i give it a 3 out of 10 stars. it would be perfect for someone around 5'9 or 5'10, but not for me...........

the good news? i have a custom voodoo curv on order as we speak, BOOOOYAAAAHHHHH BITCHES!
gravity brings me down.........

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I have the option of purchasing a crappy old rig that might be just right for me, except the container (Javelin, DOM 1994) has a harness size of C16 which fits 5'7-5'8 according to:



I'm 5'10" with a 30.5" inseam and my custom rigs have 19-20" harnesses matching the rule of thumb which is height - inseam - 20.

When some one loaned me a parachute in a container that small I pulled it out and put it in one of my rigs instead of jumping it as is because there was no way I was going to be comfortable.

Quote


http://sunpath.com/old/web_en/index.php?menu_level1=3&menu_level2=4

I'm just about 6ft and of a medium to slim build. Is there any way this would fit me, realistically? I've been jumping random rental rigs and I've never even checked their harness sizes, I must admit.

Thanks for any quick responses!



It depends on how much of your height is in your legs versus your torso. Without an inseam approaching 36" it won't as another poster noted. You can get your measurements taken as if you were buying a rig (have some one else make the measurements so they're accurate), get the serial number of the used rig you're thinking about buying, and call the manufacturer to ask how they match up.

If the rig is really inexpensive or you're a really odd size you might end up buying it anyways and having a new harness put on ($400ish, depending on whether or not you have rings that simplify the problem).

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Best answer:
Since the rig has sold, go get measured for 3+ major rigs (Javelin, Vector, Infinity, Mirage, etc). That should get you enough measurements to be useful most any place. Then, e-mail those measurements to the appropriate manufacturer and ask "What size harness/yoke do I need with these measurements?"
Save their answers, and use it when shopping for rigs.

Second best answer:
Someone up-thread suggesting trying on a bunch of rigs at the DZ and keeping track of what fits well.
Brian

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It depends on how much of your height is in your legs versus your torso. Without an inseam approaching 36" it won't as another poster noted.



Hmm I just measured and got 36" for my inseam! Might be an over-measurement, though.

Damn the vendor for being so awkward, it took several of us pestering him to get any info about the harness, container or canopy sizes. It only sold for £320 in the end, no doubt could have been double that if it was advertised properly and through the normal channels. Quite strange, it was on eBay but the guy claimed to be an "advanced rigger" or something, but seemed to have little knowledge of what he was selling...

It would have been worth the risk, I reckon, at that price. Next time some shit kit comes up I should just buy it, it will be incredibly easy to sell on if I want to.

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...Damn the vendor for being so awkward, it took several of us pestering him to get any info about the harness, container or canopy sizes. It only sold for £320 in the end, no doubt could have been double that if it was advertised properly and through the normal channels. Quite strange, it was on eBay but the guy claimed to be an "advanced rigger" or something, but seemed to have little knowledge of what he was selling...



You do realize that that's a hell of a red flag, right?

Scam or stolen are what come to mind first.
It's possible it was a "yard sale find" or something like that, but if the guy is claiming a rating that doesn't exist, I'd be very suspicious.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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...Damn the vendor for being so awkward, it took several of us pestering him to get any info about the harness, container or canopy sizes. It only sold for £320 in the end, no doubt could have been double that if it was advertised properly and through the normal channels. Quite strange, it was on eBay but the guy claimed to be an "advanced rigger" or something, but seemed to have little knowledge of what he was selling...



You do realize that that's a hell of a red flag, right?

Scam or stolen are what come to mind first.
It's possible it was a "yard sale find" or something like that, but if the guy is claiming a rating that doesn't exist, I'd be very suspicious.



I think it's a legit rating in the UK, it seems. Under the BPA.

The guy had about 150 transactions on his eBay account including a handful of skydiving-related items. I reckon it was probably legit but he just couldn't be bothered to give much info, considering that it was a £300 rig he was selling on behalf of someone else, maybe getting a 10% cut or something.

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