Gear Sharing

[maxroper 0]

Hey everyone!

I have a couple tech startups that I am doing and one of them is a peer to peer sports equipment sharing site (like airbnb for sporting stuff) call Spinlister.

We have been talking about some new sports to open it up to and I am curious what you all thought. Would you list your rig and let others rent it? Would you even consider it safe to do? Would you rent someone else's rig?

We have a ton of users and it was launched primarily as bikes but just opened to winter sports and will be launching new ones soon.

Just thought I would ask and see if its worth exploring or if that is a dumb idea. :)

Check it out at https://www.spinlister.com

Thanks so much!

~Max

[SEREJumper 1]

This topic has been discussed before, although not in the context of listing it on a website to rent. More for just renting out your rig on the DZ. If you do a search, you will find the threads.

It's not the best idea for skydiving gear IMO. Lots of liability #1, rigs cost a bundle usually so what happens if it gets stolen, what about in the event of a cutaway or damage, verifying the credentials of someone that wants to use your rig, doing stupid stuff with your rig, etc.

Thats why a lot of dropzone's have rental rigs that jumpers can rent.

Just my opinion.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[maxroper 0]

Currently all the gear is covered up to 5k if it is damaged or stolen and we would probably bump it up to cover 10k for skydiving gear.

Great input though, will search around the forums a bit more. Thanks so much!

[SEREJumper 1]

What happens if somebody is injured or is killed while using your rig? Just a question, I'm sure there is something like this for people renting bikes.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[likestojump 3]

It won't work. Or to be more correct, you would have to charge an insanely high fee in order for it to be financially worth it - and that means you won't have any customers.

Who rents gear - mostly people of low experience and/or currency.
How do they often land - on their ass/tumbling.
What does it take to clean up a rig PROPERLY - a full disassembly, wash, and an inspection repack ($100+ for the whole shabang).
What kind of gear are owners willing to lend to such operations - crappy old Vector2's with PD F111 mains.
Who wants to rent such gear for exuberant amounts of $$$ - NO ONE.

Just figure that you would give up after 6 months, so forget about it, and go buy yourself a $5K worth of hookers and blow, and I PROMISE you, you will come out ahead.

[maxroper 0]

I do agree with a lot of your points, but if you had an old crappy rig that you could rent out and make some extra cash, it might be worth it?

I was thinking more for traveling it could be useful. If you want to do a backpack trip through europe and could rent a rig from someone living there, could potentially work.

Thanks so much! :)

[councilman24 36]

If you rent a bike that you don't have the skill or experience you just won't go very fast and you might break the bike or fall and scrap yourself. Skydiving rigs vary in performance to the point that you may be able to jump one rig just fine and kill yourself under another. The comparison is a kids go art to a formula 1 racer. And I'm only just slightly exaggerating. Most skydiving fatalities, or a lot of them, happen under fully open and functioning parachutes.

In addition these are life critical/life support devices. Most people won't hand them over to a stranger. You title is sharing. It tough for even two people to share one rig. People would have rental only rigs and these would be of older design/more wear and not desirable to experience d jumper. In addition most drop zones already have rental rigs available.

I don't see it.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[likestojump 3]

maxroper

I do agree with a lot of your points, but if you had an old crappy rig that you could rent out and make some extra cash, it might be worth it?

I was thinking more for traveling it could be useful. If you want to do a backpack trip through europe and could rent a rig from someone living there, could potentially work.

Thanks so much! :)

My point is that the "rent a wreck" concept doesn't work with skydiving gear. This shit can kill you in a heartbeat.

Treat what I said as one of many opinions you will get on this. Then vote with your money.

[SEREJumper 1]

As the old saying goes...Borrowed gear, borrowed death.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[davelepka 4]

Quote

Just thought I would ask and see if its worth exploring or if that is a dumb idea

Seems more like you thought you would ask, and then ignore the multiple people telling you it's not a feasible idea.

First off you have fitment issues. Does the harness fit the renter? What about the canopies? Those are sized based on the jumpers skill, and choosing the wrong size can lead to injury or death.

Second, what about the configuration? Being able to safely pack and operate a rig means knowing 100% about the various parts the make up the rig. How do you make sure every renter knows about every rig?

Finally, nobody wants to rent out their gear. It's a life-saving device, and having it out of your hands, and out of your control is not what you want. I don't want someone else touching and using my gear. I want it handled my me and my rigger only, and then safely stored away between jumps.

As mentioned already, it's not a bike or snowboard. You are 100% guaranteed to die if you jump out of a plane and don't successfully operate a parachute. Many, many injuries, deaths, and scary situations have occurred based on people borrowing gear, let's not make a business out that, eh?

[BIGUN 1,049]

Economically unfeasible and high liability risk.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[lyosha 46]

maxroper

Hey everyone!

I have a couple tech startups that I am doing and one of them is a peer to peer sports equipment sharing site (like airbnb for sporting stuff) call Spinlister.

We have been talking about some new sports to open it up to and I am curious what you all thought. Would you list your rig and let others rent it? Would you even consider it safe to do? Would you rent someone else's rig?

We have a ton of users and it was launched primarily as bikes but just opened to winter sports and will be launching new ones soon.

Just thought I would ask and see if its worth exploring or if that is a dumb idea. :)

Check it out at https://www.spinlister.com

Thanks so much!

~Max

I would not rent something unless I have a ton of confidence in the guy I'm renting from. I know and trust the people that maintain the gear at my home DZ. Why would I trust someone half a country away?

In the same breath, I don't want to be in the enforcement business. Namely I ship my rig to someone and they accidentally throw the main onto a bonfire. I'm out of a rig.

The extreme nature of the tail risk in this sport and just how easy it is to invoke it makes me not want to participate in such an enterprise. But I wish you the best of luck should you attempt to nonetheless.