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Taz

Freeflying--what to wear?

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I started freeflying recently and just ordered a jumpsuit that won't be ready for weeks and weeks. In the meantime, it's a little hard to sitfly in my spandex RW suit. I've been told to wear pants and a long sleeve shirt, but the one time I tried flying in regular pants, they were up over my knees when I was in a stand. Any specific suggestions for good pants that I can get before the Lost Prairie boogie (leaving next Wed.)? I am really tired of people laughing at my lack of style :) Don't know if it matters, but I'm pretty small--5' 4" and 110 pounds.
Thanks!

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Taya-
I just started freeflying recently too. Wish I could afford to buy a new freefly suit - but I just got my RW suit a few weeks before discovering how awesome freeflying is! Boo-hoo. In the meantime, I fly in leggings or just short-shorts for sitflying (the wind feels oh-so-tantalizing on your bare legs!!!) And for headdown, I wear sweats with relatively tight elastic on the ankles. Hope this helps! Have fun at Lost Prairie (you lucky duck!)
Elisa

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I have a pair of baggy pants that have elastic pulls on the cuffs that us pull tight and tie into my shoe laces. That works real well. Oh, BDUs work good to, since you can pull the blouse strings. As for a top, I just use a plain ol' t-shirt of some sort. Just besure to have it tucked in or you could mal. I've heard of people's t-shirts getting wrapped around their hacky and stuff.
AggieDave '02
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Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!
BTHO t.u.

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Thanks, you guys are awesome. Elisa, I especially liked your short shorts suggestion :) I've never felt the wind on my legs. I'll just remember to be careful tucking stuff in. I'd hate to have my shirt all over my handles when I need them. I think if I just stop wearing the green gators on my arms over my red RW suit, I will start feeling better about fashion...
-T

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I have just begun free flying seriously in the past 20 jumps or so and I finally found out that wearing baggy pants and a long sleave shirt with floppy sleeves is the ticket. It gives you way more control in all positions and the breaking effect of the extra material can be very important when you break off to slow down. Especially if you have lost track of altitude and dont have the recommended 1000' for braking. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Good advice....ALWAYS tuck your shirt in. If your rig is not particularly free fly friendly make sure you take the extra time to tuck in, VERY SECURLY, any bridle or riser material left exposed. I had a bit of a scare last weekend after a normal descent mostly standing because of industrial haze. I rolled over at 4500' to slow down and started into an, uninduced by me, right turn. As I compensated I noticed something flapping in the wind. Not a good feeling. I still am not sure but I think it was a riser that had come out a fair amount. Not much I could do about it and I was almost to 3000' by the time this all registered so I dumped and hoped for the best. It came out perfect as it always does but that was a near disaster. WORD! No reserve rides yet........KNOCK ON WOOD!

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I finally found a use for my old scrubs I wore in the hospital...the ones with elastic cuffs at the bottom. They are cooler than sweats and actually are sturdy...I pretty consistently land on my rear and they are holding up quite well. Don't know about the freeflying part though...I haven't gotten quite that far yet :)
HAVE FUN
Julie

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Hey Taz. I am generally a bellyflier too and don't want to spend large amounts of $$ on a freefly suit until I get better at it. I am the same size as you and found some great nylon type cargo pants with pull elastics on the waist and ankles for $24...they work wonders and keep the shirt in nice and tight too!!! :)See you at Lost Prairie! :S Somehow all of us DZ.comers have to find a place to meet.
Tee

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I recommend a jockstrap, green beret, and a light coat of oil.
Seriously, what I use depends on what axis I intend to fly on. In a sit, you just have to ensure that you have more flopping fabric up top than you do down low. It's summer, so shorts are cool with a long-sleeve T-shirt. Strictly head-down and I wear my $18 orange Wal-Mart cargo pants and a regular t-shirt. Those pants have zip-off legs, are baggy and have elastic cinches at the bottom. I, like Aggie Dave, tie the cinches into my shoe strings so that they don't fly up around my knees. If I am going to fly on both axis, then I wear those same pants and a long-sleeve t (summer), or sweatshirt (winter).
The BDU (or old OG-107) pants deal is great so long as you are not at a predominantly military DZ and people scoff at "military chic" as a fashion style(definitely not the ticket at Raeford). I square plenty of my civilian skydiver friends away with my discards, though, and they DO work great as freefly pants.

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Skymonkey says it well.
Tight on the bottom, baggy on top for for sit practice is probably where you want to start.
The zip off leg thing though. I bought a cool pair of pants with zip off legs, and drawstrings on the cuffs. They worked great, until I went into a stand and blew the zippers up. It was funny, under canopy I had two pant legs down around my feet. Automatic shorts. Plus, those zippers hit right at my knees when I pack. Ow.
I was at lost Prarie a couple weeks ago. Nice sleepy 182 DZ in a rad setting. But I don't think anybody will be sleeping around there the next week, wish I could go.

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