First rig: Piece one together or buy complete rig?

[Volare500 0]

Any advice? I've been jumping for a year now and it's time to get serious about purchasing my own rig. Buying all new gear probably isn't an option for me. I don't have that kind of coin... I'm down with buying a complete used rig, if the right one pops up for sale. As long as it fits right. I'm tall/slim.

What about piecing one together? Going used for the reserve, main and AAD, and then ordering a new container. I like the idea of being able to pick my own colours and having a harness that will fit perfectly.

Pros/cons? It's a lot of money, so any tips are greatly appreciated!

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

Keep your eyes open. Get on the FB groups.

Put the word out at your DZ and in your area. Lots of DZs have a FB page, many are closed groups. See if you can get on as many as you can, put the word out there.

If you can find a complete rig, great. If not, you may end up piecing one together.

One thing some folks are unaware of is a harness resize. If you find a rig that holds the canopies you want, is the brand & colors you like, but the harness doesn't fit, you may be able to get it resized. Go to the manufacturer's site, find out how to be measured, have someone measure you (don't try to measure yourself, it won't work). A rigger or decent seamstress/tailor is a good choice, but in reality, anyone who can follow directions and read a tape measure can do it.

Send both your measurements and the serial number of the prospective rig to the manufacturer and see if a resize is an option and how much it will cost. Some stuff can be changed (fairly) easily and for a reasonable cost. There was someone asking about getting the laterals shortened recently. There's some good conversation about this in that thread.

"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

[IJskonijn 38]

Piecing some stuff together is a perfectly valid way. Especially if you're kinda picky about your reserve type/size, main type/size etc, it's a better road than waiting for the perfect complete rig to float by on the classifieds.

However, do get in touch with a local rigger about this. For one, he/she usually has an idea of what's for sale in the immediate vicinity (and might even have something directly for sale), and secondly the entire assembly needs to be compatible. Not a huge issue, but a rigger is the perfect way to ensure that main/reserve/AAD/rig are indeed going to play nicely together.

Also, start reading these forums about mains, reserves, AADs, rigs etc. For example, reserve size is something you'll have to think about. There are some schools of thought, from "reserve should be similar in size to the main" (makes them play nice in the event of a two-out), to "reserve size should be as large as will reasonably fit in the rig" (my preference, because I'd rather have more fabric than less fabric over my head in case of an emergency). And talk about it with people (especially instructors/riggers) at your own DZ.

[Bob_Church 7]

Volare500

Any advice? I've been jumping for a year now and it's time to get serious about purchasing my own rig. Buying all new gear probably isn't an option for me. I don't have that kind of coin... I'm down with buying a complete used rig, if the right one pops up for sale. As long as it fits right. I'm tall/slim.

What about piecing one together? Going used for the reserve, main and AAD, and then ordering a new container. I like the idea of being able to pick my own colours and having a harness that will fit perfectly.

Pros/cons? It's a lot of money, so any tips are greatly appreciated!

This is just my preference but I like to think of the reserve and container as a single unit. I have a Strong container with the Strong reserve that it shipped with but have had a couple of different mains in it. It just seems like it would be less likely to run into any compatibility problems and someday having a rigger say "I'm sorry but I'm not comfortable repacking this reserve into this container". But, that's just my opinion, I haven't seen anything that backs it up and I don't buy gear often enough to run into exceptions.