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mbohu

90s style freefly suits

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Hi there,
I'm wondering if anyone can give me some info on why historically we went away from the baggy, floppy suits they used in the 90s for freeflying. I just watched a lot of the videos by Olaf Zipser and his crew, and other than looking kind of 70s-isch, it seems like these suits really worked for them and they could do pretty much anything that is done today and in addition I saw some things I haven't seen anywhere else, such as head-down flying in the center of a large belly-round, and flying around the formation, diving through the center and coming back up, etc.--all while perfectly matching the fall-rate of the belly group in a head down position.
It seems to me that the additional drag of the suits would make that possible (in addition to their awesome skills) and in general, having a bit more time in the air would be a good thing, no?

So why doesn't anybody jump or make these suits anymore? Because they don't look cool by todays fashion? Because the form-fitting suits of today are more "clean" in the way they fly and feel? (but then, on the other hand, we fly in all kinds of regular clothes, which can't be that perfect either)

I weigh 220lbs and I keep wondering if a baggier suit wouldn't help me fly a little slower and stay with lighter people, compared to the form-fitting Vertical suit I bought for the tunnel.

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Mbohu,

The baggier style suits were the standard for awhile because it was comfortable and the extra drag on (legs) especially made up for some slop in flying styles and gave people more range. I personally think some of this came from sit suit design, some of it came from 90's fashion of baggier clothes and some of it was there for function.

Today's suits are form fitting for a couple of reasons:
Most serious freeflyers spend a lot of time in tunnels that are very powerful. Baggy suits made of heavy materials beat you up when worn for long periods of time in the tunnel. They also tend to self destruct.
Turbine DZ's also get a vote, back when many jumpers were routinely only getting 9,500-10,000ft a 30 sec jump vs a 50 sec jump was a consideration. Now that most turbine DZ's are going to 14,000 and flying skill has evolved to allow more to be done in a shorter period-that's less of a concern to many jumpers.
Early freeflyers were different than the current guys who place a premium on flying style, precision, athleticism and "body flight". Being able to develop range without the crutch of a suit is considered to be of importance. Modern freeflyers are trying to go faster because they have more precision and control with speed. Just like belly RW suits going from the "balloon" suits of the late 70's to streamlined spandex-backed bootie suits of the late 90's-speed helps when the flyer has better technique.
Fashion is also a big component. 90's jumpers wouldn't have been caught dead in hipster pants, now it's the rage. Suit materials and craftsmanship, what people are willing to pay for a suit now also factors in. in 2005 I ordered a custom suit for $200. Now you'll pay $650-$1000 for something that has stretch panels, padding, Cordura knees, etc.

So-what does that mean for you? Go with what works. If you are like I am and you're trying to fly with the 125-170lb hipsters recreationally (meaning you're not going to start eating lettuce all the time, doing tons of yoga, start dropping $$$ in the tunnel,etc./make a major lifestyle change)- use what works. I prefer a straight leg suit made of medium weight material, but I have a freefly suit that is super baggy and helps me slow down for jumping with the featherweights. My lifestyle/career requires me to have muscles in my legs and I will never have the range of an ultra bird bodied tunnel rat. I also don't care for the skinny jean look. Am I using a suit as a prosthetic for lack of flying skill or am I using tools to achieve a result? I'm using what works for me, do what works for you.

Cheers,
-Harry
"Sometimes you eat the bar,
and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

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Nice summary, also, a lot of the novelty is pushed by competitive skydiving, which is evaluated based on time, not altitude loss, so, falling faster, produces a competitive advantage since you can move faster in the wind and turn points faster (besides the precision).

I'll be honest though, it does bother me when I can't fly head down in situations like a slower-speed hybrid, thinking about getting a baggier set of clothing to pull this kind of shit

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Liquid Sky will build you a baggier suit on request, as will Ouragan. I think Kurupee and Merlin are still making suits, they will build baggier as well.

Another option is the Deepseed design for instructors that hav zippers over extra fabric to add more "bagginess" on demand by opening zippers. Liquid also has this option.

-Harry
"Sometimes you eat the bar,
and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

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