Can you freefly in a track suit?

[mrkthmn 0]

Let me start by saying sorry if this seems like a stupid question. I'm newer to the sport and as I'm learning different positions (just nailed sit fly! oh yeah!) I'm looking to the future. I know I have a ways to go before I can even get my hands on a track suit so dont turn this post into "don't rush yourself, you'll get killed!" Ha Ha! I know my limits, I'm simply curious about the gear and if it's something I even want to look at getting in the future. I'm really liking what I'm learning about freeflying but extreme tracking in a wing suit someday is definitely appealing. That lead me to wonder if you could do any freeflying in a track suit or if they were pretty much only made to track in. Thanks for any help in advance!

[christelsabine 1]

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I'm really liking what I'm learning about freeflying but extreme tracking in a wing suit someday is definitely appealing. That lead me to wonder if you could do any freeflying in a track suit or if they were pretty much only made to track in. Thanks for any help in advance!

You're working on freeflying? 40 jumps - umm yeah, OK. Just try.

Are you talking about a *wing suit*? Extreme tracking in a wing suit? A track suit? Extreme freeflying in a wing suit? Take your time and elaborate ...

Oh, and of course, nobody would dare to turn your post into a "..... don't rush yourself ..... ".

You surely know that nobody gets killed in our sport, right?

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[nad 0]

Is it possible to freefly in a track suit? Maybe..

Is it best to learn freefly in a track suit? No...

Use a suit that is suitable for freeflying. As I understand it, a track suit has inlets which inflate the suit and I'm pretty sure that it will make freeflying a little more difficult.

[elias123 0]

These guys are wearing some special kind of tracksuit if I'm not mistaken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp4TXIwWl3U

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane"

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

I appreciate the encouragement to continue "trying" to freefly. That's the whole point of learning right? "Trying" something new over and over until we get it. I see that you have 800 jumps so surely you understand that everyone has to start somewhere. I've been very fortunate to have done most of my jumps with coaches and this has really helped me to improve my skills. Like I mentioned, I am very excited that I am now able to get into and hold the sit fly position.

As far as safety is concerned, many of the staff at my dropzone have personally known fellow skydivers that have died doing what they love. I am well aware of the dangers, take safety very seriously, and hope to continue in the sport for a long time because of it. I understand that many new skydivers are very excited to progress and make mistakes that can cost them their own lives and possibly the lives of others. I do not feel that I am one of those people, despite being young in the sport and also very excited to progress. I see now that I will be looked at in this light anyway until I have proven my safety record through a higher jump count.

[mrkthmn 0]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond!

This is the simple answer that I was looking for!

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

That is indeed the type of suit I was wondering about! Alexander Poli has some amazing videos of him doing some very technical tracking off a BASE jump in suits like these.

Much like kids say that "when they grow up they want to be a fire fighter" or something of the sort, I look at professionals tracking like that and it seems so cool to me. As I said in my post, as I progress in the sport I will find out if it still appeals to me and if it does I'll need to get a suit like that. I was simply curious if I could save some money in the future by only buying one type of jump suit for many disciplines and based off the feedback I got here the answer is, I really shouldn't.

[demon4o7 0]

Anything is possible. Get the right suite for the activity you plan on doing. (not giving you a hard time) after all tj landgren has a video of him flying head down with wingsuiters. So anything is possible. Just not practical.

[dthames 0]

A fair portion of my jumps have been tracking jumps. It is an interesting challange to me to be effective at tracking for both distance and speed. Most of the time when I track I use my RW suit. I have borrowed a tracking suit and jumped it a few times. It slows the vertical speed down, increasing your fall time, and increases your distance. To me, it does not add to the joy of the jump as it seems to take away from what I am familar with as far as tracking. Maybe I didn't do enough jumps with it to fall in love with it.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[tristansdad 0]

The way I see it, you can "try" and freefly in any suit you like(camera, wingsuit, RW) but suits are made to cater to specific disciplines in order to gain that little edge. If youre just learning do you want to wear a suit thats not made for freeflying?

[HomeyTheClown 1]

Homey don't play dat.

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for response! It seems like what you said is the general consensus: You can do it but it's just gonna make it harder when it doesn't have to be. Advice I plan to follow!

[Freeflaw 0]

It works ok. I have done HD carves with them. I would reinforce the ankles. I blew out my zipper sitflying mine. I wouldn't try to learn how to freefly with one though.

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for the response!
You bring up an interesting point. On the few tracking jumps I've done I've gotten left behind pretty fast so I can see how a track suit would help in that sense but if it's going to take away some of the pleasure, it may not be worth it! When I get to that point I'll have to see about borrowing a suit before I invest in one!

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for the response!

It seems like what you say is the consensus. It's possible, but it's just gonna make it more difficult when it doesn't need to be. I can see now that in the future If I decide to go that route then I'd want to have a different suit for tracking and free flying.

[mrkthmn 0]

Thanks for the response!

The jump suit I have now has zippered ankles and anytime I sit fly they always get blown open! I'd hate to have invested in a track suit only to ruin it in a sit fly. After the feedback I've gotten here I'm definitely just gonna go with a freefly jumpsuit until I get to the point in my diving that I want to focus more on tracking and in the end, wing suit

[HomeyTheClown 1]

I want to track naked.

[tristansdad 0]

If you dont have money to spend on a suit then work on your sitfly wearing some shorts and a long sleeve shirt. you wont have the drag around your legs so you can get a good feel on being aggressive with your feet. motocross pants work very well and they are about a quarter of the price of skydiving pants.

[GoHuskers 0]

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I was simply curious if I could save some money in the future by...

You and I are cut from the same cloth. Everything I've gone cheap on has cost me more in the long run. Bought an Argus (600 off a cypress hell yeah).

I am the pround owner of 6 jumpsuits. 2 of which I wear, 1 of which frequently.

It is a mirage, do not be fooled. Think very deliberately before you buy something, never buy "because its a deal" don't surf the classifieds when you're bored. If you have interests in more than 1 discipline, you have 2 separate requirements. Think about your interests, calculate supporting each, choose if necessary. Good luck, look me up if you're ever in Texas.

[Andy9o8 0]

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On the few tracking jumps I've done I've gotten left behind pretty fast

Then you still need a lot of practice mastering effective tracking, which is pretty normal for someone with only 40ish jumps. Nonetheless, it's a life-preserving skill that you must master if you're going to jump with groups. It's better that, as soon as possible, you quickly learn effective tracking of your body itself before you add the artificial assistance of, say, RW booties, tracking suits, etc. For example, if you find yourself freeflying with others while wearing just shorts, you'll still need to be able to track well at breakoff to keep yourself and everyone else alive.

[Freeflaw 0]

Tracking suits suck for everything but tracking from cliffs really. They are a nightmare to FF. Not good for RW. You can't track with others that don't wear them. They get boring rather quickly in the sky. They help only little in learning how to wingsuit.

So if you intend to learn to basejump later on down the road, get one and fly the shit out of it. Tracksuit tracking and regular tracking are different beasts IMO.

[DcloudZ 0]

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Thanks for the response!
You bring up an interesting point. On the few tracking jumps I've done I've gotten left behind pretty fast so I can see how a track suit would help in that sense but if it's going to take away some of the pleasure, it may not be worth it! When I get to that point I'll have to see about borrowing a suit before I invest in one!

If you want to learn how to track properly, start naked When you reinforce the proper body position and such, additional suits will only help improve your track.

"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

[champu 1]

As others have said, you can do a lot of things...

But while it's tempting to put on a tracking suit to go on track dives, or tight shorts and a baggy sweatshirt for sitflying (essentially mimicking a sit suit from old days) these are like putting a toddler on crutches. I would recommend a well-tailored freefly suit with nice even drag everywhere so you can learn to fly these positions naturally. And I would recommend trying to go on skydives in small groups such that you can be challenged, but not "left behind."

Not being in on a skydive can be a powerful motivating tool, but it's also a safety issue if people don't know where you are. Conversely, solos can be a less stressful environment for learning, but can also be a safety issue if you don't know where you are.

[Hellis 0]

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Thanks for the response!
You bring up an interesting point. On the few tracking jumps I've done I've gotten left behind pretty fast so I can see how a track suit would help in that sense but if it's going to take away some of the pleasure, it may not be worth it! When I get to that point I'll have to see about borrowing a suit before I invest in one!

If you want to learn how to track properly, start naked When you reinforce the proper body position and such, additional suits will only help improve your track.

Disagree.
Different suits need a different trackposition.
If I track the same way with my tracksuit as my RW-suit I'm not going very far.
There is no "perfect" bodyposition for any suit or person

[Shredex 0]

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Disagree.
Different suits need a different trackposition.
If I track the same way with my tracksuit as my RW-suit I'm not going very far.
There is no "perfect" bodyposition for any suit or person

Yea, even going from tracking in my FF suit to tracking in my Booties, there is quite of bit of difference. I've borrowed a tracking suit as well and that's an even larger difference lol Seems like I'm always "re-learning" how to track with every new suit I put on.
But the idea here is "ease of use". It's easier to learn naked because your body adjustments don't have as large of an effect as it would in a tracking suit.