Shorts?

[Tuna-Salad 0]

Hello. I am a relatively new skydiver (50 jumps) I would like to jump with shorts and a regular shirt ( tucked in of course with a belt ) because I made a mistake and got a black jumpsuit in florida - but I am told by instructors and others not to do it. Any reason on why? I consider myself to be in control of the skydive and a decent flyer. I am aware of the risks of the shirt vs handles. Sorry if this is a re-post.

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[labrys 0]

Quote

but I am told by instructors and others not to do it. Any reason on why?

Did you ask them why? Are you meaning to do solos or wanting to jump with others? What kind of jumping are you doing?

Owned by Remi #?

[feuergnom 22]

simply because a jumpsuit gives you at least some protection when you botch a landing plus added control (can you say booties?)

there's nothing wrong jumping in shorts and t-shirt once in a while, except you can easily catch a cold on hot summer days when you are all sweaty. i remember one summer when all of us had a running nose in august cause we did a day of jumping almost wearing nothing

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[danielcroft 2]

I've always thought the reason you don't jump in regular clothing (everyone does) was that it can interfere with your rig - more specifically your handles. I'd guess, as a newb like me, you would want to minimize or remove the chance of that happening because you may not have the awareness to deal with the extra material flapping about the place when you needed your reserve handle.

[labrys 0]

Quote

except you can easily catch a cold on hot summer days when you are all sweaty

Ummm, I'm sorry... but I'm pretty sure that the only way to catch a cold is to be exposed to a particular virus. Wearing shorts will not increase the odds.

Owned by Remi #?

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Quote

with a belt

Depending on the specifics of it's design, the buckle on the belt may pose a snag hazard under some circumstances.

For example, imagine deploying while unstable and the lines sweeping across the front of your body... a snag could be BAD. Remember, not all deployments are intentional! Instability and premature opening due to hard contact in freefall could put you in this situation (through no fault of your own).

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[aardvarkeater 0]

If you're doing a solo jump or a hop n' pop then you may be able to get away with it. The things to consider are the shirt getting loose and interfering with your handles on deployment and in an emergency. The other issue is if you're jumping with others, your movement will be completely different than while wearing a jumpsuit. I've found it harder to maneuver and get stable initially. I'm sure with practice you could do it but the first few times it will be pretty ungraceful and potentially dangerous for the other jumpers. Plus your tracks will suck on breakoff. All that fabric in your jumpsuit that makes you hot also catches air and allows for better control. Also, unless you're 100% confident in your landing skills, you could end up like myself and take some skin off you knees/legs/arms with a botched landing. Some things to consider. I'd say if you insist on jumping in shorts & a tshirt, start with hop n' pops and then do solos.

For the record, I have an all black jumpsuit and even during 100+ degree weather I suck it up and wear the damm thing.

Muff Brother #4026
Loco Zapatos Rodriguez
SCR #14793

[kkeenan 13]

Quote

I consider myself to be in control of the skydive and a decent flyer.

If you look back at this statement after a few hundred jumps, I would be interested in your thoughts about it.

Please listen to your instructors and other advisors. No offense, but 25 jumps is not a lot, and there is a vast amount that you do not know.

Kevin K.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[kallend 1,620]

Quote

Quote

except you can easily catch a cold on hot summer days when you are all sweaty

Ummm, I'm sorry... but I'm pretty sure that the only way to catch a cold is to be exposed to a particular virus. Wearing shorts will not increase the odds.

What about cold feet?

With respect to the causation of cold-like symptoms, researchers at the Common Cold Centre at the Cardiff University conducted a study to "test the hypothesis that acute cooling of the feet causes the onset of common cold symptoms."The study measured the subjects' self-reported cold symptoms, and belief they had a cold, but not whether an actual respiratory infection developed. It found that a significantly greater number of those subjects chilled developed cold symptoms 4 or 5 days after the chilling. It concludes that the onset of common cold symptoms can be caused by acute chilling of the feet. Some possible explanations were suggested for the symptoms, such as placebo, or constriction of blood vessels, however "further studies are needed to determine the relationship of symptom generation to any respiratory infection."

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kefran 0]

first time i did it i found myself totally unstable, probably because of the lack of drag that usually helps you to fly.
anyway for solo jumps get prepared for a good fun

if you want to try one the best option would be to open higher than usual ... don't forget to tell it to others at the boarding in order to be in the good slot for the vertical and horizontal separation.

have fun, stay safe ...

--------------------------------------------------
I never used 2 rocks to start a fire ... this is called evolution !

[voltage 0]

I jump alot with normal street clothing. Not necessarily shorts because I prefer a bit of skin protection in case of rougher than normal landings.

As others have said it is important to protect the handles. I have found out that simple tugging in even with a belt is not enough, I've had the shirt come out and flap around. A tip I got from an experienced upjumper was to pull the shirt through the leg straps and secure it with a packing stow (double wrap probably). It keeps the shirt down while still giving great airconditioning on hot summer days Looks a bit funny.

As for the flying, I really like it. I am learning to freefly and have taken a lot of different streeth cloth in the air. I have found it does make a difference what clothing you have, but still the main thing is how you fly your body. I think it is a good learning expierence to try out different clothing like baggy trousers and shirt, baggy shirt and tight trousers and so on.

If you are unsure of your flying abilities or are inexperienced please take it carefull. Tracking and/or other control might not be best with some cloth, so be careful when doing jumps with multiple people etc.

[SimonBones 1]

First, it is always important to listen to your instructors and have them explain things to you rather then trying to learn on an onine forum but I've got to say WOW... there is a bunch of nonsense written here . There is nothing wrong with jumping in shorts or without a jumpsuit. That's how I do my tandems. Usually in shorts and a tshirt (maybe long sleeves if it's chilly). On a hot day, I'll do lots of my fun jumps in shorts and tshirt... freeflying and all. I'll often put my suit on during track dives (extra power!!!) and VRW stuff, but enjoy dude, the air feels great.

If you're going to wear a tshirt, tuck it in to try and keep it from going over your handles. It stays held down under the harness most of the time, unless your doing some sitflying and the shirt is really baggy. Then sometimes just the front part of your shirt will come up a bit. A jumpsuit does not save your life.

Video starts with us freelfying in shorts/shirt:
http://www.dropzone.com/videos/Freeflying/Jive_Jam_May_2008_781.html

108 way head down world record!!!
http://www.simonbones.com
Hit me up on Facebook

[brucet7 0]

I am heading to the DZ this afternoon and was planning the short and t-shirt thing. After reading all this, I have changed my mind. Sure glad I washed my suit this week.

POPS #10623; SOS #1672

[tigra 0]

Aside from the "You might catch a cold" response, I didn't see much nonsense here. The rest of the responses seem to be: Protect your handles, protect your skin, and a properly fitting suit can help your flying depending on what type of jump you are doing. How is that nonsense?

[west33freefall 0]

I am still a newb as well with just finishing up my A-card but I started jumping in my shorts and shirt at about jump 17. I wouldn't recommend it if you jump with someone else and you really have to be cautious with vertical seperation. If other people on the load are wearing them you have to remember that you will fall much faster then those with a baggy one on. You def. feel like your falling faster not by a lot and you can't get as good of a track but for fun jumps, belly-flyin, and just normal things I think its fine or just as easy as with a jumpsuit and sometimes more comfortable. A little colder than your used to at altitude but if your like me I love that feeling getting out on the strut with that 9,500ft chill.

-It could be just a DZ standard for students to wear jumpsuits, the instructors might want you to have more protection on landing if you have duffed any landings. I personally just kept asking until they let me not where one on my solos. And I stood up pretty much every landing on a 200zp but 1 so they said I would be fine. No of them fit right so not wearing one in my opinion was safe in the airplane and landing because I could move better. But now I have my own that fits well and I wear it when jumping with others.

[jpechbre 0]

I jump in shorts all the time and have never had anyone tell me it's not a good thing to do(I'm not saying it is a "good" thing to do ) . Granted, tuck your shirt in, WELL! My shirt has come untucked while sit flying/standing before. I don't wear baggy shirts so it didn't cover any handles or anything, just lifted up a bit . Tucking your shirt in the front of your boxers a bit can help too. If I wear a belt I make sure it's clear of everything, and I route it a way that it can't flap around freely, were it to come undone somehow. Just my $.02

[howardwhite 3]

Quote

I've got to say WOW... there is a bunch of nonsense written here

Agreed.
I talked to a newly-minted A-license jumper Tuesday after his first T-shirt and shorts jump. He said he thought in freefall that a legstrap had come loose or some such. It hadn't, of course; it was just his shorts flapping against his legs.
Sure, it feels different, but -- with the cautionary notes already suggested -- do it.

HW

[Dumpster 0]

Skinned knees really suck.

Easy Does It

[dragon2 0]

It's not just the shirt coming up and the belt, you also need to be careful with things like pocket linings that can come all the way out of your pocket and cover your hackey - I think there's a story on here somewhere involving skymonkey1 or some other very experienced jumper who had some troubles with that.

Other than that I personally like jumping with a full or 2piece suit, for the various reasons listed here and I really need the drag on my legs to fly below-level with the tandems and on the hill with four way teams. Heck I almost always wear gloves too, hot or not. And talking about hot, try a birdman BLADE on a hot day But it does feel nice to feel the air on your skin sometimes I would suggest getting a more breathing suit, I like my old matter freefly pants because the wind can blow right through in freefall, built-in airco A suit like that would not be uncomfortable to fly in

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[skittles_of_SDC 0]

First, do it. Everyone in here makes good points but nothing that can't be avoided by doing things properly. If your shirt comes up over your handles, you're wearing it wrong.
My first and only cutaway so far was in shorts and a t-shirt. I did have it tucked in and it did come out but I have never had get high enough to cover handles. As far as sliding it in goes, yeah it can mess you up. Don't slide in. With all that said, never, ever do anything you are not comfortable with. BTW, I'm assuming you are talking about doing this on solos either belly or free. I wouldn't recommend it if you are doing RW because then people have nothing to grab onto.

I also bought a black suit (live in IL which can still be a bitch in the summer) but I have a bunch of Under Armour from my high school football days. That stuff makes a world of difference. Pick up a short sleeve heat gear shirt and heat gear compression shorts. Don't wear anything over them except for the jumpsuit otherwise you kinda defeat the purpose. It makes things much more bearable.

[wildfan75 1]

Jump naked!! You don't have to worry about your shirt getting in your handles and your shorts flapping against your leg tricking you into thinking your leg straps came loose.

Just try to avoid landing in a corn field naked.

My first non-jumpsuit jump was a naked jump. Very different going from a jumpsuit with booties to nothing at all. The three other people I was jumping with really gave me heck about wearing my full face helmet but I told them to stick it were the sun don't shine. And for the record, I was close to the corn field but did not land in it!

[wildfan75 1]

Quote

I wouldn't recommend it if you are doing RW because then people have nothing to grab onto.

The do-see-do with a freefly exit works great for naked jumps...I mean jumps in shorts and t-shirts.

[Tuna-Salad 0]

Thanks for the input. Seems it's about 40/60 for the do / dont. Of my 50 jumps atleast 35 of them have been alone. I have only participated in 3 or 4 RW skydives and those had no more than 3 people. My suit is a Tony swoop suit that is brand new and fits great.. very baggy because I am not a small guy and fall like a brick although I've been practicing the de-arch hug the beach ball technique. Those who drink beer can attest to having a natural arch.

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[ficus 0]

Don't let people on here tell you what to do.

They've given you a lot of valuable advice about the potential issues that might come up. Use your own analysis of those issues to decide.

Handles protection is a legitimate concern. Tuck your shirt in. Maybe work this into your EPs: put your hands in the middle of your chest (fingertips on your collarbone) and "wipe" down to your handles. This is also a good practice if you ever fly with camera wings somewhere down the road.

As for not skinning your knees -- learn how to land your canopy well and this won't be as much of a concern. Scrub in a landing in shorts and a t-shirt and you will be that much more motivated :)

[hacker44240 0]

I occasionally jump in cycling shorts and a rash guard. These are stretchy, skin tight materials, so it eliminates all of the concerns mentioned so far (except for getting hurt on a bad landing). You'll fall real fast too.