Gloves Were a Problem

[pccoder 0]

A couple of months ago it was fairly cold one Saturday when I went jumping a on my first jump of the day I decided to wear gloves for the first time (some real light but thick in the palm leather gloves from when I was riding motorcycles).

The jump went fine and when it came time to pull I realized when I reached back to throw out that I couldn't feel the hackey. I lost about 500 feet working my hand up my leg until finding it and throwing out a little lower than I had wanted.

Lesson Learned: If I am going to channge my normal jump wardrobe, I need to take into consideration how it will be different for me PRIOR to getting on the plane.

Some people have told me to cut the fingers out of the gloves on my right hand. Other suggestions?

PcCoder.net

[nacmacfeegle 0]

A lot of motor cycle gloves are designed to protect your hand if you come off, hence the thick palms.

Try a pair of Neumann gloves I think the ones I have are 'batter' type, but I don't know for sure.

Oh, and with them on, do all your PRCPs and emergency procedures.....Things will feel different.

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[grega 0]

Don't you check all your handles (Hackey, cutaway, reserve) before you exit the plane

"George just lucky i guess!"

[JJohnson 0]

It is for that "lack of feeling" that I normally do not wear gloves. I normally don't wear a helmet either...but lately I have done that more and more.

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[skyyhi 0]

I have worn Neuman gloves since my first jump and never had a problem feeling my handle. I am sure it was just the thick palm of the motorcycle glove.

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[pccoder 0]

Quote

Don't you check all your handles (Hackey, cutaway, reserve) before you exit the plane

Absolutely, however checking in the plane and then reaching for it in freefall aren't the same "feeling", at least not to me.

PcCoder.net

[pilotdave 0]

I use Nike football gloves with thin knitted gloves underneath on the cold days. They really aren't warm enough for anything under 40 degrees on the ground, so I went looking for some new ones. Last weekend I tried out some new cross country ski racing gloves I bought. They didn't fit perfectly, and the palms were a little slippery, but I did about a million practice pulls of every handle and decided they'd work alright. The one thing I forgot to try was opening my Z1. So on the ride up I opened it about a dozen times. I found it very difficult, but got it open every time. So I climbed out of the cessna, didn't slip off the strut, and had a fine jump. Pulled with no problem, steered with rear risers with a lot of difficulty, and collapsed my slider. Now the fun part. My helmet was fogging up, as always in the cold, and I just couldn't get the thing open. Tried a few times, then decided it was time to start flying my pattern so it was time to give up. Luckily only a little of the visor fogged, but my glasses underneath fogged too. But, I still had plenty of visibility and landed without a problem.

Anyone wanna buy a pair of gloves?
Anyone been using new gloves this winter? What kind, and how are they working?

Dave

[DShiznit 0]

I wear Neumann gloves on every jump for two reasons:

1) I always have the same "feeling" when pull time comes

2) Protection from the ground if my landing is not perfect

I have two pair of Neumann gloves, one summer weight and one winter weight.

[pilotdave 0]

The neumann winter gloves just don't look very warm to me. Anyone use em in actual cold weather (as opposed to california cold weather)?

Dave

[Remster 24]

Quote

The neumann winter gloves just don't look very warm to me. Anyone use em in actual cold weather (as opposed to california cold weather)?

I use windstoper gloves. They are fairly thin, have grabby fabric on the fingers (not the very tacky stuff, but not bad either), and they let absolutly no air through, and thats what makes them so warm. Bought them somehwere in europe (Paris I think) in a sport shop.

I did a quick google search, and they are kinda like those, but were cheaper:
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/appareldetail.cfm/MA6100

Remster

[kallend 1,640]

Quote

The neumann winter gloves just don't look very warm to me. Anyone use em in actual cold weather (as opposed to california cold weather)?

Dave

I use neoprene "hunting" gloves in actual Illinois cold weather. I don't have a problem with tactile loss.

...

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

[DShiznit 0]

In Texas, the coldest I have jumped in to date was -4* at altitude, 40* on the ground, and my hands were sweating from these things. They are warm, I assure you that.

[crzjp20 0]

just my .02 but i use nomex gloves on all my jumps. They are desigend for pilots to fly planes in so i figured they would be ok in the air, and they are.

You can get them at any army surpluss store.

Blue Skys

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Fear is not a confession of weakness, it is an oportunity for courage.

[aero04 0]

I use batting gloves in the winter. Work fine.

[bch7773 0]

I use a pair of scuba diving gloves... the aren't all that great. What does work, however, is just a pair of latex gloves as a liner. They are very thin, can go underneath any glove, and they really do keep your hands warmer.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[tiigra 0]

It´s not like I need super sensitive fingertips to pull, it´s a rather big hackey I have to find, not reading things written for blind people.
Having cold hands can make the hands very clumpsy though...

If it felt uncomfortable with gloves I would
-Practise on the ground, it´s just a different feel.
-Put my hand on the hackey some hundred feets higher so I give myself some extra time if I have problems to find it.

[JJohnson 0]

Are you saying you have tact?

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[EdC 0]

I wear leather golf gloves, they seem to work ok, plus I can use them on the course as well.

Big Ed

[kallend 1,640]

Quote

In Texas, the coldest I have jumped in to date was -4* at altitude, 40* on the ground, and my hands were sweating from these things. They are warm, I assure you that.

That's called a heatwave around here. Doesn't qualify.

...

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

[riggerrob 558]

Geesh!
I have been wearing a thick pair of Columbia alpine ski gloves for the last decade and never had any problem finding all the handles on a tandem rig. While my winter gloves may be thick across the back, they only have thin leather on the palms and fingertips.
In milder weather (i.e. above freezing on the ground) I wear a variety of cross-country ski gloves, wind surfing gloves and leather batting gloves.
The real trick is doing a few dozen practice touches before boarding the airplane. It also helps if you already have a plan for methodical groping: grasp buttock with open hand and slide hand up to bottom of container.

[pilotdave 0]

Quote

Quote

In Texas, the coldest I have jumped in to date was -4* at altitude, 40* on the ground, and my hands were sweating from these things. They are warm, I assure you that.

That's called a heatwave around here. Doesn't qualify.

Yeah, you're not kidding. When I heard it was gonna be in the lower 40s last weekend, I was so excited! I figured the nice warm weather would be a good chance to test out my cold weather gloves, when I didn't really need them.

I also discovered I love landing in snow! So much fun! I'm definitely no swooper, but I still slid along leaving nice ski tracks.
Dave

[pccoder 0]

if you are associated with www.skydivingmovies.com .. what has been up (or should I say down) with that site lately?

PcCoder.net

[newsstand 0]

I went the golf glove route too. Got some "winter" ones. Nice grippy palms and fingers and I could still feel the hackey.

"Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening."
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

[pilotdave 0]

Final touches are in progress, then I'll probably hide a link deep in some thread to get a little testing done before I really announce the grand opening. If you come across a link to the site, or if you helped beta test it a while ago, please PM me and let me know what you think of the latest changes.

Dave

[philly51 0]

I wear gloves on all my jumps, batting type in summer and leather (with thinsulate) in the winter. Went to the men's department of a department store and found the leather gloves that fit me. This year I picked up a pair of winter golf gloves and wear them with thin woven liners. The coldest jump has been -20 f at altitude and I didn't have any problems. I've tried the latex route and found that they caused my hands to sweat , which combined with the wind chill was not good.

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, Shouting "...holy shit...what a ride!"