Winter Time jumping

[AggieDave 6]

There are a lot of new(er) jumpers on the forums now, many of whom haven't jumped in the winter before. Thus, I wanted to start a thread with recommendations for winter jumping to help them (as well as everyone) out.

1. Gloves

Make sure that you can find your handles, grip your handles and will be able to pull your handles with the gloves you want to jump with on. Some neat tricks are to wear something like a pair of Mechanix gloves (something with a lot of dexterity) and wear latex medical gloves under them. That'll keep your hands warm and you'll still have some dexterity. Also, make sure you can hold your toggles in the gloves that you choose.

2. Layering clothes

Layering clothes is a great way to stay warm in the air and still stay comfortable on the ground. Besure that you can still fit in your jumpsuit(s) with the clothing you choose. Some good choices include the underwear meant for skiing, military Poly-Pro, Under Armor's cold gear and just plain old long johns.

Besure that you don't put on so much bulk that it impares your movement.

3. Neck/Face/Head protection.

If you keep your head warm, you'll feel warmer, since 80% of your heat is lost through your head. When choosing something, make sure that it won't hinder your vision in any way. If it blocks some of your periphial vision, then that may be enough for you to have a canopy collision or something along that lines.

Some good choices are neck warmers that are 1 piece, Poly-Pro baclavas, certain ski masks are also good choices. Lets not forget that a full-face helmet also works wonders.


That is my short list, I know I've left out a lot, so please everyone add to the list or correct my list or simply comment on anything along these lines.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[mr2mk1g 10]

Good idea.

Hill climbing and skiing stuff works good as its designed to be lightweight (thus thin) but warm. Thin is good as it doesnt impead your movement + you can still get your jump suit on. Remember if you have a baggy jump suit and fill it with warm clothes this will effect your fall rate.

Look for a good base layer but don't worry about the more expensive wicking base layers that are available. These trap sweat and draw it away from your skin. Unlike in hiking your not doing a lot of work on the ride to altitude so shouldn't sweat too much. This is therefore throwing jump money away. A thermal base layer will work just as well but be half (litterally usually) the price.

Another good tip is that your fingers and extremities only get cold because your core body temp starts to drop. Your body then shuts off the supply of warm blood to your extremities leading to cold blue fingers. If you keep your body warm, your fingers and toes should keep a lot warmer all by themselves.

[velo90 0]

In the winter I tend to keep the exit height down as well. It's not as cold at 5000ft as it is a 14,000.

Beware of the visor on full face helmets, more than once during track I have had it totally frost up. I could not see a thing until I had pulled and flipped the visor up.

[andy2 0]

any opinion on goggles/glasses anyone? Do they frost up bad? Is it a good idea to cover them with some protective crap skiiers/snowboarders cover their goggles with?

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let my inspiration flow,
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm...

[pilotdave 0]

Helmets mostly fog up because you're breathing in them. Goggles don't have that problem.

Dave

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Yes I never experienced fogging problems with my goggles while jumping last winter. However we really need to be careful with the gloves that we choose to use. I have two sets of gloves that I have used in the past (and when it's warm enough I'd prefer not to jump with gloves). My football receiver gloves are nice and sticky and tend to do well when it's not that cold outside. And my fleece gloves (orginally purchased a few years ago for specialize mountaineering applications), keep me warm but I recently had a scary close call with them (I came close to dropping a toggle on landing while on a high alt hop n' pop). So be careful with any gloves you choose to use.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[rjf98 0]

Uhhh... we put on a long sleeve T-shirt

[flyangel2 2]

Winter jumping. What's that?
Oh I know, it's when I head out to either Eloy, Florida, or Perris Valley and make some skydives

Back when I did jump in the winter in Colorado and wore goggles, if I put them on too early in the airplane, they would fog up. Wait till the door opens till you put your goggles down on your face. The same goes with the visor on the helmets.
To keep your hands warm, I get the "hot hands" that snowboarders/skiers use. Place them on the back on your hand in the glove. They will stay warm all day.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Amazon 7]

Hey good thread Dave...Here in Seattle its fairly mild in the winter but the wet and cold does make for interesting dives.

Quote

Uhhh... we put on a long sleeve T-shirt

Even better is a turtleneck shirt.. like from Eddie Bauer, they are cotton so breathe well and wear for a long time. They are really good for keeping the neck warm.
Fogging.. I use some Dawn dish wash detergent on the goggles as anti-fog.

I found that Nike batting gloves are good for protecting exposed skin.. but no insulation... but here in Seattle it's not all that cold. They are VERY supple and have a good feel for handles/hackey's.

Under the jump suit and OVER the thermals.. would be a good place for a lightweight windproof shell. ITs the 120MPH wind that cuts through everythhing.

I remember getting frostbite on my nose back in the winter in Xenia, Ohio..so a face covering baclava is not a bad move.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Search?stat=7889&langId=-1&storeId=8000&textQuery=baclava

Good dives...

[murrays 0]

Gloves - I use leather cross country ski gloves that have a velcro closure around the wrist so that they are more secure. A bit of insulation but still good feel...important if you jump a pull-out. Be very sure they allow you to get a good grip on your cutaway handle. I remember an incident up here in canada a while back where a jumper's gloves were too slippery to pull the cutaway handle and they had to be taken off in order to chop.

Glasses/Goggles - I've likely done most of my cold weather jumping with glasses...no problems with fogging that I remember.

Clothing - I prefer poly-pro and wool. Wool socks are infinitely warmer than cotton socks and stay warm even if damp from sweat or external moisture. Cotton is cold as hell if it gets damp. I hate the stuff unless it is summer time. Poly pro underwear and a thin wool sweater is my preference.

If you are packing outside, which is something I've done, be sure to have a good parka to put on over your jumpsuit and layers to stay warm on the ground.

Shoes - If you wear something heavier, like hiking boots be sure that any hooks are taped over to prevent snagging.

Under canopy, your hands get cold partly from having them above your head...your heart just can't keep the blood flow happening. After opening, try keeping your fingers in your armpits while under canopy (traffic permitting) while you make minor corrections using harness inputs. Obviously, get ready to land at a reasonable altitude.

Head wear - I've made all my cold weather jumps with a frap hat. I'm sure most helmets are warmer. As previously noted, a turtleneck is nice to have to keep your throat warm. I am very leery of giving up visibility to keep my face warm. I'll take the cold face to ensure that I can see my handles and what is going on around me. As a result I've never used a balaclava that could interfere with my vision.

Good idea for a thread Dave.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[rickfri59 0]

My last jump of the 2002 season was in the first week of November. The reported temp. at 13,500 was -27F. Add a 120 mph breeze and it's a bit nipply. Dressed in three thin layers (under jump suit), used a fleece neck gator and wind proof gloves from EMS. Only problem was my visor frosting completly over (kind of cool watching the frost move from bottom to top) which resulted in a high pull (6.5K). The visability in cold air and the snowy mountain views were fantastic. Wish I could do it this year but I'm grounded for at least five months with an arm injury shit, shit, shit.

[champu 1]

I just got a pair of neofleece hunting gloves made by seirus this weekend that work excellent. Was recommended them by a few people on the DZ.

I also picked up a seirus "combo clava" yesterday which I haven't jumped yet, but it fits under my protec and doesn't get in my vision at all. This should help me out a lot (see avitar)

[Dumpster 0]

I've been jumping each winter since I started three years agon, in Wisconsin --

A word on full-face helmets and frosting, etc. -

Wear your helmet like you should during takeoff, but pull it off during the climb to keep your head from sweating up. Also, if you choose to wear a full-face, get one you can open the visor very easily on. ( Z-1) Leave it open until just before exit, and frosting problems should be minimal. Open it after opening your canopy, and enjoy the brisk air on your face.

Gloves - I just found a company called Ironclad that makes a glove called ZeroPlus, that is the schiznit glove. the website is www.iclad.com They rock!! THE BEST WINTER JUMP GLOVE!

Thin Layers- YEP! Like Aggie said!!! Military Polypro is the best. Not sexy, but it works!

Oh, and switch to sneakers instead of Tevas. Snow between the toes kinda sucks.

Easy Does It

[sdgregory 0]

As a jumper who just started this year, and plans on continuing to jump through the winter I would like to say . . .


Thank you all for the advice. Iwas thinking about this just yesterday, when I was realizing that I do no think I can make it through the winter without jumping.


Thanks again

[ThreeKnees 0]

'Course you can always jump nekkid !!

Let it all hang out !!
ThreeKnees

[Jethers203 0]

Right on!!! I don't jump naked in the winter, but shorts and a T-Shirt under my jumpsuit does the deed. I let the adrenaline keep me warm. However, I wear gloves and a fullface, but I do that shit anyway.

Clint D-24352

[Dumpster 0]

I originally purchased my fullface just for cold weather jumping, but after getting kicked in the face several times doing full-contact 4-way combat RW, I wear it year-round now.

And gloves- Yes - Gloves are good!

Easy Does It

[kallend 1,644]

Quote

Helmets mostly fog up because you're breathing in them. Goggles don't have that problem.

Dave

If your eyes water because of the cold, the tears can freeze and stick goggles to your face. Happened to a friend who couldn't see a thing and couldn't get the goggles off either. (Temp was around -25F at altitude)

...

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

[gremlin 0]

Best set of winter gloves are cross country ski gloves as they offer excellent grip but are warm ... and the other advantage of winter is that my girlfriend is too much of a wuss to jump so I get free pack jobs

I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine....

[Zenister 0]

but be sure to check your gloves out on the ground in both your toggles and in your (usually smaller) dive loops.. I had a scare wearing neoprene gloves once where they bunched up and stuck as i tried to pull my fingers out of the dive loop...

my favorite gloves so far are the nomex flight gloves..only i cant seem to keep a pair for very long..

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[fudd 0]

When jumping an open face helmet and googles, put the google strap over the ears, not above and behind. Then it's much easier to pull them down if you should need to.

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[nicrussell 0]

Make smart choices about you and your capabilities. Weather is always a factor, but in the winter it can be compounded.

Not that I have ever jumped in the pouring rain, sleet, or snow before (I'm from Oregon come on now). Once you've left the plane (and thinking "what the HELL am I doing this for?!" and the moisture (sounds soft well its not) starts hitting you at an ever increasing velocity there are two methods I use to stop such pain.

1. Pull, you'll just be up there longer (see hypothermia)
2. Flip on your back and watch your altimeter unwind to your comfort level ( I'd bring it down to 2300 with my monarch and 2600 on my xfire), pull and cover my face with my gloved left hand.


you know your an addict when...

nic

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Say..Q for ya..
When you jump, do you say "geronimo!!!!!!!!"?
What do you think Geronimo says when he jumps..?
"MEEEEE!"
Corny, I know..

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[marks 0]

Quote

Say..Q for ya..
When you jump, do you say "geronimo!!!!!!!!"?
What do you think Geronimo says when he jumps..?
"MEEEEE!"
Corny, I know..

WTF?

[Patman 0]

That Aggiedave is sooooo smart! We inthe northern states wear a sweatshirt and thermal unerwear, winter mechanics/athletic gloves and helmets. 'Course, we tend to be cold blooded in the deep freeze part of winter.

Oh yeah, a shot of corbel after you're done jumping REALLY warms you up!

Don't tell me I can't! I already know that! Haven't you seen my x-rays?