Removable chest strap - do you use this option?

[dima39 1]

Removable chest strap - do you use this option?

If you have some photos for ringed (chest rings) and not-ringed harness - can you post them?

[morris 0]

What do you mean?
Remove it completely??
Please clarify!

[dima39 1]

Yes, possibility to remove it completely.

For examle: short chest strap for every day swoop, long - for competition, without use chest strap extender (less bulky).
I saw something similar on Marat's rig in Dubai, but doesn't have photos.

[MikiBee 0]

There is only 1 person I know using a removable chest strap and it's not Marat. Marat has a removable belly band. The person removing his chest strap completely has a permanent belly band on his rig. U need to have chest rings in order to do a removable chest strap.

[dima39 1]

Ok, than questions from practical and legal side (TSO etc.):

1. Cut off wide chest strap on Wings
2. Sew second friction adapter (opposite to standart adapter on Wings).
3. Make 2 different removable chest straps (short and long).

Any pro and cons ?

[AggieDave 6]

Would it be a better solution to use a chest strap extender that you can put on your normal chest strap when you want and leave off when you want. Then you're not modifying the harness.

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

[morris 0]

Why do you wanna remove it at all?
An additional cheststrapextension isn´t that bulky...

[dima39 1]

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Why do you wanna remove it at all?

It's more teoretical question, not decision :).

2 solutions for now:

1. Standart chest strap + extender
2. Looong chest strap, not very practical for every day jumps.

[tetra316 0]

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Why do you wanna remove it at all?

It's more teoretical question, not decision :).

2 solutions for now:

1. Standart chest strap + extender
2. Looong chest strap, not very practical for every day jumps.

Why do you think a long chest strap is not practical? I actually had Infinity put an extra long chest strap on my rig. At the time (4 ish years ago?) they said that was the longest chest strap they had installed. I just fold it over twice more than normal and there is no any extra 'bulk' that makes any difference. fyi-I just like the longer straps as I like to loosen it under canopy, makes it more comfortable for me. And no I don't swoop.

[ianmdrennan 2]

FYI removing a chest strap completely AFAIK, is a violation of competition rules. The belly band gets around this, but total removal is not allowed. This is true, at the least for US Nationals. Unsure about FAI ruling regarding this.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[AggieDave 6]

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FYI removing a chest strap completely AFAIK, is a violation of competition rules. The belly band gets around this, but total removal is not allowed. This is true, at the least for US Nationals. Unsure about FAI ruling regarding this.

Ian

Ian,

What I got from his questions wasn't that he would want to completely remove the chest strap after opening, that he wants the ability to switch between a "swoop" chest strap and a "normal" chest strap depending on what kind of skydive he was doing that day.

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

[davelepka 4]

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What I got from his questions wasn't that he would want to completely remove the chest strap after opening, that he wants the ability to switch between a "swoop" chest strap and a "normal" chest strap

What I got from his question was that he wants to take a strap, which by design is adjustable for length, and make it field-removeable, so he can swap out straps of different length.

Adjustable length strap, removed to install a different length strap, also adjustable for length.

Sounds simialr to a dog chasing it's tail, or any other completely pointless, circular activity.

[AggieDave 6]

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What I got from his question was that he wants to take a strap, which by design is adjustable for length, and make it field-removeable, so he can swap out straps of different length.

Adjustable length strap, removed to install a different length strap, also adjustable for length.

Sounds simialr to a dog chasing it's tail, or any other completely pointless, circular activity.

I didn't say I thought it was a good idea, just that he wasn't wanting to take the chest strap off while swooping.

All in all I really believe that its imperative that if you can only choose one or the other activity in skydiving to take things to an extreme level. For instance, if you are into top level CRW jumps, you're not going to use that rig for shooting tandem videos. No d-bag, vet wrap, etc. Just as such, too many people try to take a top level swooping setup and try to shoe horn it into "regular" skydiving. Full RDS, 300 HMA lines, extreme wingloadings etc. Those things really don't belong on "regular" skydives.

Although there are many who try to make it all fit with a single rig.

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

[dima39 1]

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FYI removing a chest strap completely AFAIK, is a violation of competition rules. The belly band gets around this, but total removal is not allowed. This is true, at the least for US Nationals. Unsure about FAI ruling regarding this.

Ian

Ian,

What I got from his questions wasn't that he would want to
completely remove the chest strap after opening, that he wants the ability to switch between a "swoop" chest strap and a "normal" chest strap depending on what kind of skydive he was doing that day.

Yes,
Idea was to have 2 different chest straps, for example 30 and 50 inches. Every day swooping (FF and camera): 30 inches + removable slider. Competition swooping: 50 inches + full RDS. On same rig (Wings).
Now i have 30 inches strap (8-10 inches longer than standard). Thinking to add some more...

Poll: Who have longest chest strap in the swoop world :)? 60 inches chest strap exist :)?

[selwynj 0]

The other option is to leave your rig standard, and add a second chest strap with a buckle complete and extend your standard chest strap only when you swoop. No alterations to your rig and no excess chest strap to deal with on regular jumps. I can send a photo in a couple of days. Maybe someone can send a photo sooner?

“It takes ten years to get ten years’ experience” Eric "tonto" Stephenson D515 PASA

[Cashmanimal 0]

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The other option is to leave your rig standard, and add a second chest strap with a buckle complete and extend your standard chest strap only when you swoop. No alterations to your rig and no excess chest strap to deal with on regular jumps. I can send a photo in a couple of days. Maybe someone can send a photo sooner?

I'd love some visuals on how this is done. I haven't found the week or so VSE needs to replace mine, I'd like to see some simpler, local options

It's all fun and until someone loses an eye... then it's just a game to find the eye

[f94sbu 0]

Ask your rigger to take a similar friction lock found on legstraps and 4 feet of webbing. Then just sew a standard chest strap (with folded stop at the end etc.) but instead of connecting the other end to a rig, you connect it to the friction lock. Takes a about 30 minutes to do and $5 for the parts. I have mine in my car, otherwise I would have posted a few pics on it.
Make sure that when you sew the webbing onto the friction lock to use the correct side of the friction lock as they are usually meant to be installed in a specific direction.

regards,
Stefan

[matt002 0]

I have a removable chest strap on my swooping rig, it has a stitched loop at one end and is larksheaded to the chest ring. The rig already had this mod done when I bought it but I don't fully remove it, its long enough to be able to move around in the harness a bit for speed and zone, I extend it with a second chest strap for distance. Have tried it fully off a couple of times and don't like the feeling when leaning forward as there is no support. Much prefer the extended chest strap as its long enough to lie flat on but still supports my weight.

[frost 1]

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FYI removing a chest strap completely AFAIK, is a violation of competition rules. The belly band gets around this, but total removal is not allowed. This is true, at the least for US Nationals. Unsure about FAI ruling regarding this.

If it's not a violation - it should be.

[RichLees 0]

did he get the gate? I've always wondered about the risk of falling out. doesn't look like he did.

why do I keep getting whacked in the face by my extended chest strap? I used to use an extender with a second buckle, but that nearly cost me my teeth when it whipped up and the buckle hit me in the face.

[craigbey 0]

Looks like some new kind of freestyle trick. Did he get extra points for that?

[AggieDave 6]

Crap, well, it looks like he hit back in the water and I would hope he was ok. Thank god he didn't crash into the shore upside down and flipped out of his rig. When I ran the Texas Swoopers league, my "rule of thumb" that I told people was that if you hip checked the pond and flew your canopy out, that could be a yellow card. If you hip checked the pond and your canopy flew you out, that could be a red card. Then again, I was running meets with the intention of having people having fun and learning, not a high-strung high-level meet.

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

[frost 1]

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Then again, I was running meets with the intention of having people having fun and learning, not a high-strung high-level meet

I think Swooping err, sorry, the Competitive Sport of Canopy Piloting has grown into that ugly beast in the last few years... I wish there were putting up prize money to run something cool and fun like the Ranch Pond Swoop meets used to be. That's what swooping has been about - style, fun and water. I miss those days...