legstrap grips

[canopywhore 0]

I notice that some teams have a handle or loop sewn on their legstraps for a grip. I was wondering if this is a legal move for competition. Is this recommended for novice teams or is it more appropriate for Open teams with polished skills. I was thinking about adding some to my rig, our point is fairly small and this might help with some grips on exit?

[quade 3]

That's for CRW.

It would not be a legal grip for RW.

See http://uspa.org/Publications/SCM/0802_SCM_part1.pdf Section 5 - page 52.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[weid14 0]

Quote

I notice that some teams have a handle or loop sewn on their legstraps for a grip. I was wondering if this is a legal move for competition. Is this recommended for novice teams or is it more appropriate for Open teams with polished skills. I was thinking about adding some to my rig, our point is fairly small and this might help with some grips on exit?

while it might help with exits, correct scoring grips are below the leg strap (any where, foot, bootie, etc, as long as the judge can see your hand and it is stationary) and up to the shoulder harness on your arms.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

around here, we call those "8-way grips", as that is what a lot of the teams use for their exit frame. Having your hand inside the legstrap on a person who is jumping a tiny main might cause you to pull a legstrap uneven, so the outside grips you mention prevent that. They are also fantastic to have on your student rigs that you do AFF with. It really helps prevent the student from grabbing the main-side jumpmaster's wrist mount during practice pulls and at "real" pull time.

Chuck

[canopywhore 0]

thanks for the input everybody, I was only thinking of using them on exits and I wanted to confirm that it was ok

[Zoltan 0]

I would not suggest to use any kind of grip like this.

It might help you on exit on some occasion, but i am not convinced that you need any extra grip there.

main rule in skydiving that everything what is unnecessary might cause trouble, so if you do not use something, then you do not need it... stay safe and find other solution instead of installing non standard stuff on your rig.

z

[darkwing 4]

I think that harness grips of any kind are a sign of someone who doesn't know how to exit and goes for muscle instead.

Edit --Let me rephrase that, as it is harsher than I intended. I think a good exit should be designed and timed such that harness grips are unnecessary. I realize that such design and timing aren't often possible on fun jumps, especially at boogies with lots of strangers jumping together. Still, a tension free exit is the goal.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History