full rig

[maxpower 0]

i'm just starting my aff in ireland and i intend buying my own rig very soon, any ideas on what i should buy. i'm 5'9" and weigh 220 pounds.

and thats the cheese !!

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

220 with or without kit?

____________________
Say no to subliminal messages

[trigger 0]

Hold your horses dude.There's a lot to consider like main/reserve canopy selection[something for you to consult with your instructors,me thinks]as for harness/container selection the choice is yours,but something freefly friendly would be good even if you don't intend to take up freeflying as a discipline.

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[maxpower 0]

220 without, i'm just looking for ideas, i'm asking at the dz and i thought here would be a good place to get some advice, i have a budget of about $4000.

i'm going to america in august and i'd like to know wht i want before i go and have budgeted for it

and thats the cheese !!

[darkwing 4]

There are many good rigs and canopies out there. I think it would do you little good to get advice here, as there are many jumpers satisfied with every rig and canopy in existence. You need to get a general idea of your main and reserve canopy needs, consistent with your experience level, skill level, type of jumping, and budget. Your instructors are the best source of information. There is lots of used gear in the US, from reputable new/used gear dealers. Just have knowledgeable, qualified (and not financially involved) people give you advice when you start narrowing it down.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[trigger 0]

Fare one!New kit.Something like a Sabre2main or Safire2 both 9cells or Spectre,Triathlon or Omni,all 7cells all make good post student canopies again you could try looking on the gear section of this site for alternatives as for container selection my personal favorite is the PdeF Atom Legend, unfortunately PdeF don,t export there containers to the states[something to do with bloodsucking lawyers me thinks]so if you decided on a Legend you would have to order it in the EU

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[skybytch 259]

Check out the gear related articles and reviews here. There are manufacturer website links with each of the reviews; check out those too. If you're buying in the US, check out the various US based gear dealers websites - you can find many of them (and a lot more skydiving related links) here.

There are a lot of variables that go into which gear is right for you, far too many to cover in this post (check out this article too). Do some research and talk to your instructors. Asking other jumpers about gear selection is okay as long as you take it as opinion and not gospel - pretty much every jumper out there is going to recommend whatever it is they jump, cuz it's the best.

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Woah, slow down a little, you are about to start your AFF? I would wait until you have done a few jumps or are about 3/4 way through.
Then you will know what you want, what questions to ask, and what might be suitable. Chat it through with your instructors etc.
You wouldn't go out and buy a car without first passing your test would you?
Youwon't be able to jump your own rig for a while anyway so just go canny for a bit.

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

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

[maxpower 0]

i was on static line but in ireland the weather is so bad that it can take a lietime, if i get a few good weekends together i can get my aff done and i'm allowed jump my own rig from level 6 onwards.

and thats the cheese !!

[riggerrob 561]

Mr. maxpower,
Right now you are in a very steep learning curve and your tastes in canopies will change radically over the next 24 jumps. A canopy that demands all of your skill today will bore you 24 jumps from now.
My advice is to complete AFF on rental student rigs, then do another dozen or two dozen jumps on smaller rigs (240 - 170 square feet) that you rent from your school. By then you will have much clearer idea of what size and style of parachutes you can handle safely.
Start by deciding what size of reserve you can land safely, in a tiny backyard surrounded by trees, fences, etc on a bad day.
Next decide what size and style of main parachute you can land safely on a bad day.
Third, pick a container that is large enough to easily pack those canopies into.
Fourth, consider harness size. This will require the advice of a Master Rigger or experienced gear salesman (i.e. skybytch) staring at you while you wear the harness.
Your US$4000 will buy decent kit in the USA, maybe even decent second-hand kit, just be cautious. Any time you are considering purchasing a particular piece of used gear, ask the advice of a dis-interested third party, preferably an instructor or rigger.
Everybody on these forums has an opinion, but opinions are like armpits: everybody has them, but some of them stink!

[nacmacfeegle 0]

What Rob said, besides you will scuff stain and generally abuse gear as you learn. You may as well bad news somebody elses stuff, they are charging you for it anyways.

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

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

[maxpower 0]

thanks for the advice, i just want to learn as much as i can about different rigs before i purchase one.

and thats the cheese !!

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Even if you're not currently a freeflier, when it comes time to buying a container, try to find one which is freefly friendly. Not only will this help you become a freeflier sooner (I'm not advocating this at your experience level), but it will also be a safer container to be using when you're doing barrel rolls and flips. Note: virtually all newer containers should be freefly friendly. Some are just better designs than others.

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

[BenGriffiths 0]

Quote

Woah, slow down a little, you are about to start your AFF? I would wait until you have done a few jumps or are about 3/4 way through.
Then you will know what you want, what questions to ask, and what might be suitable. Chat it through with your instructors etc.
You wouldn't go out and buy a car without first passing your test would you?
Youwon't be able to jump your own rig for a while anyway so just go canny for a bit.

Your right that you shoudl wait a bit before actually making a final decision and buying a rig. Although its never to early to start asking questions.

I'm coming up to 50 jumps - just got my 1/2 series to do (no luaghing - I couldn't do DP's) Soon I'm goign to be thinking about buying my own canopy. It's somehting I've only recently started thinking about.

As a result my knowledge of what I want is limited to Canopy Size and that I want it to be ''freefly friendly''. So I've been looking the posts here trying to up my knowlegde about containers etc..

----------
Ben G
Still Sinking :-(

[nacmacfeegle 0]

"no luaghing - I couldn't do DP's"

Rolling around clutching my sides, neither could I, everybody gets stuck on something.

First thing to do when choosing gear is decide on your budget, eg, new or used gear, everything else will be driven by that.
Once that is fixed, you can start phoning around to see what is available. Its normally a sellers market, so be prepared to compromise your gear choice.
If you're buying from new, by all means ask here, but ask 10 jumpers for gear advice, and I bet you a pull up that you WILL get 10 different answers.
Its nearly always a good idea to discuss things with your instructor, CCI, S&TA guy or their equivalent at your DZ.

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

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