Z1 vs. Factory Diver

[MarkR 0]

Hey guys,

after I've seen bloody streaks in the face of a fellow diver who whent through a raincould this weekend I've decided to go for a full face helmet.

I just can't decide between the Z1 and the good ol' Factory Diver.

Any suggestions? Would be great to hear ppl which have used both and are able to compare.

BlueZ,
Mark

»Somewhere between the lies and truths borderlines get shady.
Somewhere between the yesses and nos you can find the maybe.«

[grosfion 0]

I would choose the Factory Diver, because when you want to do a few freefly jumps you can just take off the visor and use a normal goggle under it.

With the Z1 your visor might flip up during sit.

blues
Marcus

[vt1977 0]

I have a Z1 and I love it. I love the fact that it feels totally secure in freefall and that I am able to open the visor once I am under canopy.

I see that you are in Germany, therefore I guess you have some pretty cold winter days as we do in England.

I have known people with factory divers to have problems with their visors misting/icing up in very cold weather – this has only ever happened to me once with my Z1. It was on a night jump and I am told that the temperature at altitude was minus 36 degrees C!!! I find that if I leave the visor open just a crack and only click it closed just before exit I have no problems with it misting/icing up whatsoever.

Another point worth considering is that wearing a full face may well restrict your peripheral vision to a minor extent – try different models on and see if you can still see your cutaway and reserve handles.

A further option of course is the new Freezer from Paratec – I saw one for the first time this weekend. It also has a flip up helmet and looks a lot like a motorcycle helmet. Apparently it is great for bigger heads and easily fits glasses underneath.

In short, try on as many as you can, do a jump or two in them if possible and decide what you like best!

Vicki

[TALONSKY 0]

You should try both on to see which one is more comfortable. It is my understanding that Z1's are meant for smaller headed people. That aside I have over 600 jumps on a Z1 and love them. The visor has never come open in a sit or stand. In fact, if you look at the visor they are very strudy and I had a friend make a few jumps with the visor open and it did not come off during free fall.
Kirk

[grosfion 0]

check out the new Paratec helmet I think it is pretty cool.

http://www.paratec.de/Seiten/Archiv.html

blues
Marcus

[Vallerina 2]

I like having a flip up visor just in case I get too much condensation on it (hasn't happened yet.) I've tried both, and they both fit me well, and I didn't notice having better peripheral vision in one over the other. I went with the helmet I could find the best deal on (brand new for $100.)

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[MarkR 0]

Quote

check out the new Paratec helmet I think it is pretty cool.

http://www.paratec.de/Seiten/Archiv.html

blues
Marcus

Hey Marcus,

I already did (they had two or three of them in store) and I have to admit that I didn't like them very much. Didn't make a good impression on me, the visor was hard to close/open and it was way too big - almost felt like a motorcycle helmet.

I'm just asking myself if it's much of a disadvantage if my future helmet does not feature a flip-up visor.

BlueS,
Mark

»Somewhere between the lies and truths borderlines get shady.
Somewhere between the yesses and nos you can find the maybe.«

[skycat 0]

One thing to remember with the Z1 is that they run small. While I wear a small factory diver I wear a medium Z1.

Fly it like you stole it!

[MarkR 0]

Quote

One thing to remember with the Z1 is that they run small. While I wear a small factory diver I wear a medium Z1.

Hey,

thanks for the advice. I had the chance to try a Z1 this weekend and while I was sure that I'd need a 'small' one I found out that 'medium' was the right size for me.
I had a pretty good feeling with the Z1 but I haven't had the opportunity to try a Factory Diver for comparison. And even if I had I still wouldn't know its flaws and disadvantages when being used in the field (e.g. lens fogging up).

It's an expensive piece of equipment and I'm gonna think twice or thrice before investing my jumping money.

BlueS,
Mark

»Somewhere between the lies and truths borderlines get shady.
Somewhere between the yesses and nos you can find the maybe.«

[deadbrowncow 0]

Mark,
I'm a Bonehead dealer, so I am a little biased, but I have jumped both helmets you wrote about. Have you seen the new Boomerang from Bonehead? I think it blows both the Z-1 and the Factory Diver WAY out of the water. Might be something you want to look into.

***"A smart person can act dumb, but a dumb person can't act smart"***

[Chrisky 0]

Well, hard to open is a good thing, the Z1 of a buddy of mine popped open during a two way and he spend the rest of the dive trying to close the thing. I have seen the Freezer and most people were pretty satisfied IF the correct size was available. Many didn't like the outer visuals, but thats a very personal thingy.
One thing that Paratec has to offer, however, is really great customer service from my experience. And for you, its a national manufacturer

Have fun!

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...