Crater Suit

Ordered the Crater Suit and talked to Mickey, the owner and builder of the suits, as part of the process. The suit was made to my specifications and sent to me on time. I'm a large skydiver and required a suit that slowed me down to to about 108. My suit does that and more. Great control and very easy to use right away. Did not really need any "getting used to it" time at all. I can tuck everything away and scream and then extend the swoop cords and slow way down, pretty damn quick. I used this suit this past weekend and saw something I have not seen in long time . . . people falling BELOW me! It was a wonderful sight. If you need to slow down, buy the Crater Suit! It is a fantastic value compared to the others I investigated.

...I've just ordered my 3rd Crater suit.

I've tried out suits from other popular jumpsuit makers and they didnt prove to be as durable as I had expected or hoped.
They were shelved in favor of my older Crater suit which has outlasted them all including some time when it was being used by a friend.

Its still in great shape and never been mended even once.

I only ordered a new one because I wanted a different color scheme :-)

This was the first suit i bought as soon as i came off of student status and i am still jumping it a year later. The color is still as bright and crisp as when i bought it and the material is holding together strong even after a few wipeouts. The overall price with all the options(designs,colors,grips,booties,fully loaded)was still alot cheaper than any other suit out there. And the fit was absolutely perfect. I have recommended it to every one at my DZ and 3 more people have also bought them and they love them!

My first "custom" jumpsuit was a Crater suit, which I've owned since 1994. I was impressed with the knowledgeable and friendly answers to my questions then and now, since I am ordering another one this week. I am not letting the first one go, just changing a few colors and upsizing to fit my additional girth into it along with long johns for the chilly fall temperatures in upstate New York. Since my first order the company has changed ownership, and imagine my surprise when the new owner answered the phone! I joked with him about the previous owner still appearing as the photo model. I surfed Bev Suits, Tony Suits, and Flite Suits websites, but none of them compared to the user-friendliness and completeness I found at Body SportsUSA's site. Their CAD program is remarkable and produces excellent fitting suits and greatly simplifies the question of how much slack or wing needed for a given fall rate. Unless their facilities suffer a catastrophic disaster, I will probably not look again at any other source for my jumpsuit needs as long as I am healthy enough to jump, which I hope is at least another 30 years !

If you're looking for a new suit but don't want to sell your rig to afford it, check out Body Sport's website. I ordered my crater suit right before Christmas and it was on my porch about four weeks later. They keep your measurements on file so ordering another suit is easy as long as you haven't spent too much time at the buffet. The quality is excellent and so far the colors haven't faded at all. It's a good suit for beginners and pros alike.

Very impressed with the suit, and I've jumped it for a year. Gave them a tough challenge, build a suit tight enough for recreational RW and RW coaching, but that had some extra wing for me to do video on 4 way belly fliers--and I'm a fast falling 5'8", 185. The computational process they use to determine wing size and amount of material in the suit was dead on. Fit was perfect. I go from camera to coach dives with the same gear. 150 jumps on the suit with no visible wear. Washed it several times and I still have people ask, "is that a new jumpsuit?" Delivery time was exactly as advertised. Their staff thought one of my measurements was off and called me about it (there was no problem, I just have small wrists). This suit was worth every dime I spent on it.

At 5' 11", 220 lb. (all torso), I've always struggled with my fall rate (RW). I can't tell you how many formations I've viewed from underneath. This suit has made it MUCH easier for me to dive with my buddies, even the petite ones.
The order process for the Crater suit includes you weight, measurements, and you give them an idea of how fast you'd like to be going. I chose "fast recreational skydiving", which has worked out great for varying sized RW groups at my DZ. Using these data, they calculate how much extra material you need under your arms. All suits also come w/ complimentary swoop cords, which can be a great help in larger groups (I need them in groups > 4).
The suit CAN become a little pricey, once you add all the grippers (and stripes), booties and a color pattern. I was all VERY worth it for me. Who wants a reputation at the guy who goes low all the time?
Because of a screw up I made on my order form, they need to call me to verify a measurement. The woman on the phone was extremely pleasant, and my suit came right on time, and fitting great.

If you're a larger skydiver who'd like some help staying back w/ the featherweights, I think you'd do well to look into the Crater.