S-Fly

I have not jumped any other wingsuit as yet, so I review from a limited perspective. However, I can vouch, that this is a superb choice for a starter. The suit is easy to hook up and unhook, easy to check in the plane, and really takes a lot of stress out of the flight-line check stage leaving you free to concentrate on the jump. Similarly the suit feels so stable in the air, instantly, that it is easy to relax (really relax!) and start playing with the performance. I have around 50 jumps on this suit now, but started throwing it around after 15-20 simply because it has given me so much confidence. The suit is really quick to recover after going unstable. The wings are easy to pull manoeuvres such as barrel roles, loops, etc and if all goes a bit funky, just ball up and come back out to re-inflate in an easy smooth stable position again - it's wonderful for this! The only cons I can add here are that I am struggling a little with back flying, and I'm thinking it might be the fact that a majority of all the air venting it on the front (arms), and also the cut away can turn in to a bit of a fumble, as I found out one day after trying it out of curiosity rather than emergency. However, saying that, the suit is so solid that it's hard to imagine ever needing to cut the arms, and even so, something you should be aware of rather than be concerned about. No big deal.

I've flown with Vampire 2, GTI, S3, S6 and maybe a few others and found the performance equal, if not a little better on a few occasions. The lift you can get out of it is quite surprising and once you put your shoulders and head down in to speed it can really shift. I have only ever been out-run by a Vampire and the guy was a superb flier and I had about 10 jumps at the time so...I can forgive myself for that! But next time...no chance! I get the feeling with this suit that it really is the flier doing the work, and not the material.

And that's the other thing, being a mono-wing, I really get the feeling that my body is determining the flight, and not the suit. What I mean is that I'm not fighting with various bits of it, such as left arm wing, right arm wing, leg wing, etc - you just shift your weight to make it move, kinda like harness-flying a canopy. Very smooth! And thus, much easier to recover from a tumble, too.

Once again, I can only write from a limited perspective but I can say that this has been great for me as an introduction and going forward. It is not something I can see myself tiring of either. When I asked for a recommendation on which suit to buy, a good friend of mine immediately said ‘S-Fly’ and for once, it is a recommendation that has withstood the test of time, so I’m keen to recommend it to others. As a first wingsuit, I am just so glad I had the S-Fly because it is so hassle-free and such a good performer, that I had no stress getting in to the sport. I watch people starting wingsuit today and it amazes me the level of anxiety they get in to during their first few jumps (and some never really get over it, it seems!) and I dare to say that you will never get that from this suit. It’s a real confidence builder!

I've been jumping my S-fly right after 5-6 coaching jumps on BM classic.
It's a 1st gen, made end of 2003.
The new ones (2005') are basicaly the same wing but with better materials and imrpoved built quality. I'd give a 5 for those !
The S-fly is easy to use. Unlike some top notch rivals like S3 or MTR2, the leg wing is not huge and therefore easy to dialup for a beginer. Over all performance is very good though, I've been flying side to side with a GTI and I'd say the S-Fly is better. I Did not get a chance to fly with S3 bird mens.
Rigging up is actualy done in less than five minutes, thanks to those zippers.
Now, good thing with the S-Fly, and I'll go against the prview review on this, is how easily you get in (before boarding) and out (after opening).
Once you get the right way, it takes nothing more than 2-3 minutes to get in: you don't have to plan far ahead before boarding with the S-fly :)
Unzipping arms and legs and removing booties is nothing more tricky than a classic. The S-Fly is suitable for complete beginners on that matter, and no big deal with a small harness sensitive canopy (I'm flying a crossfire2 @ 1.6:1)

My bottom line is: if you want the best absolute performance the S-FLY is probabely not for you.
But if you accept to trade a little top end performance for global hassless use and flight, this is for you.

Pros
Build:

The suit is built of tough material(made by salomon), much tougher than ZP. The build quality is superb.

Ease of use:

Hook up is a breeze, four zippers and the suit is on the rig. Getting into the suit is hard because of the single zipper in the front. Using a chair or couch to wear the suit and rig makes things easier.

Flying:

I have only been able to put 7 jumps on this suit since I received it(Nov 2004). The suit is very stable and comfortable to fly. The arm position also makes it less tiring to fly when compared to my SF3 or GTI. The suit is atleast as good as the GTI, I make this statement from seat of the pants feel rather than actual numbers from a logging device. As I get that information, I will update this review.