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  1. And the worst analogy ever goes to... What happens if your 'fun having equipment' completely fails in free fall (to be specific -an unresolvable terminal mal)? You won't have to worry about getting fucked up bad, your dead plain and simple. Correct. According to what you just said - yes! *** What im trying to say is that your rig is literately the only thing between you and certain death - I couldn't find a better definition of a 'life saving device' to be honest. The distinction is see concerns how one found themselves in that situation. I choose to get on the plane, go to altitude and then step out. In fact, I pay good money for it! The rig then does stop me from dying shortly afterwards, but in that situation it's not, in my mind, its primary purpose or indeed my main concern. If it was, I wouldn't get into the situation in the first place. Whereas something like a life jacket is utterly pointless to wear except that it may save you in a completely unwanted and unintended situation - it has no other purpose other than as a life-saving device. So while a parachute (etc.) for a recreational skydiver is indeed a life-saving device in literal terms, it's not by any means for me the primary concern when I choose what to put on my back. I would ever admit that at the DZ, of course, but I suspect many people think similarly.
  2. ah, right - this is the kind of thing I was getting at. OK, then. Because I have very little money. I see it as fun-having equipment, first and foremost. If our primary concern was life-saving/safety then we'd stay on the ground, instead of spending vast sums of money to be as safe as possible in an otherwise very dangerous situation that we choose to enter. A life jacket or a hard hat are for safety, a parachute is for fun. Just like a car or a set of skis aren't considered "life-saving equipment", even though a fault with either will absolutely fuck you up. But anyway, I suppose your point is that because it's "very important equipment" I shouldn't skimp on the cost. In fact, imo I shouldn't skimp on the quality/functionality, and if I can save on the cost in the mean time then great, because that's more jump tickets for me. Everyone has a different balance point on this issue, I suppose. I can see that mine would appear bothersome to many, though. Yep, in fact I just found out that he'll change them "for free" as part of the repack. And the DZ sells the batteries, so I'll just get it all in one! I might ask to watch, but I don't think he likes me much, haha. ***What kind of Cypres is this anyway? If I'm not mistaken, the Cypres2 onyl requires a batt change with the 4/8 year service. If this is a Cypres 1, your bigger concern should be when the unit expires, over and above the batt concern. Look into that before you spend any further money to make sure the AAD will outlast your repack, not just the batts. It's a "1" and expires early next year, so will be good for the rest of the season. The batteries are finished in a couple of months, though.
  3. I guess I should clarify that the AAD is currently out of my rig, completely separate. So changing the batteries doesn't involve opening my rig at all!
  4. Hi. I have a CYPRES whose batteries is due to expire half way through my next packing cycle, so I might as well change them now. I understand that I can do this myself, is this correct? Also, on the battery pack there's a sticker with the date of the last battery change written on it - do new batteries come with a replacement sticker? Obviously I will know that they're fresh, but the rigger and DZ may not be convinced unless it looks legit. The reason I want to do it myself is because it interests me to get involved with my kit, and also to save a few precious pennies on rigging fees. The DZ will still get the money in the end...
  5. Can it be that certain riggers will only work with certain AAD's? Maybe I should ask my rigger what the options are as far as he's concerned. If I bought new I'd get a Mars M2 (£750 for 15 years), I wonder if he'd be comfortable installing it.
  6. Unless you're going to buy one for me, with your money, yes - I do. Clearly. *** It's a double-edged sword - if you don't jump all that much, your lack of currency or experience makes an AAD a good idea. If you jump all the time, your increased exposure to risk makes an AAD a good idea. All of the AADs out there cost about same. With that said, your decision is more functional then financial. If you're going to buy an AAD, buy the best one for the job, not the one that's $100 or $200 less than the others. I don't want an AAD at all and my reason for getting one would simply be that DZ's require them, to tick that box. My decision between AADs is almost entirely financial, therefore.
  7. the Mars M2 one looks interesting - and quite cheap. A 15-year lifespan hopefully means good resale value, then I need to mostly just consider the cost of lost interest on the money if I had instead kept it in my bank account.
  8. Imagine if someone was happy jumping without an AAD and, given the choice, wouldn't purchase one. Try not to worry about why they might make that decision, just "accept" it for the purposes of this thread. They decide to get an AAD, though, because the majority of DZ's require one - either officially or unofficially. What would be the cheapest way to tick the "has an AAD" box that doesn't actually make him less safe? I know some people refuse to use certain models of AAD because they supposedly give false positives, for example. Of course, for this person false negatives wouldn't be a concern because the alternative is no AAD at all. Any suggestions? Not including things that require lying/deception such as a fake/empty AAD, haha. Thanks,
  9. of course it's not worth it, not at all - but I try not to think about that. I don't skydive purely for the sensation of floating on air, though - so a tunnel wouldn't be a suitable substitute. There's more to it than that - as I'm sure you agree. I guess it's like spending £1300 on a six-day skiing holiday when that money would get me near unlimited access to a local dry slope for the rest of my sad, lonely life.
  10. At my UK DZ it's effectively £18.20 to the top (US$28.50 by a straight conversion) and slightly cheaper for 10k or 5k. Kit hire is £10 on top of that, which is pretty standard.
  11. Bear in mind that you're asking a forum populated by continuing skydivers, so you'll tend to get only one kind of answer. Except from miserable people like me. There have been some threads in the past about this, check my post history to find them. Some considerable majority of people who get through their initial training don't continue skydiving. For me, no, it didn't "get better" - my favourite time was around jump 7 or 8 and then it lost a lot of the excitement and interest. Then, the enjoyment comes from learning and progressing like in any sport, but skydiving is too "rare" and expensive for me to make and meaningful progress, so that's just frustrating, and I prefer cheap/free hobbies I can do any time and enjoy just as much. Some people remain sick with nerves for 100 jumps or more, and some are bored stiff after three. Some think free-fall and canopy flying is just the best movement and activity available, while others find it limited, samey and less interesting than bowling or darts. Unfortunately, there isn't a forum for "people who have started skydiving but quit because they didn't really like it," so you can't ask many people like that.
  12. Depending where you jump, the rental rigs you have been using may well be F-111. Do you know what canopies you have jumped? Navs in Javs, if you will.
  13. I won't be buying an F111 canopy. Not exactly a new Sabre 2, either, though. I've flown the rental rigs (obviously) as well as ones I might buy, and I'm definitely happy with it/them - it feels pretty much the same to me.
  14. At several places in the US a 'DZ packer' has to pack it the final time before it goes back on the rack. If you jump it 10 times during the day YOU can pack all but the last one. Yea, at my DZ in principle we're allowed to pack rental rigs - for our own jumps only.
  15. Yea, I'm thinking it will be worthwhile. Rental is £10 per jump (includes packing) so you can see how quickly I'd save money. Of course I'd save even more by not jumping at all...