DexterBase

Does it look like this?

With what size rubber band? I have used (many times) a single wrap with a small rubber band but prefer a double wrap with a medium band.

I do two wraps of a medium rubberband on a 3" stow always unless under 200 feet. That stow is coming off when you hit linestretch. There's really not that much force required to pop that stow. Try stowing and then pulling it out. I'd be more worried that the stow isn't tight enough rather than be concerned with it slowing down the opening. The primary stow is very important and is the best way to ensure your lines do not spread out and allow the bottom skin to inflate before you're completely at linestretch. Use it! Proper deployment sequence is good. I did about 100 jumps before I started using a primary stow, but I was counseled by a very knowledgeable jumper who explained why I should use that stow. I have done static line jumps well under 200 feet with two wraps of a medium rubber band. No problems. I recommend doing a go-n-throw from a conservative height to see for yourself.

I've made a bunch of jumps below freezing. Not ever below zero Farenheit but definitely below 20 degrees. Airspeed is good. Take all the delay you can and I think that will help shave down the probability of having a hesi. I also try to pack my PC as close to the time of exit as possible. For one jump in Moab, I left my entire rig halfway up the wall for two nights while we fixed ropes up a route. I opened the packjob at the exit point to make sure there weren't parts of the packjob frozen together. I definitely lofted my PC several times to see it inflate. Other than that, my primary concern with cold jumps is being careful not to slip on the exit point.

What are you modeling that with?

And... why did you decide to post this in the BASE forum?

Yeah, I figures it was, but there's water all around so my friends and I have been calling it "The Island" I want to go there. A place where I can smoke it low, go in, and try again.

I maxed it out. It brings you down automatically when you get to the end of the island. Some interesting things to try: *See how close to the launcher you can stop. *See how low you can pull (if you have a very shallow trajectory you can pull amazingly low) *See if you can do a gainer while smoking along the ground and pull to survive. Interesting game.

Yeah, Matt's still there. I can see it in his eyes. Thank you for your updates. Hang in there, Matt needs people like you around him. Anyone should feel lucky to have a friend like you. Please let us know if Matt (or you) needs anything.

Is that a STANDARD 42" PC? (Just answer yes or no please.)

Tim, I'll sell you a PerigeePro with an ACE 220. It's um... not at my house right now... I know where you can pick it up though. You pay me and I'll tell the rangers to let you have it. Let's make it an even $500. What do you say?

Katie and I are doing a jump tonight. Josh will be there.

Can you be sure to tell him (even if he's unconscious when you see him) how hard the community is pulling for him?

Shit, shit, shit. Matt, can't let this slow you down bro, we still have that big project coming up. I know I can't handle it myself so I'm going to need you around. Pull through this buddy. Fuck.

Um... I know threats of violence are bad here... but Ray is my friend... and if I heard you say that to him, or knew you lived close to me, I'd cruise over there and kick the shit out of you. Edit to add: You obviously have no idea who Ray Losli is or maybe you would bite your tongue.

I'm saving these in a word document in case they get deleted... oh man... Ray, call me or check your PM's.

Holy crap Ray.....

I'd say if you skydive every weekend, you have six months to a year of good hard jumping before you have enough experience to consider BASE jumping. In that time, you will be able to contact your local BASE jumpers and run ground crew for them. Ask the jumpers who will be mentoring you the same question you asked here. Internet forums are not an acceptable substitute for quality BASE instruction.

And I'll be on the talus with the spineboard and a hefty trash bag.

No Turkey boogie? Well, if you and Marta are going to be in Moab this thanksgiving, I hope we can have dinner or something because I will be jumping there that week! Yup, I'll still be in Moab for thanksgiving.

This isn't skydiving. This is BASE jumping and we take care of our own. If you don't like the way we do things, that's not our problem. If you don't understand why she needs to ask these questions, you don't know much about BASE. You buying a rig and burning in on one of my objects does matter. It means I will probably have to play it cool at that site for the near future. I will have to answer a bunch of needless questions from all of my friends. It's just a pain in the ass that can be easily avoided by not selling you a rig to begin with. It also makes the BASE community look like a bunch of yahoos.

As far as I know, Asylum would prefer to decline a deal, than sell equipment to an unqualified person. It all comes down to ethics. Money is not the most important thing when it comes to some aspects of business, especially when you're handing someone a vehicle capable of destruction. If a qualified jumper wants gear, then the deal will roll along very smoothly, with the best customer service I've encountered.

I was curious what your injuries were. Thanks for posting that.

Hehe... I got a kick out of that part.

Trip will probably be about 3-4 weeks. At this point, due to the remote nature of the area and lack of a helicopter or fast rescue ability, only experienced jumpers will be going on the trip. (Imagine sitting with a broken leg, or worse, for a minimum of a week before a doctor looks at it.) I'm glad to see an actual interest in this trip, so I can start planning out more details and lock on a tentative time window.