obi

Go with what's natural for you. Just be sure to have it really dialed in before taking it down low (which can happen very quickly). Like James said, sometimes you get hard openings from pulling in full flight and if they come with off-headings they can be a bit nasty. So a couple of years ago I rolled the nose - until I had a snivelling 270 on a lowish pull. Pretty scary. I decided to never roll the nose again for ws-Base. I pack for a fast and clean opening and just flare the suit a little bit before pulling to take the bite out of the opening. If I need a canopy really fast I don't flare. The problem with not having enough power left in your arms after a really long flight doesn't depend on the way you pull, but is definetely something to keep in the back of your head.

You are a funny boy Tracy! Track with a speed-skiing-helmet? Darth Tracer, may the force be with you! But hey, you might be right, maybe an aerodynamic helmet would get you goin a lot better. But I doubt the saftey-aspects of a such a helmet and if I understood it right, that's what the thread is about. I was actually quite surprised how well I could track with a motocross-helmet: I recently did some base-jumps with a mountainbike, and as I landed on the bike, I wanted to have the best available protection: I went with a full-on motocross-helmet, a 661 Flight. On the first test-jump I ditched the bike and tracked for 15-20 secs, so I opened at full speed. I also had side-mounted a camera and so I was a bit worried about risers and weight. No problem with tracking, opening or anything else - I just turned the head slightly to avoid the riser slap the cam. But I have to admit that this a bit hardcore and I wouldn't use it for jumping all the time. There are lighter mtb-dh-helmets like the 661 full bravo carbon for example and my skiing helmet (not a full-face) even weighs a fracture of this and it does a good job - I hit my head hard with it while skiing and it saved my head from getting a big hole. I do not believe at all in skydiving-helmets when it comes to protection. They are designed to mount cameras on them and protect you from cold wind, noise and maybe a knee hitting your nose - period.

I recently did some base-jumps with a mountainbike, and as I landed on the bike, I wanted to have the best available protection: I went with my Motocross-helmet, a 661 Flight. On the first test-jump I ditched the bike and tracked for 15-20 secs, so I opened at full speed. I also had side-mounted a camera and so I was a bit worried about risers and weight. No problem with tracking, opening or anything else - I just turned the head slightly to avoid the riser slap the cam. But I have to admit that this a bit hardcore and I wouldn't use it for jumping all the time. There are lighter mtb-dh-helmets like the 661 full bravo carbon for example and my skiing helmet even weighs a fracture of this and it does a good job - I did hit my head hard with it while skiing and it saved my head from getting a big hole. I do not believe at all in skydiving-helmets when it comes to protection. Like mentioned above they are designed to protect you from cold wind, noise and maybe a knee hitting your nose - period.

Hey there, is that a good event for base-jumping? What about the sites there? On their website I read it's mostly slider-down cliffs

How much of a delay did he take? Go and throw? @Tom and Yexotay: How high is that tower? What delay did u take? I did some 1,5-2 sec delay slider up backflips and will do it again no problem. But it was of a higher cliff, so I can only roughly estimate the extra altitude eaten up by the snivel which lasted for about 2 secs. Note: as everybody knows this is very much against the common knowledge and practice. People have died doing short delay sl-ups from E's. So don't do it unless you have special reasons for it, and especially don't do it if you're a beginner.

A very different question: I watched the video and thought that both wings had NO flare at all in them. And that being 322 sqft! How much experience did the jumpers have on those wings? How old where they (the wings)? I assume the jumpers did flare, right?

That is very nice work indeed, Ray! Funny that I had the exact same idea, but wasn't sure if it would work properly as you have to pull out the pin downwards, while the pin is holding the 2 velcro sides firm against each other. So you can't peel off the velcro, you have to "slide" it off, and as you know, this is where velcro withstands the most force. I was a bit worried that with a completely new velcro, it might be hard to pull it off. Ever had any issues with that? Obi

Well, the reason I'm posting here is that I want to know why nobody makes skydiving-style velcroless toggles for base? And of course I would like to know which designs are there and which ones work best.

On my skydiving-rig I have cloth-stub-toggles, on my base-rig I have velcro-toggles. Of course the tension on the brake-lines holds the toggles firm against the guide-rings and the elastic goggle-keepers also help. But: the toggles surely don't come loose once the canopy has reached line-stretch. They must come loose while the canopy and risers are lifted out of the bag. While this is happening, there is no tension on the lines, so during the critical phase, there's only the velcro and the elastic goggle-keeper holding them. I tried around and I find it way too easy to slide the toggles out of the brake-setting when there's no tension on the lines. Once that has happened, the tension that comes with line-stretch won't do anything good anymore and the brake-fire will send your wing into a turn or worse, twists. I feel that every time a toggle flaps in the wind, I just almost had a brake-fire. And even if that never happens, I simply don't want to fumble for my toggles. I want them to be right there where they belong so I can grip them and get instant canopy control.

Well, hmm, i have 0 blown brakes and more than 300 jumps and I still do see it as an issue. First a blown brake can really ruin your day by completely fucking your opening/heading and second I don't like to fumble for my toggles when I got a, umhh, shortish canopy ride. Of course I do have goggle keepers (the elastic hoods) on my risers, but I don't like the brakesetting be held in place only by them and the tension on the lines while the lower part of the toggle is flapping around in the wind. Note: this has happened to me over the years both with normal as with big-grab-style toggles.

I'm a bit unhappy with my toggles as they don't really stay in place very well. I haven't had one fire yet, but too often they come off partly and flap around, held in place mostly by the tension on the steering-lines. I do replace the velcro often enough that it shouldn't happen, but it still does. I did a search here and on blinc and looked at all the major manufacturers websites, but they all only offer toggles (line-release or not) that are secured to the riser by velcro. Why is that? I have velcroless toggles on my skydiving-rig that work really well and never come off. The only downside with them is that you first have to pull up to release them before you can pull down, so in a stress-situation you might loose a bit of time and that's why I haven't installed toggles like that on my base-rig. But aren't there any other designs out there?

Good job posting it Mike. I had an identical experience in my first year. A friend of mine and I did a 2way, I was filming him and he lost it and slipped sideways under me. I tracked, but I also watched him and ended up super-low. It's a trap...

Yep, I think they're in there. The sites have been jumped by a couple of people before, and even I've been there already before-last winter, not at all being the first. But this time I had cameras. So the sites aren't new at all, but the vids are (for me). To Nick: one site is on one side; the other site is on the other side

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=category&id=46 enjoy

knowing but not using it. tg works for me and is easier

Nice jump & very sweet vid. But I honestly have to question the judgement of the dude. Avalanches sure make great video, but if conditions are obviously unstable, in my book that is a no-go for a skibasejump as your parachute won't help you if your getting swept over a cliff in a cloud of moving snow. Even if u manage to straightline out of it and huck the cliff (which I can tell you is by far not as easy as everybody thinks), 15+ tons of snow will plain simply collapse your wing when they fall on it. And nobody will take that line from you anyhow, so you can just wait for safe conditions. Sweet vid though.

Aloha! Does anyone have info on cliffs in Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia? Thanks

B.J. Worth did that stunt. I know that for sure. Was he being helped by Malnuit? Perhaps there were multiple takes, or multiple jumpers? No disrespect to BJ Worth, who is rightfully a legend in skydiving, but Zoo is one of the world's most experienced BASE jumpers, and if I were looking for someone to make a stunt BASE jump, I'd probably pick him first. Hm, I'm pretty sure Zoo did that one and I can only support what Tom is saying about him. There were multiple takes, quite many actually, but Zoo never told me about multiple jumpers. But hey, who cares anyhow?

yes, sure... @Clint: if you come down there in the next 3 weeks shot me a message, I'll check every now and then

I just booked a flight for after-tmrw and I still need some info on the sites! So far i only know that there are some cliffs in the tourist-regions in the south. So please, I you have any info please pm me. Thanks alot

Anybody who has some info please pm me. Thanks. Obi

Wow, that is one crazy video! Ok, 5.7 is nothing for a serious climber, but still, he RUNS up that wall and ain't shy to dynamically jump around just to save some time - without a rope Crazy fucker... Btw, Alex Huber free-soloed a 3000 ft 5.11 not too long ago... What's all that fuzz about base-jumping...

I've jumped a CF 2 99 and 3 CF2 89, I still currently own and fly one. They all had beautifully light riser-pressure and that was a reason for me to buy one. But I also think that Velos have light riser-pressure, so that might depend on how you fly and feel it. Anyway, I can do a 360 on risers only without problems. If I add body input and some advanced technique, (like slowing down the rotation) I can make it dive forever... If you can't do that with yours I would contact the manufacturer and get a new line-set. High riser-pressure sucks

Should be Dave and Andy in Cham. I met Andy in LB just after their trip, I think they should have some pretty cool footage

I'm neither a snowboarder nor a skysurfer, but I spend 100+ days a year on skis and I've done basejumps with them. You should take care to not only focus on the ability to cut away your board, but also about the whole setup being rock-solid. The last thing you want is one foot coming out of your binding 10ft before the cliff. You should also be very comfortable hucking cliffs on whatever kinda board you use so you know how to take off.