base615

I’m not sure to be honest

Nagambie (VIC, Australia) shuts down in 5 weeks. Owner retiring, tried to sell it for months with no joy.

Yep, happened twice

All good advice except he said his current 135 is worn out. He should absolutely spend money on canopy coaching (and not downsize at his current experience level) but let’s not encourage him to forgo replacing an end of life canopy in favour of better canopy coaching and getting into gear trouble. A couple of people here in Australia have been injured relatively recently from worn out canopies ripping in half on final. Canopy coaching is super important but, in my view, significantly less important than jumping airworthy gear. OP, stick with the 135 for now. Buy a newer one (first priority) and take Chuck’s advice on the best canopy coaching you can get.

Most second hand gear over here seems to get sold on the Facebook group 'Skydiving Gear 4 Sale (New & Used) AUSTRALIA'. I understand Facebook is blocked in China but, if you have access to a VPN to access Facebook or if your Australian-based friend can get on it then the best bet is to join that group and post an ad asking for whatever you want. I think you'll have a good response. For new gear, as Greekos said above, Parachutes Australia can get you a rig pretty quickly while Precision Rigging, Downward Trend or Mee loft can help with rigs from the US-based manufacturers although the wait times are astronomical if you order a Vector or Javelin. Canopy wait times are also very long. I don't think anything new is an option if you're looking to have it brought back next month.

An altimeter can last a decade or more. If you would like to swoop in the future then it is prudent to buy one early in your career that is suitable for the future. We have people with a little over 200 jumps on a Flight-1 course learning straight-in double front approaches over our pond, so it’s not like it’s years down the track for some people. It could feasibly be only a year after buying your alti and you’re now stuck having to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new one because you landed in the pond and destroyed your Viso / Optima.

At our DZ, a lot. Any DZ with a swoop pond which are more and more common would have a lot too. Anyone who wants to go down that path in the future would do well to consider it, particularly since the cost of both are comparable.

My experience of swimming in the pond with a Viso and my Alti-2 equivalents beg to differ. My L&B altimeters (Viso and Optima) both went FUBAR and needed to be replaced. My Atlas's have been underwater repeatedly with zero issues. If you aren't a swooper then choose either but, if you are a swooper and like your altimeters to be disposable, then go L&B by all means. If, like me, you hate spending hundreds of dollars on gear you have to throw away and replace with another one after a few jumps then go Alti-2.

Unfortunately I resemble that remark, only 4 seconds though

Duplicate

Honestly, I find skydiving worse in a way as you can sometimes have a hard opening you aren't expecting. In my experience, BASE openings are usually fast rather than hard but are consistent, so as long as you keep within the accepted PC / reefing / delay combinations, you generally know what you're getting. Stray outside of those guidelines and you can visit a house of pain. I once packed slider down but a mate refused to do the (admittedly pretty intimidating) jump we had planned. We decided to go up to a nearby 900ft cliff and, instead of repacking slider up, I thought I'd just push it about half a second more on the delay than I usually would do for the setup in question, stupidly thinking it would be fine. When that canopy opened, I instantly concussed myself. I luckily had an on-heading opening as I was slumped in the harness and flew away from the cliff with fireworks going off in my vision. As I came to my senses, I noticed that both my shoes had come off my feet and I couldn't move very well for about a week after that one.

Still happens all the time in the UK, at least back when I used to jump there.

I’m also old and started when there were no digital options. Much prefer digital now and I believe they are a mandatory tool if you want to learn to swoop down the track with any level of safety (a relative term in swooping). You’re 30 years in so I’m not teaching you to suck eggs, more a reference for newbie jumpers looking to make this decision. I go swimming a fair bit and have destroyed a few L&B products that way. I switched to 3 x Atlas (1 on wrist and 2 audibles) and have had no such issues since. I’ve come to really appreciate the USB charging and the guide tones on every canopy alarm on the Atlas rather than just on the last alarm as it was on my old Optimas. If you go nowhere near a swoop pond then they’re all good products so pick your favourite but here is what I think personally and whyI recommend the Alti-2 route. Possible advantages of the Optima over Atlas for audible use with my rebuttals: Smaller size. Some helmet pockets may not accommodate an Atlas as easily. For example, I use a Cookie fuel and the Atlas broke the supplied rubber retainers which I think are shit anyway. I replaced with a bungee which I now prefer. Tonfly helmets only have adapters for L&B to be visible/adjustable without removing from the helmet. Most people seem to use full face helmets that don’t have this ability anyway. Some people who are less organised than me may prefer to be able to swap batteries if they get to the DZ and forgot to recharge. Only takes a short while to get enough juice into the Atlas though and you still have to remember Optima batteries, which aren’t easily available here, so I think this advantage is tenuous at best. Atlas has a 1000ft climb to altitude alarm but Optima is adjustable. We take seatbelts off at 2k which is where I set my Optima alarm and I forgot to take my seatbelt off when I first got the Atlas resulting in a beer fine. You soon get used to not having a 2k alarm so no biggie. More people know how to use them, also lots of the cool people are sponsored by them so you can look cool too :) Haven’t checked but I believe they are cheaper(?) Not so cheap when you destroy the, in the swoop pond though, believe me. Real advantages of the Optima over Atlas for audible use (IMO): Smaller size. Some helmet pockets may not accommodate an Atlas as easily. Tonfly helmets only have adapters for L&B to be visible/adjustable without removing from the helmet. More people know how to use them. Price if not taking them near the water. Advantages of Atlas over Optima: Water resistance Guide tones on every canopy alarm Easier to configure (in my opinion but YMMV) USB charging - easier, cheaper and better for the environment Advantages of Viso / Ares for wrist over Atlas: None IMO Advantages of Atlas for wrist over Viso: Improved water resistance USB charging - easier, cheaper and better for the environment Advantages of Atlas for wrist over Ares: USB charging - easier, cheaper and better for the environment TLDR: Just get an Atlas (or a few like me)

I honestly have no idea why we’re discussing the US here. The OP’s question was for a list of countries that allow jumping through cloud as we doin Aus / NZ. The US does not allow this sort of jumping so is irrelevant to the conversation.

They are not aimed at a similar level. Not sure where you're getting that from.