JaapSuter

No idea to be honest, but I think your observation is true...

Fair enough, I think I can agree with that. Certainly I agree that it wouldn't be safe if I tried it. It'd be stupid. Then again, I'm a pretty stupid guy... And this I agree with too. However, I am getting a little tired of holding back information from people. It's not you in particular, but it's a trend I've noticed for a while. By all means we should keep people away from objects and gear if we can. But when they do ask a question, I've always found it's better to tell them the whole honest story than to give a mysteriously short answer in the hope they'll go away. In other words, "It has been done by a select number of extremely skilled people, but you need a lot of training, knowledge and preparation to do it the least not-safe possible way." is going to be more useful than "You will certainly die if you do that." Again, this is not directed at you in particular, but more towards a growing trend I've seen.

Honestly, I think there are a few people in the world that could do this. But given your limited experience I think people will hesitate to admit this, for fear that you might try something stupid. Don't do it, but if you decide otherwise; make sure you get video!

No need to apologize brother! Your post sufficiently expressed you had put thought and effort into your question. That's enough for me. Besides, sometimes it's useful to revitalize an old discussion. You never know what new insights come to the table.

Some similar thoughts in this thread.

http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/lockpick/lockpick.aspx

I got a 260, wanna borrow or buy it?

And without your number, you'll fit right in!

Only false because I forgot a label... The Ray - Hardcore underground jumper who likes to keep things simple and use techniques proven over time. Also randomly sprinkles uppercase letters through his sentences... Just fuckin' with ya. If we can't be full of shit on the boards, where can we be...

Duh! Obviously that's going to be Abbie! Hey Abbie, you done working on the highway yet? Suckah!

I'll team with you guys, because I agree with him as well...

By all means, please do...

To add to my own post; I wonder what kind of ages we can discern in BASE. 1 to 200 - The Invention. The guys that started it. Rolled the dice much more than today and became true next door neighbours with death. 200 to 850 - The Passion. The guys that saw an underground thing happening and realized this adventure could satisfy a craving no other thing could. Still respectful to their forefathers and the inventors, their ways of the Parachute were similar to the ways of the Samurai. 850 to today - The Explosion. The people that realized that BASE has become something you can practice safely in exchange for mere money. You can buy the BASE experience and have a significant chance of survival. Warning, these are just random guesses and we can all argue the ranges should be different. Furthermore, each range has many jumpers that would equally belong in a different range. Even today there are plenty of inventors and samurais. Not to mention that certain subdisciplines in BASE have their own ranges and phases, take aerials and wingsuiting for example. Especially the latter could be considered in the invention stage still... Damn, I'm so full of shit that sometimes I wonder if I should be banned permanently for that reason alone...

Hey everybody, let's not forget that BASE jumping was a much bigger deal ten or twenty years ago. If you got your BASE number fifteen years ago, even if you only did it in only four jumps, it still meant you were one bad ass motherfucker. It may not have meant that you were a smart guy or a skilled BASE jumper, but it certainly meant you had a certain screw loose in the top of your head that made you pursue a crazy activity. And that undeniably put you in the ranks of a certain elite. Whether or not you thought you needed a number to prove that doesn't matter much, but certainly you deserved the number. These days that elite doesn't really exist anymore. BASE is much more accessible and anybody can do it. Take me for example. It's a pretty sad sport if a guy like me can go out and get a BASE number. Furthermore, getting BASE in four jumps is a moronic thing to do these days. You have to be pretty retarded to even try it. Not so 15 years ago. I mean, look at BASE 66. He got his number in four jumps but nobody is calling him on it. In fact, he gets our respect, and truly deserves it. Why? Because it was a different time. Maybe the numbers don't mean as much anymore as they once did. But it's just one of many signs that the sport is changing. Does it matter? Only if you're a hopeless romantic that is afraid of change... Meanwhile a discussion on the value of numbers could be considered pointless. Let people decide for themselves whether or not they want a number and whether or not it means something to them. I for one am truly disappointed with my number. It isn't prime...

It's not really a worry, it's just that I sometimes have to backtrack one or two folds on the mesh to make sure I come out correctly. You're making an interesting observation though and the only honest reason I'm not doing that is because I've never tried it. I will do so as soon as I come home. I'm not convinced it will be easier, but who knows... Thanks! P.s. just so as long as we always make sure the bridle comes out the top of the hand (between the thumb and the index finger).

I'm going to have to disagree with this, although I'll admit that it could be matter of opinion. I belief a jumper shouldn't be going stowed until he's absolutely comfortable going handheld. That way, it's never an issue. I've talked to jumpers who are firm believers in going stowed. They did two handheld jumps during their FJC because they had to, but once they "got it over with" they went stowed and never looked back. To me, this sounds a lot like AFF skydivers who get really scared when they start going lower and have to do their first hop and pop. Some day they're going to have to bail out of a plane at low altitude and they'll have trouble. Static-liners on the other hand will probably do fine. If you're not comfortable going handheld, you have no place going stowed. Going handheld is an incredibly useful technique and it should be a mandatory skill for any BASE jumper. But that's just my opinion as a romantic old-schooler born in the wrong day and age... P.s. kick-ass new avatar Katie!

No, we are talking about whether or not this has a higher probability of hesitating compared to stowing smaller pilotchutes. Although strictly speaking I actually started the thread to point out there are things you won't learn in your FJC, and that's why we should hang out with experienced jumpers. You never heard me say that. I did say it has a higher chance of hesitating compared to stowing smaller pilotchutes. I won't debate whether or not this is true. I must admit your point of view is refreshing, and it's an interesting reminder that we shouldn't always take for granted what other experienced people tell us. That said, I still don't see a reason to go stowed with a 48 inch PC since I enjoy going handheld at those kind of delays. Perhaps when accessing a sketchy exit point, but I'm a scaredy cat so I'll probably avoid an object like that anyway. Thanks Ray...

Are you calling me a scardy cat and bozo, or did you exclude me from that monniker by explicitly mentioning my name? Just checking... I haven't done a hundred jumps without a tailgate, yet I jump with one. That's silly too then? I haven't done a hundred BASE jumps with a skydiving setup, should I do so just to make sure I statistically prove to myself it's a bad idea? When sufficient experienced jumpers tell me it might be a bad idea, and I combine that with what my own common-sense is telling me, and put on top of that the fact that stowing a 48 inch PC doesn't buy me anything (when I stow, the altitude allows a smaller PC anyway), the only natural conclusion is to avoid it. There's no rocket science to it...

Just give me the call man. I'll be there! You should come down here soon. The exit-point is super slippery, but with all that sand in your vagina we can rough it up a little...

Sigh...

Having a BASE number doesn't mean you are a safer jumper. There have been plenty of people, myself included, who got their BASE number before they were really ready for it. Making site access depend on BASE numbers will only lead to more people being hasty in getting it, resulting in more accidents. I've put my number in as "Student 1018" because I like to post under my real name. I think most people aren't necessarily ashamed of what they earned, they just don't think it's that big of a deal. FWIW, there are many incredibly experienced and skilled BASE jumpers out there without a number. It doesn't make them less of a jumper. Furthermore, BASE 1057 is the real wanker and he doesn't deserve that number! Hahaha, just kidding, congrulations bro!

Hippie... Hey man, come visit. There's a new O in town and we're gonna scope out an 1800 footer soon...

Mmm, interesting. Do you have any theories on why this might happen? And what is your recommend strategy? I s-fold the bridle in my hand and continue along with the pilotchute (stretching the mesh and center-line first), making sure I plan my folds such that the top ends upward. I'm no longer sure which FJC taught me that, but I'm curious what your recommended handheld technique is.

To add to this post; getting some BASE jumpers in your instant messenger (MSN or ICQ) list, or even better; some phonenumbers, is a great idea! When I was just started out I would often bug multiple experienced people and be like: "Hey, I'm about to jump this 270 footer, but I only have a 42 inch pilotchute lying around. Do you think that's okay?" Or: "I'm thinking about doing a 310 foot building handheld, would you use a 46 or a 42?" I'd always crosscheck the information with what other people say, what the books say, and what my common sense is telling me. You get a ton of useful information this way. Information that is not always available on these forums, on the many published delay charts, or

This post was inspired by Yuri's post about his cliffstrike. Yuri did a great job staying alive and in no way should this post be taken as an insult to his skills. The fact he lived through a cliffstrike makes him ten times the BASE jumper that I am. Anyway, I'm wondering how many people actually know that stowing a 48 inch pilotchute is not recommended. It increases the chance of a hard pull compared to smaller pilotchutes, it increases the chances of a pilotchute hesitation, and strictly speaking if the jump requires a 48 inch pilotchute it's a short delay and you might as well go handheld anyway. If you really want to go stowed, use a smaller pilotchute. If the 48 is all you have, go handheld instead. I don't go stowed unless I jump a 42. 46 and above means handheld. Anyway, this post is not about discussing this particular matter. It's actually to point out an observation I had which is that I never learned this fact during my FJCs. I've taken two different FJCs, and I think it's a fair assumption that this kind of detailed information is not always what instructors have time for in three days. As such, it brought out the need for mentors, jumping with other experienced jumpers, or at least being in regular contact with them to discuss your jump plan. Mmmm, I wonder if this contradicts some opinions I expressed a few days back about the need for mentors. Oh well, at the very least I guess people should hang out with experienced jumpers. Going at it alone is great, but there's a ton of little facts -like this one about large pilotchutes- that you won't pick up unless you start hanging out with experienced jumpers. Anyway, just curious what the poll will say. Maybe I'm wrong and everybody learned this during their FJC. Cheers, Jaap