DSE

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Dropzone Reviews posted by DSE


  1. I've only been to 5 DZ's in my jumps, so what the hell do I know?
    But...Debbie, Jack, Lance, Heather, and the part time staff are awesome, and always willing to answer questions. Jack is scary smart about all things skydiving.
    After driving to another DZ north of there, I found no one wanted to be friendly, helpful, and only wanted my bux. SkydiveUtah said "Hello" the second I walked in the door, and even though they had several tandems readying, they took the time to talk while multi-tasking. Heather was phenomenal. When I returned the next day (didn't jump the first time there because all loads were filled up to sunset) Debbie came up and gave me a hug, saying "welcome back, sorry yesterday was too full" and proceeded to quiz me on safety stuff, and then checked out my gear before she'd put me on the manifest.
    They don't have a pool, showers, or hotel next door, and apparently have worked out the difficulties with McNasty next door, this is just a great place. I took my daughter there for her first tandem jump and Lance treated her like a queen. They seem to be very busy with classes, and have their calendar online so you can see when they've got tandems.
    Only complaint is I wish they had more room for fun jumps on weekends, seems like the 4 tandems they can take on weekends fill the loads fast.

  2. This is a fantastic DZ with views that put it in the very top listings of all DZ's worldwide, IMO. They do a lot of tandems, no doubt, but there is also a fairly deep group of experienced skydivers willing to share their knowledge.
    Of course, Shlomo Pearl's loft is amazing, and the huge covered packing area, food court, covered picnic area, team rooms, etc are nice as well.
    I did have a bit of an issue with the women at manifest; neither of them seemed to be able to handle pressure of what appeared to be a reasonably slow day on the DZ and both were surly and unwilling to do much but put names on the manifest sheet. Even a smile would go a long way.
    Shlomo, Ori, Etai, Dan, and so many other folks there did a great job of helping me to feel welcome, they offered top-notch gear, good sized landing area, good food, fast climb to altitude, and exits over the ocean.
    Safety is heavily emphasized here, helmets or frap hats required regardless of experience level. Expect gear checks from everyone around, and expect a very positive vibe from all the jump staff.
    It's a good sized DZ, much bigger than I'd expected.

  3. Over the Xmas holidays, I spent 5 days at Skydive Hawaii. I went next door first, as it's regionally known as the "upjumper place." Not one person said "hello" or any other form of greeting, even though it was clear I was an upjumper.
    So, went to Skydive Hawaii even though I didn't really want to go there. I had barely set foot in the door before Mary had said "Hello" and then introduced me to manifest and to a couple of others on the DZ. Manifest hooked me up with another upjumper.
    With only one exception, everyone there was very friendly and welcoming, both staff and upjumpers. On the weekdays, there were only a couple upjumpers and lots of tandems, but that made it easy to get onto loads.
    The one exception is a local upjumper that was overly filled with her own sense of self-importance and skill, and when she had an issue with me pulling in place (I was flying camera slot) she made sure everyone on the DZ knew it on landing. A couple of other jumpers and a staff member all loudly commented that she should go home. After she left, and during the following week, others were quite open about "That's not how we do things around here, she's just a nasty person."
    I was told straight up that it was possible that a tandem could potentially take my slot. It never happened.
    Packers are out of this world good and fast by comparison to my experiences at several other DZs around the world.
    Prices are right.
    I wish they had food there at the DZ, but Haleiwa is very close and you can't beat the Kua 'iina Burger joint there.
    Thanks to Mary, Frank, Jonny, Noel, Jake, Ben, and others at Skydive Hawaii for a great time over the holidays.