humbled1

Says who? That is your ego talking! You were trained from jump one to handle emergencies using tried and true training methods. You don't have any special qualities that you were born with that the overal population lacks. The only real difference between you and joe blow whuffo is you want to spend a large percentage of your time and money jumping, and he doesn't give a damn.

You actually make a good point but a few months ago there was a new jumper that started renting from the pro shop as soon as he got his A. He also did his own packing. He had done over 10 jumps over a period of a month before someone realized he was not aware he should be cocking his pilot chute. As for myself I was able to disassemble my new rig, (had some help removing the reserve tho), wash the container, and then re-assemble everything (minus the reserve of course) and at that point I had forgotten how to pack since it had been 1 time 4 months prior. I learned about gear in my FJC, well before I learned to pack. But I agree packing is a good time to get a good look at one's gear. So I guess one does not always equal the other...tho I am sure most the time it is very true..but most new jumpers at my DZ do their own packing. Seems to be visiting jumpers, teams, and groups the packers do the most work for. (and tandems/students of course) Also the packer I do use (when I use one) is also my rigger, and personally I feel better having someone else besides myself checking out my gear from time to time. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

OK im not gonna lie (but I probably should) my first packjob was my A license check dive. My next pack job was around jump 80. Why? cuz I can be a lazy fuk and had the money. But once I started jumping my own gear, jump 78, I had a packer friend teach me again. But until recently I was still using a packer about half the time at the DZ cuz it took me so long, but I realized I will only get faster/better by packing myself as much as possible. So now I do all my own packing (last 30 or so jumps)(btw I packed a step-thru once and will never make that mistake again, did not realize how ez it is to do once that sucker is in the d-bag) BTW, my 20 year old daughter just jumped her first pack job today at Elsinore, and I got to jump with her!!! She had already done her check dive just needed to jump her own pack job! It was a blast...I waited 8 months for that jump! Enjoy your new gear! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I was given a Sabre 170 last summer by a packer at my DZ. I was told it had around 800 jumps on it. I had a new line set installed and started jumping it. I have put 119 jumps on it and so far the openings are very good. I actually like the canopy very much. Lately I have been doing hop n pops just to spend more time flying and landing... I don't know anything about the other 2 canopies you mentioned. Good luck... "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

They learned proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. That was painful to read, not to mention stupid. +1 "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I just got a new Tony suit last week, I have only put 10 jumps on it so far. After asking some of the serious 4-way jumpers at Elsinore I decided to get a Tony Pit Suit. Also Purusha at Square1 really pushed Tonys. She did the measuring and I paid $40 extra and had it 2 weeks after ordering it. It fits perfectly and the mega booties really seem to work great. I actually was considering a Michigan or Merlin, but after asking enuff peeps at my dz I realized Tony was the favorite. Alot of jumpers said Tony's last a long time. I did check into others as well, Bev, Flite, etc. (Also I called Tony's and they were VERY helpful regarding the options and what not) My understanding is both companies make a great suit so I am sure you will be happy which ever one you choose. Good luck "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I would say for a new-ish rig with an AAD at least $3500. I got 3 year old Aerodyne Icon, Smart Reserve 160 for $1700 from an instructor at my DZ. Then I was given a Sabre 170 by a packer there (thanks Montana!). I got a new line set for it. Everything including a reserve repack, line replacement and attaching the reserve (I washed the container when I got it) cost me $2260 out the door. That does not include an AAD "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I would say the biggest risk is liking it too much.. For xmas in 07 I did a tandem @ Elsinore with my daughter and came back 3 months later to get my A license. Its been a year since then and most of my time and cash goes to skydiving. It has changed my life in numerous ways, most of them good imo (I am pretty sure my wife would disagree.) btw, its only $25 for the observer ride at elsinore (last I heard anyways) Seriously, it is dangerous if things go wrong, but the risk vs reward in this case makes it worth it. (again, my wife would disagree, she wont even take the oberver ride!) I would suggest you come out to Elsinore, its a great DZ (but then again I have only done 1 jump anywhere else so what do I know?) "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

The asus eee family and other "mini" notebooks are based on Intel's Atom CPU. In my experience, all those machines have horrible performance. Even with a SSD drive they are barely usable. And that is with XP, Linux is do-able but most (ok all) of my customers cant/dont use Linux. BUT this Sony is based on Intel's Core Duo CPU. While I have not used this laptop, that and the LED screen puts in a class much higher than any of the Atom based notebooks. Though I am not a fan of them using the properitary Verizon 3G mobile broadband chip, which means u have to use verizon as your mobile broadband provider. Also most of the mini-laptops max out at 1GB of ram, which is not horrible, but at todays low prices for RAM, I say 2GB for XP, 3GB for Vista 32bit, 4GB+ for Vista 64bit. It actually appears to be an excellent laptop. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

This is my first canopy that I have actually owned. I had 77 jumps on student and pro shop rental gear prior to jumping this main. I currently have 110 jumps on my Sabre. It was GIVEN to me by a packer at Elsinore when he realized I had a container/reserve but no main. It was his original first canopy so he had it shipped down from Washington. It had about 850 jumps on it, I got a new line set right away. It does not have a pocket slider, but I do roll the nose and flip the slider in the front. I have 2 packers that sometimes pack my main, I do my share of packing but sometimes I get lazy about it. I have had a couple of "snappy" openings but NOTHING compared to the slammers I had on some of the rental gear I had used. I am a huge fan of the Sabre so far, I intend on jumping this main till I have 300 jumps total. At that point I will be looking for a Sabre 150.

At the Chicks Rock boogie in Elsinore last fall they had a helo taking jumpers up to 5k for $60. That chopper was able to hold 4 jumpers plus the pilot and he hovered while we "fell" off the struts each of the 2 jumps I made. The helo jumps went on for hours, they showed up late, around 9am, but were flying non-stop till at least 3 or 4. One of the pilots did his first tandem (from an otter) and the others organized a free (female) topless jump from the helo, it was a fun boogie btw. good luck.... "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I too had to repeat level 4, and that was after 15 minutes in the tunnel. My problem was arching from the chest, my instructor told me to pretend I was holding a quarter in my ass cheeks, and then he made me arch on the picnic tables while he kept pushing my feet down, it seemed dumb at first but soon after that I was actually smiliing during freefall.. dont get frustrated, you'll get it... EDIT: its like dave said, it will just 'click' at some point, at least it did for me on my 2nd time doing level 4 "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Pity it has no ending. Damn you Coen Brothers!!! The ending drove my wife nuts...lol I thot it was a nice change for a movie, more like real life... "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

As the others stated, technicaly you can attach a camera to ANY helmet. But it would be VERY unsafe on a Mamba. Much better off with a real camera helmet that has the proper safety features you (we) need. Actually never jumped with a camera but this one is a no brainer imo. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

my rigger charges $70 "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

just wondering if u figured in the $600+ you most likely will be spending on a packer to pack that new canopy the first 100 or so jumps? "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

isn't a comfortable, proper fit the reason most jumpers even purchase their own gear? Personally I got real lucky regarding my rig, from one of the instructors at my DZ and it fits perfect! IMO, if the rig doesn't fit perfectly then price/quality don't matter since size/fit is the MOST important factor of any rig. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

technically your buddy is correct about skysurfing. (Well, if what he means by basic skydiving course is getting your A license) At least in the regards to there not being a specific number of jumps to learn to skysurf since it is lumped into freeflying according to the USPA BUT it does say you must become proficient at sit-flying before you do any stand-up type freeflying (i.e. skysurfing) First off, that is much easier said then done. And second, it is a necessary to become a good bellyflyer before concentrating too much on freeflying. There are a number of reasons but I wont bother listing them since they are all in the SIM. Personally, I still have a ton to learn about both disciplines, I like doing belly RW but I jump quite a bit during the week and if there are no belly jumpers I normally do a solo (or 2 way with an experienced freeflyer) sitfly. So there is no magic number but considering what a jumper needs to know before skysurfing I would think that for most jumpers it would be much higher than 200 skydives. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

my wife doesn't jump at all, she is scared to even fly much less jump. She has been to the DZ a couple of times but finds it boring and dirty (lol) in early December she drove me down to the DZ (we live a few minutes away) so I could do 1 jump since we were running a few errands and I just happen to bring my rig. I wanted to impress her with a nice landing, so I ran into the packing tent and was knocked unconscious by the impact. After refusing to let the paramedics take me to the hospital, I limped to her truck and she took me home and took care of me. I was in immense pain on the way home and I recall moaning that I was done jumping, and she said dont say that, you are just in pain, she was right by the next day I was on the phone with the DZ (who called to check on me btw) to make sure my rig was fine, which it was. I was off for 6 weeks, I got real lucky! Not just that day, but also when I married my wife! (even if she does cry on rollercoasters) "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I just got a killer deal on a 3 month old gas dryer last week off of Craigslist. My advice is as a buyer check the ads often and respond quickly to good deals, also buy local so you can see your item before you pay for it.. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I am guessing that jumpers are required to have an AAD to jump from the copter in SD? "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Nice exit..... I used to suck at exits myself so I did the same thing...practiced.... good job! Hard to believe last xmas I was that tandem student asking if you were scared....lol cya, Steve "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."