Cinders

Hmmm, that's not a bad idea. Wonder who'd stitch that? Dunno, that'd screw me out of a cool handle logo like "OPEN YOU MOTHER F....."

lol! Knew it was coming

Learned in recon, only got a handful. Got out and started jumping civvy style as soon as I got a paycheck :) That was stressful. This is a way of life. Much love for my military brothers/sisters keeping us safe, but "field day" can kiss my ass!

Didn't I just see something like this in the last parachutist or so? About the harness being too tight on the shoulders, cutting off circulation, causing this (and vomiting). Lol, never seen anyone throw up, but we got this amazonian instructor at my DZ doing tandems. Vomit splatting your face and running up into your hair at 120mph... man, I want to vomit just thinking about that

lol, get a room!

lol

Bastards! They sent my info to the wrong f'ing address, now I had to scramble to pay several thousand for tuition and now books are coming up... and those assholes told me to resubmit a form so they can fix their f'ing error. Hope I get my money back. Also hope the person they sent my personal info to doesn't decide to get a credit card in my name. I hate bureaucracies... the workers generally do just enough to get off at 5 that day :(

Not looking on HERE, goober :) I meant is there any sites, or bulletin boards, or whatever that I could go about looking for a carpool? Only few peeps I ran into at my DZ that are remotely near me, I've never seen them again there. Probably not going to happen, but worth a shot. I didn't go jump today cause my friend "rescheduled" his first jump, and I got bummed out about a 2 hour round trip, getting 3 jumps in trying to squeeze in on the list before sunset, etc.

Is there anywhere to post or look for jumpers near me? I'm an hour away from my home DZ, so a carpool would be awesome sauce.

Awwww, that doesn't help!

I have found that peeing on it does the job.

Hi all you fellow nuts :) What's the best way and place to mark a rig? I have a mirage, and talked to mirage co. about a ring cover with name stitched on. I hate to replace the cool logos on the ring covers, though :( I know it can still be stolen and removed, but it'd make me feel better at a busy DZ that my rig has a name on it. I have the reserve card marked, but I'd still like something on the actually container somewhere visible. Thanks for ideas.

No earplugs. My hearing is not good (though not bad) from the military, which doesn't help either. Lemme go look at it, someone was probably right about the speaker being rotated above my ear canal.

Hey again all, got an optima 2 and I can't hear that thing during FF. Right off, my helmet is not a snug type and allows some wind in. I got the volume up, and the frequency or pitch in the middle, which is supposed to be the loudest. Any advice besides a new helmet?

Anyone have any experience with velstretch? (Basically stretchy velcro). I need a new wriststrap for my altimeter, the current one is too tight (have big wrists). I just use a watchband style strap, don't use a finger loop style. Debating on velstretch, but I've never seen it and am wondering if it'll do the job well, or just plain velcro is better? Thanks for any thoughts

Gotcha, thanks!

Just got mine in the mail. What the hell is this roll of semi-sticky, black cord? It's like teflon tape consistency. Waterproofing?

I feel ya :) I'm a bigger guy, have gianormous legs and forearms. Genetic from father. On super long runs in the military, my foot would tingle, but I was young and the membranes stretched more. As I got older (and you, too), it stretches less and less, plus your muscles thicken as you mature. I've had to 60% give up running. I've fought that for years, raging against the machine that I won't quit it. Been running for 14 years. I do weight lifting now, which is probably better for me. If you're naturally big, the symptoms probably come from dense, above average muscle cells, plus the fascia is not as elastic as normal people. You can get bigger than most peeps, but you won't be able to catch them! lol. I'm down to < 5 mile jogs, sprints, cardio machines. Damn eliptic track machines still trigger my symptoms a little. BTW, I'm working on a theory: Having giant legs, I never lifted weights with them, so they wouldn't push me into the next jean size or rub (more!) when I run/walk. I've gone to lifting them hard. My theory is perhaps if I expand the muscle/fascia that way, I could try running again. Since it's exponentially different for muscle size vs power needed to run, I'm hoping it will provide more room in the compartment if my muscles are using less "relative" strength to move me. Only a little difference so far, but I'm unsure if it's a placebo effect. It'll take at least a year to watch for a big enough change or lack of to prove anything :) OH! One thing that DOES help quite a bit during a run. Run until you sweat and the muscles are filled with blood, then stop and stretch. That seemed to prevent the problem about 80% of the time. Make sure you stand on the sides of your feet (like rock outwards so your standing on the edges of your feet, both at the same time, and push that way. It loosens up the lateral/anterior compartments quite a bit).

Oh, btw, I'm not sure about that "circulation problem". I had tests run, and the circulation is never impeded, it just "goes to sleep" because the nerve is compressed. This is not true for everyone, but maybe it applies. It FEELS like it's not getting blood, but it really is. Did you have to get that needle test? Where they stick the giant ass needle in the muscle compartments and push saline into them to check the compartment pressure? No anesthetics. If you did, I feel your pain, lol. (If you haven't, you should get it to confirm). Hopefully your doctor treats ECS often. If not, I would possibly look for one that does, that helped me a lot. The first 8 doctors I went to could not figure out the problem. The last one identified CECS as soon as he walked in, knew the proper tests, the ways to reduce, the "last resort" surgeries, etc.

Yeah, I have it. I have chronic exertional compartment syndrome in all muscle compartments in my calves and forearms. I've had a "release" surgery on my left calf, in order to run. My left foot does not pronate as well as my right foot, so the extra strain on the calf pushes it over the limit, causing the foot to become numb and "foot slap". Painful, too :( They cut the fascia, releasing pressure on it. Not 100% successful, but it helped a lot. On the negative, it means if something pushes in certain spots near the surgery, I get a "pins and needles" in my leg and foot, due to the nerves that get nicked in the process of the surgery. Things that help: -Stretching. You will have trouble, due to the high compartment pressure, but stretching everyday helps. -Orthotics. Have professional molds off your feet done for shoe inserts. Reduces the strain on the calf region quite a bit. Helped about 50%. -Release surgery. Very high rate of success, though you may get the "pins and needles". I think over 90% of cases have a 100% fix. Not for me, though :( -Running rehab, where you work on proper pronation (or supination, I forget the word) for your foot, which reduces the strain. -Weirdest one: barefoot running. Seems we're not meant to run on our heels, but run on our forefeet, which has a near 0% collision. I don't run barefoot, but if I run sprints, I never, ever get symptoms. If I'm running on heels and I get the symptoms, I can switch to sprints and the symptoms will stop near instantly. Avoid any goofy sounding ideas to fix it. It's a mechanical problem, so best to treat it as such imho. Nothing you can take to fix it. Stretch the fascia (stretching), avoid that level of strain that pushes you over into the symptoms, work to reduce the strain to keep it below that level which causes symptoms.

Looks like I'm going with Liquid Sky. Expensive, but it's super tailored (I don't fit in most used suits), has a lot of nice additions, plus has good pockets. Looks very nice, I'll let you guys know how it compares to FF. My FF is thin material (ok there, but no stretch points), an ok zipper, crummy neckline (chafes), and poorly done velcro on arms/legs (hooks are toward skin, so any extra velcro hanging off is painful). Too be fair, I think it's just FF doesn't have enough measurements. In retrospect, it mostly doesn't fit where I don't match up with a mannequin. Thighs bigger than waist, big wrists, neck, etc.

Not I. I feel warm, fuzzy, and kinda sleepy. And happy.

Cool, looking at some of these brands. Glad I asked! Only seen the major brand names, wouldn't know to check these out

Am I blind? I don't see any options for "2 piece", just "suit" or "pants". How do you get pants AND a top?

Eh, got impatient about sending my suit back for another month or two, and paying the shipping. Not a bad suit, but not a good one, either. Want to get a 2 piece. What brands make tops/bottoms? I like the kurupee, but it only shows pants, no top.