PiLFy

Old school dogma holds that one shouldn't buy an Audible until >100 jumps. I disagree. Arguably, I think students/newbies need these the most. I bought one once off student status. I've already had an Alti fail on me. I went low because of it. I'm too new to recognize altitudes by eye. This wonderful little device gives me an additional layer of safety. It's a stress reducer for me. I don't rely on it as a primary means of alt. awareness. It's a backup for if my alti fails, or I get distracted by increasingly challenging group dives. You can adjust all the warning alts, & the volume AND pitch of the alarms (very important for me w/my auditory nerve damage). Read its capabilities on L&B's site. It does everything you could ask. One thing I didn't realize before buying it. You can track your altitude during the climb in real-time, ten foot increments. Compare it w/other wrist Altis & Audibles. You'll find it's drop-dead accurate. The new case is water-proof to all but repeated dunkings in the pond. You can cram it in your helmet, & sweat on it for years w/o worry. With two means of altitude detection, I'm much safer in FF & the landing pattern. Throw in L&B's legendary customer service, & it becomes a no-brainer. $200 is a whole lot cheaper than a broken leg, or worse... Thank you, L&B.

My DZ's Protek helmets are tired. After one broke in my hands while boarding. I decided to buy something. My helmet understanding spans almost 30yrs. of motorcycling. Realistically, a $300 skydiving helmet is pure bling (unless you fly cameras). It's not how hard the shell is. It's how well the helmet will decelerate your brain in an impact. @terminal? You're dead. Hit a tree @80MPH? Same ending. I want a helmet to protect my noggin moving around in the plane. In free fall w/other helmets close by. As well as a surprise hard landing. My size large helmet offers a lot of well-fitting padding (replacement set $20), a hard shell, & a shape that actually fits my head (unlike Proteks). All that, plus a no-paint exterior I can flop on the plane's floor w/o worrying about scratching. All that for $65? Sold. I'll spend some of the money I saved on an Audible. Thanks, Sky Systems.