Anachronist

For new jumpers injury and statistics are a big concern. No doubt a lot (perhaps most) skydivers have some metal in them, or at least have had an injury that prevented them from jumping for several months (Yours truly has some metal). I am not an AFF instructor but in observing a lot of AFF jumps, injury is rare, but not unheard of by any means. If you are a new jumper the biggest thing to work on is canopy control. You would do yourself a big favor seeking out professional (i.e. paid) canopy coaching. It is really really important. Continue to seek it out for your whole skydiving experience. The current system is woefully inadequate for teaching canopy skills, you have to be your own advocate and seek out training beyond USPA AFF and License required courses. Think of USPA requirements as a bare minimum.

I was hoping to find a direct performance/flight characteristic comparison between the H Carve and Funk but since there isn't one yet and we are talking about zippers I'll throw in my 2 cents. (~200 WS jumps, P3, Havok, T & S-Bird, X-1, Swift) As for the innie-outie system, it is retarded (Coming from a Sky perspective). 1st off, I have jumped a Swift several times (and a Funk once, it was too tight and small to get a good feel and why I haven't jumped it since) and I know people who jump every SQ product except the Funk regularly; everyone has complained about the innie-outie system but they deal with it because they like the suits, I too am not a fan. The difference for BASE has got to be miniscule, if it isn't, then make a BASE-only and Sky-only version. In the spirit of the Great Book of BASE, "If you can't afford the right size pilot chute, you can't afford to BASE jump," I would add "If you can't afford two wingsuits, you can't afford to proximity fly." And as a side note, I currently jump a Havok, the vast majority of my WS jumps are on it, and I am looking to replace it with a Carve or a Funk. I loathe using the zipper system every time. Full body zippers are the way to go, period. Currently IMHO Tony has the best (body) zipper system on the market, PF has an absurd system, and SQ has a potentially dangerous one for skydiving. Performance aside, because lets be honest, the Carve and Funk are going to be close, probably pilot preference more than an actual all-around advantage; if either SQ or PF used Tony's (body) zipper system I would buy either the Carve or Funk based on that alone. I hope PF and SQ are both reading this :) Those two companies have the best suits, but Tony has got them both smoked when it comes to zippers.

I got the chance to demo a Firebolt DOM 2013 at a WL of 1.3:1. About 10 jumps total, sub terminal, terminal, and wingsuit. Snivel was long and soft every time. On non-wingsuit jumps it maintained heading very well but the long snivel gave it too much time to spin a few line twists on wingsuit deployments. Certainly not a bad wingsuit canopy but not ideal, I've been told it can be packed to make it open a little faster. It likes toggle input most but front and rear risers are effective, shallow fronts are a little bumpy but once you get deep enough it smooths out. Toggle turns were very quick and comfortable with very little input required. The best part is the flare which is very very powerful. If a big flare is important to you this canopy certainly has it. The packing and stowing brakes takes a little getting use to if you're coming from PD canopies but after about 3 packs it all makes sense. This may be one of the most under-rated canopies I've flown, I would strongly recommend giving it a try if you're in the market for a great all around canopy.

Welcome to the club :) I've got a plate and 8 screws on my right fibula that is maybe 2 or 3 mm under the skin. I've never set off a metal detector and the body scanners don't even penetrate that deep. It is pretty much a non issue. If it is ever picked up they'll just wand and pat down then send you on your way. TSA folks are usually pretty silly but even they can figure out when someone has an implant.

Yep, "it takes all kinds" so to speak :)

I wouldn't use it on every day odor or cleaning but for something hard to get rid of like the OP stated, I would say it's justified. I use SG a lot on my work clothes because of grease,oil,creosote, and super funky BO. After a while you can tell it takes a toll on the fabric (cotton and nylon) but it takes several washes before I start to notice. I've used it on a wingsuit once with no noticeable ill effect. Sufficient dilution makes it more tolerable for the fabric. 1 cup is the most I use in a wash cycle.

Yes clearly this was your first mistake. Soooo, first of all you aren't using enough soap or the suit actually has stuff growing in it. Use more soap and put a cup of Simple Green in the soap dispenser. Rinse very well. Don't use Simple Green often, it is pretty aggressive. P.S. I use a front load washer and throw a couple towels in with the suit. This "hand wash because it might disintegrate" stuff is nonsense. Wingsuits aren't even remotely that delicate.

I'll just leave this here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histrionic_personality_disorder

If there is any doubt in your mind "ie. you had to ask the question in the first place" then yes, you are downsizing too fast. I'll say this for anyone who cares to listens benefit. If you have less than several hundred jumps and you aren't trying to swoop and you aren't having problems penetrating light to moderate wind then there is no reason to downsize. If you have several hundred jumps, hopefully you're to the point where DZ.com is the last place you'll look for this kind of advice. If you're trying to swoop, Godspeed and good luck. Be sure you have all your affairs in order.

An ounce of judgement is worth a metric ton of experience in preventing (not dealing with) accidents. Particularly in a sport where good judgement is sparse. There is far too much emphasis on jump numbers and not enough on learning how to do things properly and safely. This leads to people feeling entitled to participating in activities that they will probably never be mentally prepared for simply because they "have enough jumps." If you use arbitrary jump numbers to try and classify ability the system has failed before it is even implemented. Focus needs to shift to attitude, training, and preparation; not "you've survived x-number of jumps so you're cool."

Good read for sure. I have some disagreements with imposing arbitrary jump restrictions as I've seen 500+ jump wonders that have a hard time tying their shoe without endangering someone else. And 100 jump folks with more than enough sense to start more complicated flying. But that aside, one thing that isn't mentioned is a true sense of accountability, if you live, there aren't really any consequences for your bad decisions beyond a harsh talking to (maybe) usually a soft talking to, and if you really really messed up you get grounded for the day. There needs to be harsher punishment for blatant stupidity and if you create a situation that was life threatening (above and beyond normal jumping) "Goodbye, you'll never jump at (insert DZ) again, you're permanently banned." And it needs to be much easier to get grounded for a day, or week, or month. There is too much tolerance for the chronically stupid, the careless, and the arrogant. It is the behaviour of this small group of people that is affecting everyone else, so get rid of them.

This is also what happens when you mix high performance landings and normal landings in the same air space.......

First off good for you for checking into this, skydiving without health insurance is stupid. Also check out the following link if it is relevant to your situation. It is about having power of attorney and a living will that helped this couple out after a skydiving injury. http://nickfener.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/dont-wait-until-its-too-late-power-of-attorney-and-living-will/ As for insurance, I am self employed and purchase my own insurance through BCBS. 27 year old male and its $220 a month. In 2011 I broke my ankle skydiving and they covered it no problem. I also broke even between the previous 7 years of payments and what they shelled out to the hospital. The total billed to my insurance was over $30k and they ended up paying over $15k. Many insurance policies don't care how you get hurt, just call and ask the company to be sure. As for BCBS I get the impression health care providers don't like them because they don't pay very much and the out of network deductible is huge. Other than that I personally haven't had any issues with them.

Everyone is afraid, or at least should be. After about 50-ish jumps my mindset went from "I'm gonna die" to "I'm probably gonna live, and its probably gonna be fun." But the fear never goes away, if it ever does you should stop jumping. It'll never be like the tunnel, to my knowledge no one has ever died in a tunnel. The risk is many orders of magnitude greater in the sky.

Hahahaha nice job GQ_jumper I got the same e-mail but didn't bother messing with him. How is this scam suppose to work anyway?

Demo'd a Pulse 210 at a 1.2/1.3 WL and put about 10 jumps on it. Freakin awesome! Deployment was comfortable and "prompt;" very stable and usually on heading. Toggle and riser input is very responsive and the flare is fantastic. The recovery arc is very very short. As soon as you stop giving input it wants to level out and does so quickly. To me (non-swooper) I like that. Was very easy to judge the glide which is quite flat and landings are very comfortable. Many of my jumps were on a wingsuit and I found the deployments to be very stable. The pack size is nice and small and it is easier and faster to pack I thought as well. 5 stars all day long.

Demo'd a Storm 210 and put about 10 jumps on it over a weekend. First of all, read the flight characteristics found on PD's website for the Storm. I found that to be entirely accurate with the exception of deployment. I enjoyed it's flight characteristics and the flare is very powerful, especially the last 3 inches, if you aren't fully extending your arms you're not using nearly as much power as the canopy has to offer. The deployments though... 180 degree heading changes of the canopy constantly, back and forth, while my body remained on heading during the snivel. Sometimes it would snivel on heading and right before inflation spin a 180 or even 360 degree turn, often resulting in line twist. After 4 or 5 jumps I would grab the risers as soon as the canopy was over head and pull them apart as much as I could which seemed to temper the oscillation during the snivel. I've got about 250 jumps, about 50 wingsuit jumps, and I've had one diving, spinning, line twist situation that almost ended in a cutaway, it was on a Storm. The "super stable perfect wingsuit canopy" description I find to be misleading. The snivel is long and soft but the canopy is very squirrely until it's inflated, at which point it flys very well. I have found a Pilot, Pulse, and Navigator (The only 3 other canopies I've jumped more than a few times) to be much more stable and predictable during deployment than the Storm. After talking to another, much more experienced jumper, I found my experience was not unique. The only other con is the brakes, when stowed you have an absurd amount of excess line to stow, when I first saw it I thought "you've got to be kidding me." If not for the deployment issues I'd give it a 4 or 5 out of 5 but between that and the annoyance of stowing a mile of brake line its a 3. Maybe this is great CReW canopy but that isn't my forte. If you're looking for a all around sport or wingsuit canopy there are better options out there; the Pulse and Pilot being two of them.

Have put about 20 jumps on a Pilot 210. The openings are smooth and on heading, good positive control on the toggles and rears. The flare is easy to time and plenty powerful. Even had a couple line twisted up deployments on a wingsuit but the Pilot flew along as though nothing was wrong as I spun out of them. It tends to pack a size larger than other canopies of the same square footage. If not for that then I'd have given it a 5 star rating.

Had a PC in tow on a wingsuit jump and had to dump my Smart 190. Deployment was brisk but not uncomfortable, it would be ok for every jump. Had about a 720 of line twists (almost certainly my fault) but she flew solid as a rock while I took my time unwinding. Nice flight characteristics and a bit of a soft flare but I guess that's to be expected. I walked away from a downwind landing off the DZ so it was certainly good enough. :) The only con is that it seems to pack a size or so larger than other reserves of equal size. Reference UPT's and Mirage's container pack charts and you'll see. And where more reserve is usually better I would call that a con. Other than that I'd give it a 5 star rating.

I got some pants and a jacket, over all very poor quality, and they are difficult to communicate with. I consider it a complete waste.

Ordered a jacket and pants, bizarre company to deal with, they don't respond well to e-mails. Also very poor quality, seams coming undone UNWORN!! Plastic bits broke after a couple uses, very cheap zipper, and perhaps subjectively, poor attention to measurements. Complete waste.

More and more regs won't save stupid people from being stupid. Don't punish the masses because of the transgressions of a few. I know many 200+ jump retards that I wouldn't dare fly with. There is far too much emphasis on jump numbers in this sport and not enough on common sense and competence. But common sense and competency can't be logged in a cute little binder so that is out the window for most, unfortunately.