Naimanator

I have personal experience which I will share. In June of 2013 I was knocked unconscious at around 10,000 ft while taking part in a large and poorly planned tracking dive. Upon being knocked unconscious I was put into such a fast spin on my back that when my AAD (Vigil 2) fired I was only falling 5 mph faster than the activation speed. My reserve (PD Reserve 176 @ 1.1 WL) deployed and fully inflated but with severe line twists. I spiraled down unconscious under my reserve and impacted a dirt field. Witnesses estimated my speed at time of impact to be approximately 30 mph vertical. I was wearing a Triple 8 skate helmet at the time of the incident due to the fact that I lost my Cookie Ozone on a jump the day earlier. I sustained a Jefferson fracture of my C1 vertebrae and multiple compression fractures in my lower C's and T's. I also blew out a lot of my teeth. No other broken bones. I am incredibly fortunate to be alive, and even more so to not be a quadriplegic. I got off lucky with no hardware in my spine, only 3 months spent in a halo brace to allow my C1 to fuse itself back together. Oh yeah, and a metric shit ton of reconstructive dental work. Did my first jump back about 4-1/2 months after the accident. I had about 350 jumps at the time of the accident and now have 1750+. I've been working as a full-time AFFI, and Sigma TI for the past year-and-a-half with no plans to quit anytime soon.

I'm heading to Switzerland in a couple of weeks and I'll be flying Icelandair through Reykjavik to Zurich. I plan to take my rig with me in my carry-on luggage. I will be removing the hook knife and placing that in checked luggage, and I have the FAA card and x-ray card from Vigil for the AAD. I'm just wondering if anyone has taken a rig through Reykjavik and if they encountered any troubles with security or customs personnel. Thanks!

Thanks for the tip. However, I didn't use the word "just" in my original post anywhere. I'm not sure if you meant to imply that I was taking a myopic view of what goes into making an RW/FS jump successful or not. As far as this literature by Pat Works; do you have any suggestion as to where I might be able to find it? Is it a published book or is it something handed down from person to person that I'm going to need to ask around and find a copy from someone who knows someone who knows someone, etc?

Hello All, I've been working really hard to refine my RW skills lately, especially in regards to 4 to 10-ways. I'd like to know if there is any print literature available or electronic lit that illustrates and describes the various possible linked exits. I.e. which grips should be taken by whom when trying to launch linked exits of various sizes. I also understand that there's a somewhat standard system of letters for describing certain formations and blocks that can be built and turned on RW dives. Is there literature somewhere of these formations and blocks? Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Brian

Well everyone, thanks for your input! The general consensus seems to be that the Parapak really is more durable than the balloon ZP. I understand that it'll increase the weight of the suit a bit, and likely make it somewhat/significantly hotter to wear. Given the trade offs, I think I'll definitely be ordering my P3 in Parapak. Thanks again!

DSE, thanks for the reply. The number one thing I get out of your reply is that the Parapack really is more durable. That makes a big difference to me. I usually jump at bigger DZ's so I do get a lot of jumps out of Otter's, but I do also spend time at dz's with PAC's (I love the PAC), where it is a little bit tighter. The extra heat from the parapack I can deal with if it means increased peace of mind about the durability of the suit. As far as availability of colors goes, my rig is black/yellow color themed (both of which are available in the parapack) so I don't think I'd have any problems there. Thanks for your input. Any others care to comment?

As the title of the thread suggests I'm looking for objective advice from people who have the Phantom 3 (or any other PF suit), and whether or not you feel the Parapak instead of Balloon ZP fabric is a good choice when purchasing a new suit. I'll be using the suit solely for skydiving for at least a few years until I feel comfortable moving over to BASE. Supposedly the Parapak is more durable and PF recommends it as an upgrade for wingsuits that will see a lot of skydiving. Aesthetically I've heard that Parapak tends to get scuffed up fairly easily and the apearance of the fabric ages quickly. So, from people who have them; do you think the Parapak upgrade is necessary / worth it? Thanks. P.S. I did try to do an exhaustive search to see if this question had already been raised/answered a million times but I was unable to find any existing threads. Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse with this one.

Thanks to everyone who gave useful input about the question I asked; the pro's and cons's of various containers from different manufacturers. Ultimately I decided to talk to some riggers I know from the dz's I frequent most often. After a few conversations and some more research on my own I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with an Infinity from Velocity Sports Equipment. I'm not 100% decided on that yet but it's what I'm leaning towards. To everyone else who automatically assumed I was a student looking for the most " bling bling" and replied as such; it's not appreciated. This is in fact NOT going to be my first rig after graduating from student status. I DID buy used gear first and that's what I'm currently jumping. The reason I'm looking to buy a new container, rather than used, is because I work hard and have the money to spend, but mostly because I want something that actually fits well without having to go through the hassle of arranging purchases through the classifieds. Anyways. Like I said, thanks for the input.

You assume I am a student although I'm not.

nolan358 is right. The hip/chest rings and spacer foam backpack are extras on the Odyssey while they're included in the Icon Pro. I wasn't planning on getting the Skyhook, but I have been considering it, just hadn't made my mind up on that yet. Why the Vector 3?

Hey all, I'm looking at buying a new container/canopy/reserve package from ChutingStar and I'm wondering if there are any REAL differences, other than personal preference, between the Icon Pro and the Javelin Odyssey. I would be getting both fully articulated (chest/hip rings), and with the spacerfoam backpad. The canopy is either going to be a Pilot 150 or a Sabre 2 150. I'm planning on the rig lasting me for the next 4-5 years at least. Currently it'll mostly be used for RW but for all intents and purposes it needs to be capable of RW, freeflying, cameraflying, and winsuiting when I'm ready to move into those disciplines. When priced with similar options, the Odyssey comes out to be about $500 more expensive than the Icon Pro. I'm willing to drop that extra money if it's really worth it but all things considered if it's not necessary I'd rather have another $500 to spend on jump tickets. Any input? Thanks. Priced with similar options

I bought my first jumpsuit earlier this year and it was a Flite Suit. I'm 5'9" and 160 lbs. I've been extremely happy with it. I got their Rw suit with booties and it's been great. Without it I had trouble keeping up on tracking dives but with the booties I have no trouble keeping up. My next suit is going to be a freefly suit and I'll probably go with LiquidSky for that.