usskydiver 0 #1 January 2, 2005 Quick question for you military freefallers - they show the rucksack at one point as a belly mount - why do they eventually place it behind the legs with no belly mount? Would you be wearing that rucksuck on the back without any additional gear up front? I can imagine that an additional 40-60lbs on the back of legs has to be hell on any jumper. --- Depends on team SOP and personal preference. I prefer it up front. I can fix something weird up front, harder to judge if it's behind me. I was in the tunnel the other day with a really weirdly shaped ruck and it definitely required some work to figure out. Tim T. Team Paraclete Subject line edited by slotperfect Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #2 January 3, 2005 QuoteQuick question for you military freefallers - they show the rucksack at one point as a belly mount - why do they eventually place it behind the legs with no belly mount? Maybe one of our resident MFF/Is will chime in (paging Billy Lauterbach . . . ) I prefer a rear mounted rucksack doing HALO, and a front mounted rucksack doing HAHO. It's all a matter of comfort for me, since I am a big guy and the rucksack doesn't steal as much flying surface from me as it would from more vertically challenged individuals like LouDiamond. Once the military goes to a canopy that has softer openings (), I will likely mount everything in the front unless doing free fall grouping. You have to admit that I would be hard to keep up with wearing a 45 lb rig and a 70 lb rucksack. As stated earlier, it's easier to mount, adjust, and fly straight. I'm gonna bust this sidebar out of the main thread so we don't hijack it. We'll probably get more input that way as well! Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #3 January 3, 2005 This was LouDiamond's input on the subject from the original thread: QuoteI'm with tim on this. I too prefer a front mount ruck. It's way easier to rig in the A/C prior to jumping and easier to fly IMO. Rear mounted is a guessing game when it comes to getting your shoulder straps adjusted correctly on your legs and the attachment strap adjutment that goes to the D ring on the harness. If it's unequal you usually end up with a built in turn or spin. Those really suck, especially at night with combat equipment and O2. Jumping a front and rear mounted ruck/assault bags can be a challenge too. diving exits are just about out of the question as you really have to fly it or it flys(flails) you. He had replied to the original poster instead of usskydiver's sidebar, so his post didn't move when I broke this part free. Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #4 January 4, 2005 Quotevertically challenged individuals like LouDiamond HEY!!! Is that a personal attack? I guess I( and most of the normal world) am also cranially challenged as well if you are making comparisons between us Who's your bucket head? I have to give props to John as I have never seen a human being fall as stable as him no matter what the orientation or what the cargo was doing at the time."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #5 January 4, 2005 The school has historically always taught rear mount and has only recently (last decade) even mentioned front mount. Last I checked (when I retired in 2003) all they had were old ALICE packs and spider harnesses. I never had a problem with rear mount and it was all that was taught or used in either my basic or MFFJM course. I have flown front-mount and like it OK and I have also flown combo front/rear with no problem. chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
