Newbie Needing Bootie Advice.

[HoldtheIce 0]

Hi All,

I just purchased a Tony Suit with Booties. I’ve never jumped a suit with booties before, but I do see myself concentrating on RW work mostly once I get my A. Most of the people I see flying belly down have booties. So that’s why I got the suit.

What are the Booties for? How do I use them?

Thanks and Blue Skies!

~H

Cause they know, and so do I, The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life, Tell all of your friends goodbye

[NWFlyer 2]

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How do I use them?

Pull them over your toes and go fly.

But seriously - booties have all kinds of good uses. They'll give you power in turns. They can help you control fall rate. They give you power in forward/backward motion. They give you power in a track. Once you start to use them, if you go back to a suit without booties, you'll definitely feel the difference in speed/power of your movements.

Find some of the RW people at your DZ and ask them to talk to you about different inputs you can do with your booties - and to show you on the creeper. It's easier to show than to describe. Your profile says you're at Snohomish - I know there's lots of folks up there who would be willing to help you out.
And be aware that the first few times you use the booties, you may be surprised by the power that you have, so be aware that you may move faster than you anticipated... gentle inputs at first till you figure out how to harness the power.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[rnicks 0]

Everything she said!

And congrats for sticking with RW for awhile. It's much more rewarding than alot of new people give it credit these days. Stick with it and you will love it!

[HoldtheIce 0]

Com'on Dudes! only 2 replies on Booties..

Help a Brother out

How do you use them? Left foot in you put left foot out , left foot in and ya shake it all about.....

~H

Cause they know, and so do I, The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life, Tell all of your friends goodbye

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

I don't know about this turning power stuff... I think they mostly look cool.

Yes, booties are the bomb. In time you will be amazed at what you can do with booties.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[mrbiceps 0]

I did do a tracking jump with booties and no one else had them and even though im a solid guy i smoked them all on that tracking jump. I was surprised at how they helped me in a track.

[Joellercoaster 6]

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Com'on Dudes! only 2 replies on Booties..

Help a Brother out

Yeah but the two replies pretty much covered it!

Fly on your belly as normal, start out with smaller leg inputs to begin with as the extra power can take you by surprise. Tracking is quite different (and much easier).

It becomes more important to hide your booties when you want to fastfall, and they're a big help in slowfall once you figure out how to stop them driving you forward.

Point your toes to keep them tight, especially when you're about to move somewhere.

Get in the tunnel with a coach... there are definitely some bootie-specific techniques once you've got the hang of basic flying, but they're the sort of thing it definitely helps to have someone show you.

More? OK. They also make knee flying relatively easy at belly speeds, and sit-flying really hard

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[rehmwa 2]

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Com'on Dudes! only 2 replies on Booties..

a search here will yield a ton of info also

the two you got are fine - more of the same

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[kallend 2,146]

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Com'on Dudes! only 2 replies on Booties..

You should have written "Boobies" in the thread title. You'd have a ton of replies.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[HoldtheIce 0]

Blue Skies All.

I should be out jumping on a great day like today, however I have a cold and I'm grounded until I can get my ears to clear up.

When everyone states Bootie input, I'm not clear on what that is. The direction of the input, I mean.

Is this leg movement straight back, up/down or to the sides (out). Say if I want to execute a leg turn with booties, I drop a knee a little, right? Just like a normal leg turn. What would happen if (keeping my legs equal) I turn a foot out some using my ankle? Are booties intended more for foot input rather then leg input?

Thanks again for all of the replies!

~H

Cause they know, and so do I, The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life, Tell all of your friends goodbye

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

I don't know if I can describe it effectively....

For turns and side slides:

Knee down and out, ankle IN, toes pointed..... sort of a "frog leg" positon. ZOOM!!!!

Fun stuff.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[ChrisRomp 0]

The first few times I jumped with mine it was pretty easy to open unstable (typically turning), so I had a couple of line-twist openings. Maybe that was just me, but I put my feet on my ass when I open now, just in case.

[Joellercoaster 6]

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I drop a knee a little, right? Just like a normal leg turn. What would happen if (keeping my legs equal) I turn a foot out some using my ankle?

I can think of a really effective way to find out!

(Better answer: the more different ways you know to move, the better you will be. Experiment, try oddball stuff, it's all good

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[rehmwa 2]

"If you have purchased an RW suit with booties here is how to check the fit of the booties. Put the suit on with the shoes you wear while skydiving. You should be able to put your suit on while wearing your shoes, pulling the bootie over the toe of your shoes after you have the suit on may tear the foot cup. Make sure your foot is all the way forward into the foot cup. Your booties will look loose while standing straight up, as will the torso (remember you will use this while arching, not while standing and looking down). Putting on a rig will help ensure the booties fit correctly. Lay down on the floor and arch, the booties should tighten from knee to toe as you bend your leg toward 90degrees - point your toes to pull the bootie taut. If you can’t point your toes or your toes are being pulled down the booties are too tight. If your feet completely straighten out, then they are too long. The goal is with a good arch, and knees bent to not quite a right angle, you can point your toes to just past a right angle and the booties snap taut."



this is from my wife's website on fit of the booties

agree with the prof - replace the t with a b and you'd get more input

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[pinkfairy 0]

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Everything she said!

And congrats for sticking with RW for awhile. It's much more rewarding than alot of new people give it credit these days. Stick with it and you will love it!

"For a while"?

Belly flying is the way of the future!

Seriously: Just put them on and go fly. Don't overthink it. To get effect of them, you should learn how to turn using leg input.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[headoverheels 334]

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Com'on Dudes! only 2 replies on Booties..

You should have written "Boobies" in the thread title. You'd have a ton of replies.

Maybe, if you aren't a booty man.

[mchamp 1]

In terms of booties......what do most of you all wear? For tonysuits there are two options of regular and mega and its difficult to decided between the two. Of course less and more imput applies to the size.

I'm a lightweight so would a mega bootie slow my fall rate a bit.....I need to fall as fast as possible while still having a comfortable range. Do most people tend to have regular?

For info regarding lift ticket prices all around the world check out
http://www.jumpticketprices.com/dropzones.asp

[emmiwy 0]

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I did do a tracking jump with booties and no one else had them and even though im a solid guy i smoked them all on that tracking jump. I was surprised at how they helped me in a track.

+ 1

I was flying too far forward, now that I understand how to control fall rate control on a track I'm going to try the next track dive without a belly suit. It helps me fall fast but it's propelling me too far forward...

Anyway, another piece of advice that I don't think I've seen on this thread yet, is get some shoe goo! It's magical and will do wonders to really hold your booties together. I own a BevSuit so the booties are different than TonySuits, but mine have nearly torn off completely. But using shoe goo to hold the seams together makes it very solid.

To preserve the lifespan of the booties I would recommend removing them under canopy after you deploy, check for traffic, stow slider, unstow brakes etc. Otherwise landing on them can easily tear them, in addition to walking around in them.

[HoldtheIce 0]

To preserve the lifespan of the booties I would recommend removing them under canopy after you deploy, check for traffic, stow slider, unstow brakes etc. Otherwise landing on them can easily tear them, in addition to walking around in them.

Great advice! Thanks!

Cause they know, and so do I, The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life, Tell all of your friends goodbye

[Joellercoaster 6]

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In terms of booties......what do most of you all wear? For tonysuits there are two options of regular and mega and its difficult to decided between the two.

When it comes to booties, bigger really is better. Get the mega.

Vented vs unvented is a different story and a matter of personal taste, but mega booties (on whatever brand of suit) are just a gimme.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[rehmwa 2]

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To preserve the lifespan of the booties I would recommend removing them under canopy after you deploy, check for traffic, stow slider, unstow brakes etc. Otherwise landing on them can easily tear them, in addition to walking around in them.

Great advice! Thanks!

1 - mega - always
2 - sometimes tearing them on and off while wearing the suit will cause more tearing and stress than just leaving them on. Also, size of the toe cup plays in this. My wife's booties are designed to STAY ON - the knee joint is sized to allow the shoe to slide through and into the toe cup. Trying to take the booties on and off while geared up will tear the leather. - short answer? find your own preference. My booties, I wear the entire time I wear the suit - I need new leathers about twice every three years YMMV.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[headoverheels 334]

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To preserve the lifespan of the booties I would recommend removing them under canopy after you deploy, check for traffic, stow slider, unstow brakes etc. Otherwise landing on them can easily tear them, in addition to walking around in them.

Great advice! Thanks!

I wouldn't do that. I've never had a booty wear out since I started coating the bottoms/edges with Shoe Goo. I do take the booties off after landing, and put them on just before boarding.

[kallend 2,146]

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To preserve the lifespan of the booties I would recommend removing them under canopy after you deploy, check for traffic, stow slider, unstow brakes etc. Otherwise landing on them can easily tear them, in addition to walking around in them.

On every big way I've attended for several years the instructions have been very clear NOT to remove booties until on the ground, and only then after clearing the landing area.

(Altogether too many collisions occurring recently.)

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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[HoldtheIce 0]

I jumped my new suit yesterday with the booties.....they were the sh_t!!

WOW what a dif!

Thanks for all the help!

~H

Cause they know, and so do I, The high road is hard to find
A detour to your new life, Tell all of your friends goodbye

[nite97m 0]

Make sure to do a couple jumps with one bootie off (or do some flips till one gets blown off). Strange things happen and sometimes you're left at the beginning of a jump with only one bootie. Better to find out what it feels like and how to compensate early than be surprised by it in competition or something.

Enjoy RW! I learned a *ton* this season jumping 4-way. Looking forward to another season of learning another aspect next year flying video.