freakydiver

I'm not offended but I'd disagree. I think the only thing that keeps anyone sharp with respect to any skydiving discipline is repetition i.e. currency and lots of it. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Wow Enron - they were our primary venture capitalist at my first dot com company (hah bankrupt of course). I wonder if I have any blackmail material I could lend all of you BASErs to get them to give you the building for free. My company hosted all of their quarterly earning meetings - I'm sure there is tons of archived material they'd hate to see going public LOL! -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Yah no offense but no shi*. Someone died here - how bout some details on the correct way to do it. And if you don't open your chute - there is always a 'backup' chute. Seems to me like there has to be a way to do a long rappel (1000ft plus) in a safe manner. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I use every day baggy tshirt and pants for freefly suit - saved me a ton of money. Granted, I don't look as "cool" as some of the other freefliers on the DZ, but I couldn't care less. The RW suit is really a "custom" suit - i.e. it has grips and is purposley tight fitting so I'd probably buy that first. Not to mention you should learn RW as well as freeflying. My two cents. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Thats f'in sweet. Oh how I need to get to the utah rock!! -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I too went through a lot of time away - I found that its just like riding a bike in terms of belly to earth and RW work. It came back to me relatively quickly. Just be conservative the first few weekends for sure. Good luck. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Per the helmet discussion a couple of weeks back, I'm just curious if he sustained injuries to any other part of his head (i.e. any part covered by the helmet shell). -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Yah he's five pounds lighter now -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I just called Bonehead - they do not currently submit to any. I'd gander they are one of the biggest. Take it from there... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I just can't imagine any of the designs I've seen out there passing any kind of certifications for impact. But alas, I digress seeing as how I'm not a engineer -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Its really going to come down to the question does the helmet in question provide impact protection and dispertion or not. All bicycle helmets provide impact dispertion through their compressed inch or two of styrofoam material. If your helmet in question doesn't have anything like that built into it, its protection will be minimal in comparision to what IS available out there. Edit: Just called bonehead - NONE of their helmets are pushed through any kind of safety certifications i.e. DOT. Its probably just like AggieDave said though, its market driven. I highly doubt any of their helmets have the same safety elements built into motorbike, bmx, mtn bike, ski helmets. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I once left denver - took us 14 hours to make it to Moab through a statewide storm. There was no way I was pulling over and the dog had to shit. The dog shit HUGE. Colorado boarder the snow stopped. Moab - 60 clear full moon. Nice. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I too have read a ton of material on ski helmets as I am an avid backcountry visitor. I've seen way too many tree encounters sans helmet. There are ski helmets out there that are superb in gaurding against head impacts. I'm sure just as in any product line, you will find good and bad. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I think most people would agree that this helmet thread is a good one - no offense intended whatsoever. I didn't say the Pro-tec was a good helmet, just that it has a bit of protection that all others don't (that I know of - haven't seen too many new designs in all honesty). I agree that a full faced type of helmet - ala motorbike style would most likely be the best type of design to go from for a swooping helmet - is the best way to go - way better than a Pro-tec front open style. Look at downhill mtn bikers that reach average speeds of 50mph+ - they all wear full facial protecting styles of helmet, the one with the chin coervage all the way up. But - you'd have to work down from that in terms of size - I imagine high end swoopers need all of the vision and mobility that they need to execute their craft... My two cents - nothing more. Glad to hear he is doing better. Vibes. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

100+ is a very unreal # for a swoop colission in all but the most severe instances. "Skydiving helmets were not designed or tested to any specifications, DOT,Snell, that I know of." That is precisely my point. Read above. That is the whole argument behind my idea. "But you must understand that there comes a point were the best designed helmet alone cannot over come the impact forces generated." Well thats a no brainer. But don't you think its worth the effort to save some people some grief and $$$$ by desigining a better helmet? Wouldn't you prefer your friend that swooped into the ground to perhaps walk and talk again some day?? If not I have no rebuttal. All I am saying is no skydiving helmets out there except for the pro-tec takes safety into high regards and maybe they should like mtn bikers, dirt bikers, rock climbers, etc. Maybe it would be a good idea is all I am saying. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

"I guess it is safe to say that one helmet is pretty much as good as the other." IMHO not at all. Look at most (if not all) skydiving helmets. They are nothing more than a 16th of an inch of pressed carbon fiber or similar material. I don't think I've seen a skydiving helmet with the shock absorbing material (the styrofoam) that you see in bike, motorcycle, and ski/snowboard helmets. That styrofoam is there for a reason, it dissipates energy created on collision. In fact, most helmets are throw away - you use them once, i.e. you hit something, you are supossed to throw them out and get a new one. "...or for that matter why we don't just wear motorcyle helmets?" This question has actually been asked quite a bit in the past. There are many reasons. Size obviously being the largest driving force. Motorcycle helmets are bulky by nature. I personally think there is a huge driving force for skydiving helmet producers to make something light and cool looking as that is what people are looking for. There are like 10 different types of "freefly" helmets out there to appeal to the average jumper looking for something that looks good. Granted - they do do their job, they keep the audible, the can have a camera attached to them, etc... They certainly don't do much in the head saving department though because they just flat out don't have the shock absorbtion you'd see in helmets meant to save lives. I find it odd that you watch these motorcross riders that jump their bikes 50 feet in the air and they wear mad gear and beefy helmets, but here we are as swoopers hurtling ourselves towards the ground at VERY high speeds with not much more than a few layers of carbon fiber between our noggins and the earth. "Now I wonder whether we just want stronger helmets or ones that are designed to crack and dissipate energy within a certain range of levels. I wonder what those energy levels would be?" Great question! Maybe most swoopers wouldn't be interested in a bigger beefier helmet and would much rather just be good swoopers. I'd bet that would be the argument you'd hear alot - and by all means, there is a ton of truth there. But why not have a helmet that protects just in case one bad swoop occurs. I really think skydiving helmet producers could and should come up with some sort of halfway agreement between lightweight and cool looking and actual protection. Perhaps I need to move this over to the appropriate forum. P.S. Thx nightengale... Edited: Wait - I'm dumb as shit here - I just thought of the only skydiving helmet that actually is a protective device IMHO - the ProTec. Ask yourself - why don't people wear protecs? They are bigger, bulkier, and just flat out not cool looking. But fact of the matter is, if you make a mistake and your head hits the ground, wouldn't you rather have the protec and its shock absorbing/dissipating charecteristics? -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

600 : 1 -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

As a fellow rider - I'm split because not only do I do alot of uphill climbing in Colorado, but sometimes we just shuttle each other. As a climber and rider, the uphill can only make you better and stronger, but shit, if there's a lift, I'll take it -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

As in dropshop . com the DJ store? -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Lost Prarie MT -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

No doubt. Rule number one in any photographic environment, be ready to adjust. Could it be so high that it is a safety issue? IMHO, if not, just adjust. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I've found with my Sabre I flying full is the best remedy to turb. Quarter and half brakes only seem to make things worse. My two cents of course. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Well done - looks clean and simple. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

You could be like me - blown knee - third time in 12 months. Just bought my brand new rig three weeks prior. Just got repacked. Can't use it. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Just curious - why is this "war" justified in your opinion? -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --