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Yeah, get measured by someone that KNOWS what they're doing - ie go to a dealer / pop down to headcorn. They MUST fit right in order to be effective. They're safe regardless, but you want them to be effective. If going with Symbi, get their fully jazzed up competition suit. Worth the extra money. I used to jump one back when i did FS! There are lots around the UK. Good suits. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Yep, you want them. I got used to them (50th jump?) after about half a dive. If you're not gonna get booties, you might as well jump in your jeans and a tight top. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Sorry, have not read the rest of the thread... I got a reminder of what 'student fear' feels like recently on my first (and second, and third....) base jump. As much as you hate it at the time, you will really long for it when you get used to skydiving and treat is as just another weekend! Once you can rationalise away the gear fear and realise 'it will open', you're only really scared of screwing a jump up, right? But, as long as you still land with a big grin, who cares! It isn't as safe a loafing around on your sofa watching daytime TV and getting fat (well, on that note, perhaps it's safer!) but it is a LOT safer than the public give it credit for. Dare I say it, but screw the extra-cirricular education until post AFF and maybe post SkydiveU (or whatever you lot have over the pond). Your instructors will teach you what you need to know during AFF and coaches should look after you for a while after - especially if your paying for it. No point overloading yourself with info. AFF3? F*ck, I remember mine. I didn't pull on AFF2. The last thing I'd want then would be paragraphs of the SIM and all the random stuff i'd read coming up in my head! That comes later. No need stocking up on all thse extra skills and knowledge until you're on your own and comfortable with the basics. With 2 jumps behind you, hammer those basics down - they'll keep you alive. Knowing all the details of every bit of safety advice ever offered will just make your head explode and will probably just confuse you - especially if you read it on dz.com! Let the AFFIs worry at the mo! They say you're doing fine - trust them! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Will a Pilot 140, brain and PDR126/Smart 135 squeeze into a V308 (or equivalent...they're the V's sized for a PD ZP 135 and PDR126's/Raven135's) Anyone jumping it? Anyone managed to beat a 150 in there too? I know what the manufacturer says is what they say, but my I4 with 150/150 is far from hard and my Teardrop with 170/170 was squishy too. And they had the recommended canopies in. I really don't want to buy a new rig and find out that yeah, i could have got the smaller one. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

I've got an I4 and can get the Pilot 150 in there without a care in the world. As for the I3... Maybe using a 150/I4 bag, and then ramming it into an I3? That way it's easy to bag (into it's correctly sized bag) - hard bit done, and then sitting on it for a few minutes to get all the air out before container-ing it. On the other hand, the I4 takes 120-150, iirc, so that's the one you're really after. Even if the I3 goes, you'll hate packing it. I --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

I figure just paying for a 'ride' whilst wearing the base rig under a baggy jacket and, erm, falling out is a bad idea then? I saw the BKs last year. Was having a chilled afternoon loafing about my rooftop garden - and there was some sh*tty little plane running circuits above me for the best part of half an hour. SO irritating I actually wondered what the hell it was doing there. 4 of 5 canopies explained that several minutes later! Should have guesed with the festival on. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

If you're concerned with cutaway forces, get big rings. Miniforce seems like an attempt to make something looks shiny, different, cute, small and cool - and market it as safer too. The original rings work. To make them safer, you scale them up and make them bigger. Why complicate stuff by reshaping it? Seems like reinventing the wheel for the sake of it. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Anyone know if it's possible to beg buy borrow or steal some height there? --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

N/A

I suppose he's been happy/lucky with his openings has therefore never considered it! I'll mention it to him though. Lol, wasn't one of the major container manufacturers toying with the idea but decided it wasn't sufficiently idiot proof? --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

STOP! Dude, green does NOT belong on a rig! Seriously, there are very very very few good looking rigs with green on them. In the end, it's none of my business and if you like it, that's ll that counts. But resale value takes a shot in the foot (you might be selling sooner than you think) and so might your views about whats 'cool' with time. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Cheers of that - a handly little rule of thumb regarding the mlw!

I know a guy that claims not stowing anything (apart from the first two or so) gives him better openings. That said, he spends about as long s-folding his lines into the bottom of the packing tray as i do stowing mine 'properly'. Discuss, 2000 worlds... --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

I'm 6'2/3ish (probably a more than average amount of that in the legs) and ~180lb, so not exaclty a barrel chested rugby player. Is a C18 odyssey gonna fit? What can i measure on me that'll help me determine this a bit better - what exactly does that 18 refer to? Cheers for any tips! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

I heard the same thing a couple of months ago - an imminent 'exciting thing'. I'm sure there's one on the way, but it's just putting people of buying until they know what it is because - as it might be worth waiting for! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Just strikes me as plain stupid not to. Even knowing the gear is tried and tested + being familiar with it, base has its risks - as you point out. Why add another? Acknowledging the risks is good. Not taking the opportunity to reduce them isn't. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

I saw a video of some nutter deploying a base rig off the back of a (fast!) moving trailer type affair. Ouch. As legend has it, they then went on to do two ways, one PCAing the other as he got dragged off. Mybe i've just got a dirty mind, but a 'pull off' contest just brings up all the wrong images... --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Fair point. I certainly lack the experience, by a massive margin, of either you or sparky - with regard to years, jumps and having never having had a mal. That's not to say i wouldn't consider doing it once i can pack the reserve myself (maybe never then!), I just admit it was irresponsible to say what might have even remotely resembled an 'answer' to a newish jumper looking for advice. edit: in hindsight, i probably wouldn't have the balls to deploy what is essentially the last chance - its one thing doing it when you only have the one canopy but intentionally doing it on a rig with 2 is perhaps a bit beyone me at the mo! --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

As for the chances thing regarding dumping a main into a SpinningSacOfShiteReserve, i mentioned 'up high' for the sole reason you could then literally cut away from the reserve. The old 'hookkinves are useless/no time/midair rigging is bad' doesn't wash here as you're not hunting for a single line, only tight webbing. Yeah, not ideal and seriously damages gear. But, if you end up needing to do it, either your rigger or the manufacturer has that to worry about...as someone f*ckued up and you'd be dead had you really needed that reserve. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Plain stupid or just going against everything we're taught? Do you know the slinks/biners on your reserve will hold? Do you know the reserve risers won't pop at the stitiching on deployment? Do you know do you know do you know....etc....and will test jumping just the reserve canopy tell you any of that? Yeah, it's not recommended for many reasons. Yeah, it's a bit 'stupid' (depending on definition). But just like a first jump on a new container/base setup, it's f*cking reassuring when it's all open and flying...gives you total confidence in your gear from that point on (rigger mals excluded). You can inspect it all you want, but personally, i don't find it all that reassuring, not compared with -knowing- it works. With the main still an option (i.e. dont deploy/chop it first), i'd don't think it's entirely 'plain stupid' and without merit. F*uk it, i'll go out on a limb and say that if everyone that was planning a hook turn did this instead up high, we'd have less dead people this year. Yeah, I pulled the numbers out of my ass, but it's probably not far off the truth. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Just before a repacks due, Look-locate-cutaway-reserve-arch. That way you're not chopping it for the sake of jumping it. Or go straight for silver up high, so yuo still have a main should you happen to be the unluckiest person on earth... edit: Some of the manufacturers tour with reserves you can 'demo'. The PD/Vector guys were in Gap with a 3 canopy system so you could chop it too. I hear that thing's on tour this summer? --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Even more unscientific as none of us have ever jumped both, but of the 4 of us last week, the BlackJacks appeared to glide 'back home' better than the Trolls. Dunno about the wingloadings (I'm sure i was the lowest) or exact opening heights/handling, so it's all a bit pie in the sky. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

haha, that's another way of looking at it"

Gotta agree. Everyone there was cool, helpful and friendly. And Norway is f*cking expensive. A beer is 48 NOK at the cafe. I couldn't find a beer for less than 50 NOK in Stavanger either though...so it's not unusually expensive, 'merely' just as expensive as the rest of the country. And at 3.5X the price of a beer for a whitehouse bed and 5x for a cabin, that does not seem too bad either. --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com

Just got back from the special K. A fortnight of stunning weather and 22 jumps to show for it!