kaerock

If I were you I'd look for used gear for your first purchase. A couple of reasons for this are that you'll get it a lot sooner as it takes time to build customer orders, you'll probably be down-sizing a couple of times in your first couple of years and if you decide that skydiving isn't for you, you haven't dropped a lot of money into it. I'd suggest sticking with well-known brands for used gear. Javelin,Mirage,PD, and so on until you really know what you're looking for and can make an informed decision about going with a lesser-known brand. Most manufacturers have sizing charts on their web-sites, so all you have to do is coordinate harness-size, main/reserve container-size then start looking for the few options that'll work for your size and skill-level. Happy hunting! -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

First reserve ride was totally my fault. My first jump at Skydive Hawaii, jump 160. I was open just fine, as I got closer to the DZ from the spot I decided I'd 'have a little' fun. I was flying a Stiletto 150 loaded at about 1.3. I jerked my left toggle down so hard that I was above my canopy at a very acute angle, all of the tension on my lines were gone, I freaked out and let the toggle back up very quickly. I sunk back down under the canopy, but the canopy decided it wasn't done turning. It just rotated above me like a helicopter. Twist after twist after twist. I knew I was a little over 1500ft and my first thought was: "If I start into a dive..." Just then, I started to spin into a death spiral on my back. I got about one revolution before I grabbed my cutaway handle and yanked like there was no tomorrow. Then I recall thinking: "I hafta be on my belly!" So I flipped over, watched the banana trees get bigger and then I pulled my reserve ring. I was under the saddle at about 1000'. I was wearing sandals and when I landed I stepped kind of funny on my left foot and broke my little toe. I suppose I deserved something for my foolishness. Let this be a lesson, you can induce a line twist on a perfectly functional canopy! Just because your canopy opened fine, doesn't mean you can't screw it up :> I've had two more reserve rides after that, about 1 for each 100 jumps for various reasons. I believe the statistic is that you have one reserve ride for every 300-1000 jumps, forgot where I heard/saw that. I am definitely a statistical abnormality :> Fly safe, pack well, check your gear. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

My favorite thing to do to get myself or other people I'm jumping with to relax, is to make absurdly funny faces at them while exiting and throughout the dive. Nothing relaxes someone in an intense situation like a laugh. It takes your mind off of what you think you're doing wrong. I think people have a hard time relaxing because they're over-thinking everything. Next time you go out with your instructor, smile at them, stick your tongue out, make them laugh, it's infectious. Also, maybe you might want to take a trip to a wind-tunnel, I know tons of people that have been helped by a little bit of time there. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

I've seen them work just fine:> -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

Correct, the refresh rate isn't a problem on my Suunto Vector. It updates very quickly and appears to match an Alti almost perfectly. But try this on your way to altitude: Stick your watch out of the door so that the wind hits the watch directly, then rotate your wrist 180 degrees so that your wrist is hitting the wind and the watch is in the burble. The altitude will jump several hundred feet up or down depending. The vector is *extremely* sensitive to pressure. A couple of weeks ago after breaking from a three way head down, I stopped my track and looked at my altimeter....it read 3400 feet. My eyes said the ground was a lot closer, and my eyes were right, I was under the saddle at 2100 according to my Protrack. I now no longer rely on my Vector as much as I'd like to. It's great under canopy though. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

That series of articles was very interesting. Humid air is LESS dense than dry air of the same pressure and temperature...that's very counter-intuitive. That means on hot-humid days, you can expect to get a little more dive and a little more surf than usual. -R You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE