Tornolf

38" ZP, Fox 245 V-tec loaded at .6, large mesh slider, primary stow, no direct slider control and I get perfectly acceptable openings with 11 sec delays. Took me about 5 or so jumps to get the right packjob dialed in, but once you have it down it opens just fine. Main thing I changed was that I put the slider up before folding the stablizers. That greatly slowed down my openings compared to when I didn't pull the slider up until just before I started stowing the lines. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Subaru Forrester...best thing going...PERIOD! Agreed! Bought mine back in March and haven't regretted a single thing. I've put over 15,000 miles on it (bought at 90k) and it's had no issues. Does pretty well off-road getting to BASE objects as well. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

A friend of mine is only alive because he had on a skiing helmet when he had a parachuting accident. Anything lesser and he wouldn't have made it. A snowboarding helmet will do much better protection-wise than a skydiving helmet. You can't go wrong as long as you remove the snag points like everyone suggested. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Welcome to the wrold of constantly getting shown up by 10 year old girls Just wait until you see the upper level 15-17 year olds. That'll make you realize that BASE aerials are a joke compared to what those kids can do. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Trying to see how much interest there is out there... I've done some training with someone who trained BASE jumpers pretty extensively and found it very helpful. Since I had to drive about 25 hours in 1 weekend to do it, I'm switching to a colleague of his somewhat closer. The training would in the central Ohio area a couple of weekends this winter/next spring. I'll be going up sometime soon with a group to see how the training compares to what I've had previously, but I don't expect to be let down. All training will be harness on a trampoline/springboard, 2-3 day camp with about 8 hours/day of training if everyone can handle it. It sounds like a lot, but you're only doing intense training for 1/4 of it due to staff/equipment constraints. I was able to do 5 90 min solo sessions over 2 days without being too worn down until a day or 2 afterwards, after which I wanted to curl up and die but couldn't because my abs wouldn't function properly. However, I have been doing generic gymnastic and harness training on a trampoline 1-2x a week for the past year, so that helped somewhat. If you're in good shape it shouldn't be too strenuous. If there's enough interest I'll work on organizing several training camps. The first few will probably be general skills camps progressing on to more advanced training. Since all training is done 1 on 1 with an instructor it's not too hard to cater to everyone's needs. PM/post and let me know if anyone is interested. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I wouldn't say necessarily a must have, but they're very nice and don't add much complexity to the closing sequence. I have a velcro rig without corners and a pin rig with corners (slightly modified Gargoyle), and I plan on getting corners on the next container I buy. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Twitchy is a good way to describe it. However, I found it fairly easy to do performance time flying with (I usually averaged low 40's with it.) It definitely forces you to get good with acrobatics though, cause otherwise you'll end up on your back in a spin. Definitely good training for flat spins though I pretty much lost count how many I got myself into trying random stuff in it. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

So? Every other weekend (sometimes every weekend) in the winter I'll travel 10+ hours round trip to jump somewhere. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Most of my jumps are on a SF1. It'll be a little less stable at first but it worked great for me. I went to it after about 20 Classic jumps. Be wary pulling in full flight at first, I was able to get a Falcon 175 loaded at .9 to go into surprisingly fast spinning linetwists one time A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

So a small (170ish) BASE canopy? A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Love it. V2 arrives in the next few weeks, so ask me how much I love it a few weeks after that

I swear by my chiropractor after doing 3-4 terminal BASE jumps in a night. Never had anything as severe as what you're describing, but he's never made me feel worse. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Do you have the discipline to keep yourself from doing something low with an unvented canopy that would be made safer by jumping with vents? I don't, and that's why I got vents. Bridge Day shouldn't be a concern for vents. Of my 40 or so jumps off that object, each one with vents, every opening has been very soft simply because a 4-5.5s delay slider up opening won't be very fast. The worst I've had with my Fox was on an 11s delay pitching in a full track. Gave me a bit of whiplash and some bruises, but it wasn't until I landed that I felt the pain. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Last winter we were at an object driving to the hike in point. Just before we arrived at the parking area we saw 4 black bear cubs run across the front of the car and motor up a steep hill like it was nothing, heading directly to the hiking path. We decided to party for the rest of that night instead. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've got a vented Fox and the openings don't bother me in the least. I definitely prefer the vents for low slider down stuff, which is why I just bought a Blackjack for a wingsuit (mostly) canopy rather than an Ace. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Very reliable and very stable even in tons of line twists. Obviously I have no idea what the opening characterics are slider down. It always opened briskly with a sail slider and the openings for wingsuit are nice in full flight. No idea how quick it'd be with a mesh slider. Good luck. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've got about 350 jumps on a Falcon 175. If someone wanted to jump one in a BASE environment, I'd be glad to video. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Please PM me. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I liked Ted, he was a nice guy. Oh well. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've got a decent amount of jumps from a C-180 and a Beaver. Usually I either hop out the side facing the prop, or hang from the strut. If you hang, be careful of the tail

Did a ton of solos from jump 5-35. In hindsight it was a horrible idea and I don't know how I got through it without a scratch. Opened my first object somewhere in there, by myself, and that also was a pretty bad idea. Knowing what I know now, I would not have jumped it in the conditions I was jumping in. It's your life though. If you feel comfortable doing it, by all means go ahead. Keep in mind that police will get pissy if there's a 911 repeater on that thing. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

No boots but kneepads? Why's that? A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

No. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

That's why complete warranties kick ass for laptops. I got mine soaked during Katrina (it was in my backpack and it wasn't closed all the way). Luckily it worked again around 3 days later, but Dell was willing to replace the thing anyways. Apparently I could drop it in a river while trying to simultaneously waterski and surf the web, and the warranty would still be valid. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

1 month after turning 18, July of last year. Completed BASE a couple days ago at jump 105. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ