Skycaroline

Hi John! I'd be interested in any information you have about these gloves... also whether they do them in a kids size. My problem with glove recommendations is that I can't always go for gloves sold for skydiving because even the XS sizes are 1/2 inch too long in the fingers. The gloves I use (and used on this jump) are cycling gloves - they are a thin-medium thickness neoprene on the back of the hands and a combination of thin leather and grip patches on the palms, I wear silk liners with them but they offer inadequate protection from the cold. I have some full neoprene kids diving gloves too, these are brilliant for the cold but I have only used them for skydiving once because of the movement restriction. I'm becoming convinced that the solution is simply not to jump in the cold.... and anyone who knows me will know that I've been looking for a really good excuse for ages! C.

The Vector I was using on this jump was custom made for me. In fact the rig barely has 100 jumps on it since new (nr immaculate condition). So I don't consider sizing or condition to have been a factor in this particular case. You make a good point though; my very first rig was bought 'off the rack'. I sold it on to it's new (taller) owner as soon as I realised the problems it caused for me, (e.g. handle location under canopy and effect on body position (hence visability) during the skydive itself). The problem in this case may have been the leg straps loosening during the skydive, which has a similar effect. Any variable you can influence in this sport is important in my view!

After a 10-way skydive earlier today, I deployed my main at around 3,000ft. I realised almost as soon as I deployed that something wasn't right. My first thought was that a brake had fired. I had experienced this before and it felt similar. The canopy started to spiral quite fast, but on looking up I saw that the lines were also very twisted. Because I couldn't immediately identify any one thing that was correctable my immediate reaction was to get off it. I tried to locate my handles, but due to the spiralling, couldn't even get to the cutaway pad with my right hand. I then tried using both hands to get to the cutaway pad. A combination of very cold hands (it was a freezing cold day in the UK), very tiny hands (that only just span the length of the cutaway pad) and the speed of the spiralling, meant that I just could not get enough of a grip on the pad to even peel it. I kept trying until I became concerned about the complete lack of progress I was making versus the height I guessed I was now at. I was exhausted and disorientated by this point and did briefly consider trying my luck with the reserve pad without cutting away first. I quickly decided though that this should be an absolute last resort in a situation where I still had an uncontrollable main attached. I looked up again to see if there was anything else I could possibly do - on doing so I noticed that although the canopy was still spiralling, the line twists had cleared themselves. This made it very easy to see that a fired left hand toggle was the cause of the problem. I tried to get my hands into my Trulock toggles (one of which was of course no longer stowed). But my hands were so cold and my fingers so numb, that I couldn't even get my fingers into the loops (the toggles have not been modified e.g. totally flat loops). I then turned all my attention to the unstowed left hand toggle, grabbed the whole thing with both hands and pulled it towards me - finally causing the canopy to fly straight. (My pro-track data indicates I was at around 1,300 feet when I regained this control). I steered the canopy as best I could to get me heading to a safe landing area, then set about trying to secure my left hand into the toggle. I still wasn't able to do this and eventually I had no choice but to use my right hand to help wrap the steering line itself around my left hand (I couldn't afford to drop that toggle!!). Once secure on the left hand side, I fumbled with the right toggle and eventually managed to get hold of it properly. By the time I had full control for landing I was at approx 400ft. I landed without further drama, in a nice big field. -- I am posting this because a number of circumstances combined here to make this a skydive that I feel very lucky to have walked away from. 1. Very cold/icy conditions that affected both my ability to operate my equipment effectively (cold hands) and, I believe, my state of mind/reactions. 2. Very small hands, that when combined with reduced mobility (due to the cold and thicker than normal gloves) - made my cutaway handle virtually useless/inoperable for me. 3. Leg straps that had come slightly loose during the skydive - which may have placed my handles slightly higher than they might usually be. 4. A distraction during packing that I believe made me fail to stow the left hand trulock toggle properly. (I usually jump a Voodoo, but on this occasion I was jumping my Vector 3 - a second rig with a different toggle system, and a rig that I jump/pack far less often). 5. A spiralling canopy caused by a combination of twists and a fired brake - which made it even harder to operate my equipment. It's worth noting that on previous jumps I have successfully dealt with each of the things above. When combined though, this became an exhausting and stressful situation which at more than one point had me believing that there was little chance of a good outcome. I vowed after landing that I would not jump this rig again until I had sorted a few things.... (I am interested in other people's view on these)! 1st). I am having the Vector cutaway and reserve pads replaced - either for smaller pads or soft loops. N.B. My Voodoo also has two pads, but they are half the size making them perfect for my tiny hands and therefore very easy for me to get a very firm grip. 2nd). I am considering ways of standardising the toggle systems across my two rigs (but the simple solution here is to take more care packing!). 3rd). Avoid jumping again in conditions that are likely to make my hands so cold and numb that I can't operate my equipment properly. My tiny hands mean that only regular gloves afford me much mobility... e.g. slightly thicker gloves (or two pairs worn together) make it virtually impossible to close my hands with any real strength. 4th). Ensure that the simple and common modification is carried out on my toggles to make the hand loops easier and quicker to access. In terms of the way I dealt with what happened real-time: I was pretty angry with myself for not following my initial instinct about the fired brake and for not attempting to correct that straight away. That may not've worked though with twists also in the lines, and it's also hard to imagine doing much different if I had the situation again.... so I am trying not to beat myself up too much. I've learnt a lot today about how individual circumstances combined with less than ideal conditions can impact the ability to deal with a situation that otherwise would have been a standard operation of emergency drills. I've had a niggling doubt about the suitability (for me) of the cutaway and reserve handles on my Vector for some time - but always dismissed this because "it's a pretty standard set up". In hindsight I should've thought much more about what was really right for me. I'm hoping others will also learn from this story... Caroline