SkymonkeyONE

Hey, if it's got motors and climbs, I will jump out of it and have fun.

I got my Fox MX pants off of a clearance rack at a bike shop in Elsinore, California for $45. It took me about an hour to cut off the logos I didn't want and sew on my sponsor logos and my RDS pocket. You would not believe how many times they have prevented injury just from sliding in. I have a really nice set of logoed Bomber swoop shorts (with RDS pocket) that I wear at beach comps and other places where I am unlikely to get injured sliding (or am unlikely to slide). Either way, the places that get the most wear are the ass and the outside of the calves (where all of my leg tattoos are). Up top, I have lost skin on my palms. the outside of my forearms, and elbows in competition. MX Jerseys work great there too, but they are a bit floppy for most competitors these days. Chuck

Again, it's all about your own personal risk analysis. I have rethought mine several times in my 26 years in the sport and I am fine with my choice of headgear. The people who put themselves in greatest danger are those least confident in their abilities, wo don't train effectively, or just do downright stupid shit in the name of "going big". This argument is sounding exactly like the motorcycle riding one. FWIW, I don't wear a helmet when I am riding my Harley in the state of Florida (or anywhere else I am not required to do so). I am supremely confident in my own abilities as a rider and I accept the risk I take by riding that bike in a prudent manner without a lid on at the beach or around town. I am not a "squid" and don't ride like an idiot. I, like every other person on the planet who has been swooping for any amount of time, have scuffed myself up a number of times. It's from those experiences, and watching plenty of others fuck up, that I make my decisions when it comes to gear and piloting techniques. Yes, head injuries are for life, but I am not counting on fucking up and pounding in. In fact, I do just the opposite. I skydive within my range of ability, know my limitations, and simply don't "show off."

That's fantastic!

Mischa, I totally agree. Anyone who has ever met me knows that my lower legs are both completely covered with tatoos. It took me exactly two seconds of sliding out a landing on the side of one leg at Perris in 2001 to understand the importance of skin protection in such environments. I have seen WAY more people withdraw from competitions because of serious road rash and ankle injuries than anything. I have only seen a couple of people hit their head. I refuse to take any discussion on the merits of one skydiving helmet over another seriously when it's being debated by people who routinely swoop in spandex or lycra (like bicycle fags) for "less drag". Seriously. Is your bean more important to you than the rest of your body? If it is, then perhaps you should reevaluate the way you enter a course. The only reason the Tour de France types wear helmets in some sections is because they are forced to. When those guys hit the pavement they get FUCKED UP yet they accept the risk. PST rules (and the two predecessors which I swooped in) aready require us to wear helmets in order to compete. Personally, I think every swoop competitor ought to have to wear clothing to protect themselves from the most-common injuries. I don't know a single swooper who has not been sidelined at one point or another by serious roadrash. It sounds to me like some of you (not directed at you, Mike) have a very-different view on risk management than I do. I haven't read the debate on Jim's site, but I can tell you that I have competed in a meet with Jim where he really fucked up a leg sliding out a landing in gravel at ASC in his manpris. I remember in 2000/2001 there were some competitors who really had a problem with being forced to wear a helmet at all to swoop. Hell, Luigi cani was compteting barefooted at both of the PPPB meets at Perris back then. That's back when the run-out area next to the pond was ALL busted up gravel and shit. It was nuts, but hey, he had a helmet on.... I am MUCH less concerned about what kind of helmet I have on my head than I am about what clothing is appropriate for the meet venue. Just my opinion, guys. What the fuck do I know, though.....I am an old guy now, right?

The only time I ever met her neither one of us was feeling very "normal."

Tony "Big Boy" RW suit. It's a looser fit than the Tony "Swoop". Tony Thacker loves his. I jump Michigan suits and I just had mike make me a looser Mega-Bootied comp suit with lots of flop in the forearm material. I got it for small, floaty AFF students and outside big-way RW slots.

I have a 30mm lens that I use with a step ring on my PC 109. It works great.

smallest: 4'8" ~85 pounds largest: 6'8" 275 pounds Both in a Vector II harness and both out of a C-182.

That's the same helmet JC and Joey D'Annunzio wear.

I always jump with a helmet because I hate to jump without my audible. I jump an old-school BoneHead Pimp Daddy Mindwarp. It's going to protect me from slight bangs and abrasions and that's all I care about. No helmet you are going to purchase and actually wear on your head is going to help you if you fuck up on your massive vanity turn and pound into the ground feet,knees, face at 60 mph. Most swoopers would be MUCH better off avoiding injury by getting rid of their capris and swooping in over-the ankle shoes and mx pants, plus some arm protection. Very few people pound their head into the ground on competition runs, but many, many lose tons of skin pounding in at the end of a distance run or shutting it down violently in the max-scoring zone of accuracy rounds. I have an old Factory Diver with the non-flip visor removed that I will jump occasionally, but that's about it. I would not expect it to keep me alive if I pounded in on my head at max velocity under canopy. Chuck

That's a good variety of photos. Looks like everyone had a blast.

As we are all "birds", it was only fitting to dump about ten dozen raw eggs mixed with birdseed on him and them dump feathers on top of that. It was lovely.

Read the FAQ sticky at the top of this forum.

How was it? We want a full report, with pictures, at this time.

The video monstrosity about to be debuted by Jeff is great. He's been steady at it for over a month now. If he were a bit less distracted by plant life it might have been completed sooner, but there is definitely some good stuff in it. Yours for only $59.95!! Perhaps he will bust it out this weekend in Sebastian, but then maybe not. Chuck

I would like to know if anyone in the USA has ever even seen one. There are two NEOS canopies here at Z-hills, but I have never seen a sail crossfire anywhere.

It's hard to believe! A tremendous shock to me for sure. Duece was a solid guy. I really liked him and he was fun to be around at boogies. Hell, I even gave him one of the first other-than-Raeford Skymonkey hats at Eloy! I hate this. Chuck

This sucks very badly. I hope they bury his SKYMONKEY hat with him. JP was one of the good ones. Unfuckingbelievable. Another sad day. BSBD!! Chuck

I am soft and furry. You definitely ARE a hairy-backed man-beast, Glen........Fag.

I don't understand what I said that might be considered trollish.

a keychain ring works best, John. They are also great because they are super-simple to attach a pull-up cord to when used for a legwing zip.

Eddie made quite a few jumps on those as well at FnD. It's a neat suit, but it doesn't really look anything like a Mach1 up close.

There's a big thread in General about this. Yes, people get bored with a discipline and lose interest. They also become disillusioned by what goes on at their home dropzone and lose interest. They lose interest when they don't progress as fast as they would like. Any number of reasons, actually. All preventable, too. It's just a fad to some. Some have a phase where they will do everything they think they possibly can in the sport and then just quit. There are countless people out there who simply just walk away from it. In that regard, it's just like any other recreational activity. It's possible to not take it seriously enough, and it's definitely possible to take it WAY too seriously. Chuck

You are not going to get Sunpath to retrofit an older Javelin with a Skyhook. It's a new-rig-only option as far as I was told. I would very-seriously doubt that you are going to be able to retrofit a Wings after Henri gets his system approved by UPT either. According to Dave Ruffel at Sunshine Factory, though, the fact that the Skyhook is available on more than one rig has definitely swayed some people towards them. Chuck