kris2extreme

The plastic holster that came with the XD is just a very basic OWB holster for use at the range... it's definately not a concealment holster. A good Kydex holster is a whole different animal. They're generally slightly thinner than leather holsters (at least my CTAC kydex holster is thinner than my Galco leather) Kydex and leather both have their own pros and cons. Any concealment holster, regardless of material, will place the gun directly up against your body.

I like kydex holsters. I use a Comp-Tac CTAC as my usual IWB holster, generally carried between 3 and 4 o'clock right-side. It really needs a belt though. Usually if i'm going casual and wearing pants that don't have belt loops, I will use my galco leather shoulder holster with a light jacket thrown over it. I've been meaning to pick up a belly-band or other similar such holster that doesn't rely on hanging off of your belt, though I still haven't managed to get one and see how well they work. (My wardrobe sounds pretty similar to yours) Athletic pants just don't have the support to hold up a gun. Hang a 2 pound object off your pants with a 1" wide clip, you'll see just how uncomfortable and unsecure it really is. If i'm going to carry in a bag or such, I have a very cheap nylon holster that I got from Acadmy that i throw it in. Unfortunately, CCing usually requires dressing up just a hair more than we're used to, and adjusting your wardrobe around not only your ease of access to the weapon, but also the complete concealment of the weapon. Usually this is helped with darker colored or radical designs on your shirts. An undershirt helps with comfort as it keeps the weapon from being directly against your skin.

I used to have a Springfield XD 9mm. (4" barrel). Excellent shooting gun, had a slight amount more muzzle flip than the G19's that I have shot (their weight is distributed a little differently). Grip position is slightly different. Grip safety is a nice thought, but after shooting it for a while and shooting other weapons with no external safeties, you realize how useless it really is. Alot of people have had issues with their XD's developing surface rust on the slide and external controls... I classify 99% of those scenarios as people who think they own a glock and can neglect it like one. With proper care, the XD finish won't rust. BUT, the finish on them still doesn't compare to the tenifer finish on the glock (unless you get a new XD-45 with the melonite finish). How the finish holds up will depend entirely on you though, the finish on mine was still perfect after 6 months and 1500 or so rounds fired through it... but after 2 months of CC'ing it, it started showing holster wear VERY badly on the slide. I ended up buying my G27 as a summer carry weapon, and eventually it just became my main shooter. Since I wasn't shooting the XD anymore really, I sold it to pay for my First Jump Course

The C models are OK... just as reliable as any other Glock. But they are louder, messier, and low-light levels shooting with them is horrible. I'd personally opt for one of the non-compensated models. I'd go to a glock dealer and handle all the different models if you are looking for a CC weapon. The G36 is barely (.1") smaller than a G30 with half the capacity. The .45ACP model subcompact glocks (G30/G36) are basically the same size as your dad's G23. If you want a smaller framed weapon than that, you will need to step down to a G26/G27/G33/G39. I personally have a G27 that I've carried for a little over a year. It's been through lots of weather conditions and was submerged in river flood-water a few months back... it has always gone bang when I told it to.

The rig is worth 4300 if you want a nice, basically brand new rig. However, do realize that as a lighter jumper, you have a wealth of canopies available to you in the 150sqft range. There are also harness/containers available for you as well if you look enough. For instance: -Javelin J1 A14 harness for $650 -PD 143R Reserve for $750 -Main Canopies such as an original Sabre 150 can be picked up for $400-500, just watch around for them, or spend a little bit more and get something like a sabre2/safire2/pilot or a spectre. -And a used cypres with several years left on it can also be had for about $100 per year left on it. Find a cypres with 5-6 years left on it for $600 and you have a complete setup for well under $3,000. With something like a Javelin J1, you should be able to easily downsize to a 135, and should be able to put a 120 in it also. I know I got bored under a canopy loaded under 1:1 VERY quickly. That is all dependant on your skills though, but definately look to the future a bit and get a container that you can downsize with a couple of times early on.

I got some clothes and a neptune. yay!

I don't know what my blood type is ... So i'll just keep eating whatever I want to

0:8:0 Got in 8 this weekend at the home DZ, couple of hop&pops from 7500, couple from 5000, and one from 13.5k. The rest were freefly jumps. Also got in a couple of jumps this past wednesday with the gang at Aggieland. Fun dropzone with a bunch of great people around it.

Currently, waiting for my canopy to inflate is what bothers me the most. I recently changed canopies from one that routinely opened in 300-400 feet, to one that likes to snivel for 700-800 feet. So it is taking me some time to get used to that extra long opening. I'm always expecting to look up and see another bag-lock.

Emergency procedures are developed for a reason. To help reduce confusion and increase the safety of ALL individuals involved. The attitude you're showing right now will likely get yourself as well as everybody else on the plane killed. If you don't know your DZ's procedures on aircraft emergencies, PLEASE talk to someone about them.

at 1000ft or less you will likely ride the plane down. That's why you should have your seatbelt on until 1500ft. As for group exits, lots of people leaving the plane at exactly the same time causes instability in the plane. During normal jump runs the pilot can compensate for it. If there is an engine out or some other problem, you want to leave quickly, but also steadily and try to cause the least amount of instability in the plane as you can. Exit one at a time. Rushing the door during an emergency has killed people before. Stay calm, exit stable, pull, and watch for traffic. Find a safe landing area and go there.

Kris! I am ashamed of you! OK, not really! But still, you made it this far, don't let us distract you from your goal. Then again, I do love to spend time with you on the weekends - so, letus know if we can help you with the classes so you can get your diploma AND skydive! My goal is to get the hell out of school! Which i've mostly accomplished. No more trips to campus for me!! Now to just take a few weeks and get all of this business law correspondence class done and i'll be set to gradumate.

I had really really really bad senioritis this semester. Pretty much every project/test/presentation I had due this semester was on a Monday... and I did nothing but jump or work on weekends all this semester. I also skipped approximately 1/3rd of all my classes this semester. I managed an A, a few C's, and a D. All I can say is thank god I am done with on-campus classes. All I have to do is finish up my correspondence course and they can mail me my diploma for all I care.

sometimes an aviation winds-aloft report is available... other times it may take the first load or two to figure them out

most places don't really care for students moving around. They won't know your skill-level and as such will usually have to do extra jumps to determine it. The jumps will count towards your total jump numbers... but as far as the other skills... they won't know until you do the jumps and have the log entries and/or jump with you. Your student progression to your A-license will include 1 or 2 hop and pops. It is part of the proficiencies. Spotting is knowing where the dz is, where the plane is in relation to the dz, and what the different winds are doing between the ground and altitude, and making sure of clear airspace. Spotting combines all those factors so that you get back to the DZ. You should learn this during your student program.

I agree with some of the others about going to the closer dropzone. I only live about 20 minutes away from my DZ and it's really nice to be able to look out the window and have a pretty good idea of what the weather is doing at the DZ. Making an 8 hour round trip only to have crap weather would be a pisser. The closer DZ is also likely to be your home DZ, being with them from the start is a great way to get in and know everyone. And being close to that DZ, you can go hang out even when you can't jump... which helps you out more in the long-run than you could ever imagine.

0:0:0 Worked all day saturday, rainy weather on sunday. Going to go visit aggieland on Wednesday to get a couple in and fly my new canopy.

I thought the same thing when I first got my pro-dytter. But once it is inside the helmet under the padding, and factoring in all the noise from freefall, it puts mine at a very reasonable and comfortable volume (yet definately still loud enough that I don't miss it)

I'm jealous. Though i'm almost in the same position... I'm waiting for some cash to come in that will hold me over for 3-4 months and then i'll be quitting my current job. (Unless I find something way better first)

I'll be done with my finals on tuesday, then i'll never have to go back to class again... unless for some reason I get retarded and go back for my masters. I'll be selling back all my textbooks on Monday so I can pay my rigger

Yep, I had such an easy time...not. I may be in the mid 5' range, but I'm sort of a "big boned" girl, so to find a rig that was short/small enough that would fit a main big enough was not easy. See the attached picture. That is how my thigh used to look while jumping our club's transition rig, until I started putting oven mitts down my jump suit so I could get the leg straps tight enough because the container was too long. I wouldn't have had this problem if I was 6', 200lbs. So this might be a 'grass is greener on the other side'. I would think it would be easier to find a beginner rig for someone 6', 200lbs than for me. There's more men in this sport, more people that look like you than me. It's all perspective. Just from my general observation in looking for gear over the last few months (i'm also a small person, 5'6" 110lbs)... There are TONS of containers available to fit average sized people. Anywhere from 5'8" 150lbs up to 6'1" 220lbs.. while being very few containers out there for a skinny-short person. BUT, when it comes to canopies, the lighter people have much more available to them. There are LOTS of used 150sqft and below canopies that are available cheaply... but after I started shopping around for a buddy of mine who needs a 210-230sqft canopy... there are few to pick from. I assume this mostly to be because since they are the "average" sized novice canopies, there is no abundance of 5+ year old canopies that have low jump numbers and still in great condition. I agree gear is expensive, but if you are apt enough to look around for deals and pay attention to pricing on items, you can usually come out with a rig for fairly cheap. I spent under 2000 on my first rig, and it had a ZP main, was freefly friendly, and a cypres w/6yrs left on it.

when i move out after i'm done with my college stint i'm taking: (in order of importance) Skydiving gear Clothes that I wear on a regular basis gun(s) Computers/TV/dvd/ps2/dvds/other electronics My 2 paintings everything else will make its way to the garbage or goodwill.

I currently jump a reflex... it has been a nice rig, but has been jumped a bit and could use some repairs and updates (mostly in the way of padding and BOC pounch). It has treated me quite well, I recently just bought a javelin for a better fit, but i'll probably keep the reflex around as a 2nd rig.

Pantera. I believe I was 15 at the time... 97ish.

you probably initially lean to the left on openings. So your left leg gets the majority of the opening force and then after full inflation, you move around and distribute the weight evenly. That's what I tend to slightly do, it is not noticeable to me under my sabre 150 since the canopy is pretty much fully inflated by the time i'm able to look up at it (and it's not REAL sensitive to harness input), but after jumping a slow-opening elliptical canopy this past weekend, I was able to see how the harness position affected the opening and how I really had to actively fly the canopy throughout the opening to keep it on-heading.