TomAiello

I have used "holey" slider. It does open a bit softer than the mesh slider, at terminal. I think that the size and shape of the hole are both quite important to the opening characteristics, and I haven't really had time to give them the time and energy they deserve. That said, I found that a small mesh slider actually worked much better at terminal than a large mesh (standard) slider. My preferred setup at terminal (with a dodgy back and a vented canopy) has become a small mesh slider. I prefer to leave the nose exposed, because I think it yields marginally better heading. Obviously, on a jump with good object clearance (good tracking, wingsuit, whatever) this isn't really an issue, so you can do whatever you want with the nose, in an effort to slow the opening. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Vote for it in the Charleston Daily Mail poll here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

They have to be aware of it. I know that a couple folks have sent them the metal zippers and had them installed during production, which would kind of put them on notice that some people, at least, find the zippers inadequate. I'd definitely pay more to get burly metal zippers as an option on my next suit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I also heard that Karin's Boyfriend likes to play on them, jumping from the second story and such. I dunno, it sounds awfully dangerous to me. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Any advice on a good place to get the metal zippers? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Your best bet is to contact the Swiss BASE Association for current conditions and closures. Be careful in the famous valley--access there is getting even sketchier these days. And please be extra careful if you jump Cold Steel--I don't think I could handle another accident there. Edit: The email address is info@subterminal.ch. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Personally, I'm a fan of making your buddy drive back across the busy highway bridge, so that you can hop out and get the sling back... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Normally, yes. I'd say that a "normal" SL is removed after the jump. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If the piece of the structure you attach to has a sharp edge, you may find the cord breaking prematurely (essentially being "cut" by the corner of the attachment piece). I always use something else to tie to the structure. If it's a rounded bar, you should be able to get away with tying the cord to it, but if it's square, be careful of premature breakage. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'm having trouble with the zippers on my wingsuit. I'm considering trying to get a tailor to switch out the zippers for something burlier. Has anyone else done this? What kind of zippers did you use? Where did you get them? Has it helped? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've done both Mojo and FOX CRW. I know it's non-standard (and I'm pretty much a CRW neophyte), but it really helped me gain some "close quarters" canopy skills on those canopies in a (relatively) safe environment. That said, be sure you have a real CRW (not BASE) jumper around to supervise. I know a reasonable amount about the fixed object stuff, but what I don't know about CRW would fill several books. I suspect that most other BASE jumpers are the same way, and being the arrogant bastards we are, we're unlikely to admit to a student that we really don't know what the heck we're doing (I mean, who'd have thunk that teeny little pilot chute could create so many problems?). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've talked to several very experienced jumpers who prefer the Gargoyle. Obviously, I recommend it in my "First Rig" piece, and Karin's Boyfriend felt strongly enough about it to second that recommendation when he posted his thoughts about my thoughts. I believe he called it "simply the best pin rig on the market, hands down." 1) "Tuck" style pin cover. The cross tucking pin cover is clearly superior to the wrap around style. It allows for a fully stiffened pin cover without the hangup potential of the wrapped flap. This means that you get maximum protection at terminal, but can still fully close the rig at ultra low altitude. No confusion, no "what did I pack this for" no wiggling pins, no hesitations. 2) Customer service: Morpheus has the best customer service in the industry, bar none. I've bought (and jumped) gear from every major manufacturer (and several not so major ones). I am a very demanding customer, given to vocally (and publicly) expressing my opinions (both positive and negative) about gear. I'm sure that I irritate gear manufacturers no end. And Morpheus is still amazingly good to me. Examples include: offering to ship gear to Malaysia because Fedex (who had guaranteed delivery before I left) failed to deliver it to me on time, making retrofits and repairs for free (to both my container, where the retrofit was needed due to a communication error in which I was largely at fault, and my canopy, which I caught on a tree--and they patched for free), test jumping my gear to give me feedback on problems I was having (and offering valuable advice on toggle and brake settings), and manufacturing gear in my bizarre custom color combinations. I really can't say enough good things about them. 3) Good combination of other features. The rig isn't quite the most comfortable I've ever jumped (the Vision beats it out), but it's close. The price wasn't quite the cheapest I'd ever paid, but it was very competitive. The workmanship was flawless (as I'd hope all BASE rigs would be--and most are). edit to add 4) Dynamic Corners: Dynamic corners (the "open" lower corners available as an option on the Gargoyle) are a very good idea. They allow the bottom of the pack tray to open completely, which minimizes the potential for pack tray induced spin on the way to line stretch. On newer Gargoyles, the wrap around bottom corner, combined with dynamic corners, gives the best of both worlds--the wide open lower corner of a Vision and the tightly closed, totally secure wrap around corner of a Perigee. While Morpheus intended the option for wingsuit use, I feel strongly enough about it on every jump that I've had my other (non-Morpheus) containers retrofitted (by Morpheus--did I mention they give great service?) with dynamic corners as well. I'd say the Gargoyle has the best design by a wide margin, the best support by miles, and is in the top two in every other category I can think of. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yep, people from all over the world throw around video, give out directions, and tell people how to get there. Ever wonder how the Italians feel about that? You might want to read what the local Italian jumpers had to say in this thread (check post #9). In relevant part: A little respect for the locals goes a long way--and disrespecting the locals is (a) BASE jumpers number one complaint about skydivers, and (b) non-Americans number one complaint about Americans. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It's around 2000' to impact (with a "normal" track), and another 2500 or so of talus, I believe. You might want to have a look at the Naming Names thread. The terminal wall in Northern Italy is very well known, but the number of accidents there is quite high. Access to the cliff is threatened by repeated incidents, many of which have involved inexperienced BASE jumpers who heard about the cliff at a dropzone, or on forums like this one. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In general, I will go for the toggles on any appreciable canopy flight. In other words, if you open and your body instinctively starts to PLF, grab the risers. If you open and think "ok, now land", then get the toggles. The trick is, don't dump the slack. In other words, when you pop the toggles, bring them all the way down, then slowly bring them up. It's kind of like doing a flat turn--you ought to be able to flare out at any point. If you just pop the toggles and dump the slack, the canopy will surge forward and down, potentially (as you've pointed out) smacking you into the ground. But if you bring them all the way down, then ease them back up, you ought to be able to flare at any time. If you're worried about it, just grab the risers. A riser flare/PLF combination is always going to be better (in terms of personal injury) than flaring yourself into the ground. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What happened to Bert? Is he ok? Just tired of running the boat? I owe that guy--he dragged my broken butt out of the water. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Don 208 934-8245 Bert 208 734-4228 Bert (Cell) 208 410-2926 Sheriff 208 934-4421 State Police 208 735-7200 The Sheriff is the one to call for jumping the bridge. I haven't called any of these number since last year, so they may have changed. edit: added the police phone numbers -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Somewhere, a fat American BASE jumper is laughing... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Some things you might want to ask: What kind of Reactor? The Reactor 4 is a great rig. Older Reactors were not my favorites because they (a) were tight and hard to close, (b) sometimes peeled accidentally, and (c) had unstiffened side flaps. Obviously, BR didn't like these characteristics either, as they changed all of them in the latest Reactor (the Reactor 4). Is the Canopy vented (vtec)? Is it valved (Vtec with covers)? I believe that the list price of the vents is $150, and the valves are $350, so if the canopy has those, it's worth more (to you, and to resell). Seems like an added frill (and cost) that won't benefit a beginner. The only time I've thought articulation was useful was on advanced (i.e. multiple rotations slider down) aerials. A 225 seems quite small for a 150 pound jumper. If you are exclusively jumping towers (especially in wind) it might be ok. It'll land hard on a city street, though. I'd want to see the gear and decide how loud it was. If you are jumping exclusively legal sights, loud is fine. If you're jumping high profile illegal stuff, though, stealth is the way to go. So, basically, it's the standard BR package (lists for $1950 with the Reactor 4), plus a helmet, knee pads and some tools (BTW, what the heck is the PVC pipe for?). $1100 does seem like quite a deal for the gear, assuming that it's a Reactor 4. I'd still be concerned about the sizing, though. BTW, am I the only one who capitalizes the abbreviation F.O.X. (Fixed Object eXpress)? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Jason, please be careful of making personal attacks, even on members of the press. I know that Mark Sommer read this thread (because he emailed me about it), and I'd like to avoid it devolving into name calling. It really sounded to me like he just got some bad information, probably due to the typical press problem of not knowing who the BASE jumpers are, and who's just willing to talk. I understand the paper is running a correction to the article. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I guess it depends on your definition of BASE jumper. I know lots of people who have made some BASE jumps (in some cases as many as 100) who would have no idea who Jean is, or who Carl was. I think it's kind of sad to lose touch with where (and who) this all came from, but that's more and more the case. Maybe we can get Nick to publish a book on the history of the sport... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I think that you may be seeing some sub-terminal "penguin" tracks and thinking they are deltas. Most BASE jumpers are using a tracking position that looks a bit different from a skydiving track. It's really more similar to the position that wing-suit flyers use--but with no wingsuit. You might also be looking at jumpers using tracking pantz, which require a slightly different tracking position, as well (arms a bit spread to counteract the "high life" legs). Or, as hookitt correctly points out, you may just be watching video of folks (like myself) who can't track to save their lives. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

CPoxon posted a load of photos over in the wingsuit forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I used their "feedback" button. Here's the response I got: -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Have you talked to BASE 386 on this subject? In addition to being an old hand at BASE, I hear that he's a qualified ER surgeon... -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com