Track Suits

[dmcoco84 5]

So my buddies and I are planning our first trip to the Swiss Valley the summer after next and I’m interested in buying a track suit but I’m not sure what I should get. Most of the people I’ve seen doing some hardcore things while tracking (like Douggs) are jumping the PF Track Suit. But I was watching the Superterminal BASE video the other day and noticed they seamed to be wearing some different suits and they were achieving some incredible distances! Since I already have a PF Phantom and am very impressed with it I’m leaning towards PF.

So what are the best track suits? What make them better than others? Any other input?

Coco

[vandev 0]

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So what are the best track suits? What make them better than others? Any other input?

You are the best suit......It's not the suit but the suiter......

In superterminal they mostly are wearing cargo pants and windbreakers with bungie cords... i am building a setup now that i will be trying out at the dropzone soon and will post about it. i can tell you that there suits are made for extremely fast tracking...Ie...you need speed as to get them to work for them to perform. i dont think that for the Valley they would be the right choice as the drops are not as high as in Norway. I am no expert at all in base tracking as well as tracking in the dz enviorment but i use to do allot of tracking dives and was always up front..... I will though be flying them at the dz. There is a video on the :www.Pressurized.at. (see vids on site). and you can see That tracking suit in a jump in The valley at the end of the video.

I to am hooked on tracking and will be curious what technoligy will be out next year No doubt be a shocker....

just my 2 cents..... Chris

In the end...the universe has a way of working itself out.... "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle"

[outrager 6]

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So what are the best track suits? What make them better than others? Any other input?

It depends on what you are looking for

PF has the best glide ratio. VKB suits rule in speed and precision.

Most importantly: by the time you head out to Europe, there will be another generation of tracking suits out. Whatever you pick today will be obsolete next year.

bsbd!

Yuri.

[FIREFLYR 0]

Practicing your tracking is far more important then suit selection. Go on lots of tracking dives with other people.
~J

"One flew East,and one flew West..............one flew over the cuckoo's nest"
"There's absolutely no excuse for the way I'm about to act"

[TomAiello 26]

Be sure to read this thread especially the initial post from Douggs regarding the safety issues involved with tracking suits.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[dmcoco84 5]

Totally agree. And I have an 1100 footer A that I will use to get very proficient at Sub-T tracking before I go.

Coco

Edit to add: In addition to doing a lot of tracking dives.

[dmcoco84 5]

Sounds good. Thanks guys!

Coco

[chrismcn7 0]

after seeing SuperTerminal i spent 22 bucks at wall mart on a windbreaker pants and jacket. put parachute cord in the arms and legs and was amazed at the results. when i jump out of a plane, i can fly with a birdman classic. here is some headcam footage of the suit in action:

http://www.chrismcnamara.com/movies/22seconds.mov

(after you click on the link, just wait a minute or so and it should start playing)

i think the VKB have it pretty dialed: make a homemade tracking suit for tracking, and then put the $500 you saved by not buying tracking pants and jacket toward a Vampire wing suit.

ps: you might need the latest version of quicktime to view the clip: http://www.apple.com/quicktime

[dmcoco84 5]

Holy Shit! That talus looked pretty close!! How high above the ground would you say you pulled on that one?

Yea, Well...I'm what you could call a lazy bastard when it comes to making stuff like that so I'll probably just buy a PF track suit set.

Coco

[JFK 0]

Nice one Chris :)

By the way, nice editing! Greetings to Ricardo and Dingo ;)

Jul.

JFK #1013
PM Me
No Adrenalin.... No Fun!
"Minds are like parachutes the

[chrismcn7 0]

i'm a lazy bastard, too. that is why i didn't really make any mods to the jacket or pants (no air inlets, booties, etc) i just put cords in it and jumped it. later, the pant seam started to blow so Pete S reinforced it a little.

i would definitely recommend that anyone considering putting 500 toward a tracking suit first just see what happens when you put cords inside some pants and jacket.

[Mikki_ZH 0]

Happy groundrush to you!!!

Michi (#1068)
hsbc/gba/sba
www.swissbaseassociation.ch
www.michibase.ch

[dqpacker 7]

God Dammmmmn! Nice track. Yeah how high were you at pull time?

[chrismcn7 0]

dont know how far i cleared the rock band by... maybe 50-100? guessing i opened 200 feet off the ground.

i attached a photo of the tracking suit i jumped. i just watched SuperTerminal a bunch and this is my best imitation of what they were jumping. on later jumps i started pulling the sleeve even further down over my hand making the wing just a bit bigger

[vid666 0]

can you post more details ( brand - mods made ) and some more pics ?

tnx

[Ian_Cognito 0]

That was really impressive! I'd appreciate any details on how to make one of those. Is there a certain brand of clothing that is loose in the right places or did you just buy whatever brand in a larger size and rig up some tensioners?

[chrismcn7 0]

the norwegians are the experts on this stuff. i am just a hack. there are some threads on this forum where hans-solo and some other VKB gave tips and tricks. hans was also very helpful when i emailed him directly.

i just went to walmart and bought the cheaped jacket and pants they had. any pants and jacket would work. the more zero p the better i guess. my jacket has started to come apart so i have to resew the seem every few jumps.

in the pic i posted above you can see its just a "Starter" brand running suit

i bought both sizes that were kinda tight and size that was pretty loose. i flew them both and found loose fitting worked a little better. more drag so you wont go Superterminal like the norwegians but it think more drag is better for the lower cliffs.

[TomAiello 26]

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...my jacket has started to come apart so i have to resew the seem every few jumps.

I had a pair of cheap Walmart specials blow out on me in flight. I lost the entire seam up one leg, which left me spinning in circles. I also saw the waistband fail on one pair, leaving a very experienced tracker (he's an instructor in Norway) fighting for his life, with his pants around his knees, 6 seconds down a cliff.

Be careful with the "cheapest." A little more quality would not necessarily go amiss.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[dmcoco84 5]

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my jacket has started to come apart so i have to resew the seem every few jumps.

Yea thats a big reason why I'd rather just buy. That way I don't have to keep fixing stuff. The PF suit will last a lot longer!

But I am definitally interested in how you have made your suit. Maybe down the road when I have the time I'll give it a shot.

Coco

[hookitt 1]

People soon realize that cheap clothing uses cheap thread.

I would gladly use cheapish clothing and reinforce them with size 69 nylon thread and possibly the addition of some binding tape.

Flying suit users buy clothing with flying in mind. Flying Suit manufacturers make clothing with distruction in mind and plan accordingly.

Good luck

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[ptwob231 0]

I made a pair of pants modeled after atle's smoke pants out of walmart grade ripstop nylon rainpants. i reinforced all the seams with binding tape and made mid thigh inlets using some 5"x5" cordura patches with 4 #3 grommets in each patch. I've used them for tracking at the dz with excellent results as far as track distance and inflation. I'll post pics shortly. (added) I also sewed on belt loops made of bindtape and use a leather belt to prevent them from ending up around my ankles.

[magot 0]

sweet video dude

TOSS MY SALAD
I'm an invincible re-tarded ninja
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1072

[nicrussell 0]

Just Curious. How far ahead in freefall did you decide if you could clear the ledge? After that choice, were you thinking a) HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, that was close. or B) Sweet, planned it exactly how I planned it. or C) Man, I could of gone further... ?

Nic

[KidWicked 0]

Quote

Just Curious. How far ahead in freefall did you decide if you could clear the ledge? After that choice, were you thinking a) HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, that was close. or B) Sweet, planned it exactly how I planned it. or C) Man, I could of gone further... ?

Nic

From the sound of his voice on opening, I'd say option A.

Coreece: "You sound like some skinheads I know, but your prejudice is with Christians, not niggers..."

[Lokky_luke 0]

Ho

Nice track

Be careful with the cheapest. A little more quality, reinforced all the seams with binding tape is a good invest.
Good luck

Lokky_luke
VKB#9