Overtightening chest strap?

[marcos82 0]

I've noticed a couple of jumpers at my DZ that have their chest strap tightened down so that going down the harness the MLW curves away / \ like that style, rather than like | | style. If i do my chest strap up really tight I can also get it like that. It moves the emergency handles inwards a bit aswell. Is it a bad thing to have the chest strap done that tight or is it all personal preference?

[blitzkrieg 0]

the word "overtightening" would indicate something bad.

but simply tightening your chest strap is fine, so long as you don't lose any actual mobility. it is also preferred among many free-fliers because it tends to discourage arching which can be bad in vertical flying.

personally, i keep my chest strap pretty tight like you're describing... but upon deployment let it out to the end for maximum canopy performance.

hey, just my opinion... but i hope that helps.

[FrogNog 1]

What brand/model rigs do they have? Some rigs have yokes that are supposed to fit like that.

Also, I don't know if that is abnormal for chest-ring rigs, either.

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Pull.

[diablopilot 2]

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Is it a bad thing to have the chest strap done that tight or is it all personal preference?

It has been known to increase the possibility of line twists upon deployment.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[diablopilot 2]

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it is also preferred among many free-fliers because it tends to discourage arching which can be bad in vertical flying.

I disagree.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Martini 0]

I've had more than one new RW jumper thank me for suggesting that they loosen their chest strap so they can arch more completely and easily. Freefliers like 'em tighter typically to help keep a straighter torso. Since I do shitty RW and FF my strap is pretty loose for wingsuit flying. Loose is better for swooping too.

Sometimes you eat the bear..............

[hookitt 1]

Freeflyers wear them snug only to keep the rig from moving around. It has nothing to do with keeping a straighter torso.

Arching occurs all the time in 3D flying. If the chest strap is so tight you can't arch... that's Really tight. Mine stays about the same flying flat or flying 3D.

It also happens sometimes if the lift web is a bit too long. It's a lot easier to tighten the chest strap so each side of the main lift web is closer together.

Some people over tighten because they can and no real thought was put into it.

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

[peregrinerose 0]

I honestly never considered whether or not there is such a thing as 'too tight' with a chest strap. My harness is just a hair longer and narrow than I am, so I cinch the leg straps as tight as possible while maintaining good circulation in the legs and my chest strap is always pretty tight as well. It makes me more comfortable and has never been a problem flying this way.

If there is a 'too tight', I hope someone posts about it. No one ever said anything to me, instructor wise, when I got the new gear and was jumping it while they were still giving me gear checks.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[twibbles 0]

i jump a custom built Icon with chest rings, the way i was told was to tighten the chest strap until the harness from my shoulders to the chest rings are parallel.

Eugene




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