advice on old school jumpsuit please

[snoochiebooches 0]

I was talking to an older gentleman at my work that I knew used to skydive. I told him that I just started and he asked me if I would like to buy his old jumpsuit. It's a Starmaker jumpsuit by Strong. Although it's a little dingy, nothing a good wash wouldn't take care of, it looks different than what I've seedn to date. It's got flared cuffs and pant legs and is made from a really strong canvas type material. It has button up bands for your feet and velcroed inner cuffs along with a thick velcroed collar. It looks like it'd be good when it gets colder but i've just recently started skydiving and don't know the etiquette as of yet. Don't wanna get laughed out of the water but don't want to pass on a good deal. He's sellin it to me for $20. Any advice?

[tombuch 0]

Buy it now.
Jump it later.

I'm guessing the jump suit has tons of material, and probably swoop cords in the arms to catch even more air. Back in the day we thought the best way to build formations was to slow everybody down, but especially slow down the biggest guys. That created some really slow and ugly jumpsuits. And some ugly formations as people tried to reach for grips. Crashes and funnels. Neat stuff.

The jumpsuit you are looking at will probably not be appropriate for contemporary skydiving, but it will be a bunch of fun to play with when you have many more jumps and can maintain stability, especially through the pull sequence.

I'd say it's a good play thing for $20.00. It will make a nice addition to your closet, and a nice conversation piece at the DZ. In a while it'll be a fun plaything too. But it will probably not be an appropraite jump suit for regular skydiving in the 2000's

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[snoochiebooches 0]

Thanks, and you're right on about your assumptions.

[Andy9o8 2]

From your last few threads, I appreciate that you're trying to economize with your first set of gear by buying older stuff a piece at a time as cheaply as possible and trying to make it all work. Nothing wrong with that; lots of people, including me, have done that, because gear can be dauntingly expensive.

But you need to be sure that you don't wind up getting gear that is so obsolete, or so incompatible either with your other gear components or your experience (like your container vs. canopy conundrum) that you wind up getting stuff that's really not appropriate. You need to approach this sensibly. Sit down with some experienced people, preferably in person, educate yourself about gear in general, understand where your abilities and needs fit in with what gear is out there, and then shop around. Internet forums like this are one resource; but in-person conversations with knowledgeable people can help you from floundering about too much.

Oh, P.S. - keeping all the various questions you have about gear in a single thread, rather than starting multiple threads, is better internet protocol, and will probably get you better results.

[snoochiebooches 0]

Thanks

[diablopilot 2]

I'll give ya $25 for it.

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

[Skydivesg 7]

Buy it but don't jump it............. yet.
It is definitely not something you want to think of as standard equipment in today's environment. But it will be cool to pull it out someday and say to your friends " I bet I can fall slower than you!!!!"

I'm almost ashamed to say "I have a couple of them."

History for only $20.00.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.