Need jump suit advice

[Tyjer 0]

Hey all ~waves :)

Just got my A license and shopping for a jump suit. (amongst many other things)

My interests will likely be both RW/formation as well as freeflying. So I'm looking for advice on a good multipurpose suit. I'm 6'0", 200 lb. and have been told I fall fast.

I had heard that to help slow down my descent, a Bev polycotton suit would go over well. However, that suit has a kind of wing design. Will that negatively impact my exploration of freeflying?
Exactly what are swoop cords? (It's an off day, so I don't want to bug my rigger:P )
And, how does a freefly suit with grips w/out booties work as far as a multifunction suit? Would it help slow my fall at all?

Full of random questions, I apologize. Just a little bit excited about getting my gear together. hehe.. To say the least :-P

Thanks in advance.

~T

[pilotdave 0]

Trying to use one suit for both will only hold you back. Get a proper fitting RW suit with booties first. Worry about a freefly suit later, if you decide you need one.

Dave

[michalm21 2]

What Dave said. Pick a suit for specific thing and you will be better off. I know it makes you spend more money in the end but it will help you out significantly.
(said a guy who owns 4 suits (slow belly, fast 4way belly, fflying, wingsuit) and looking for a camera suit)



*ghhh spelling

[VideoFly 0]

Dave is right. If finances are a problem, watch the classifieds and get a couple of used suits. Use the right tool for the job.

[BUBLHED 0]

What they said, I am 245lbs out the door so for me you need to speed up :)

Swoop cords attach inside the suit at about the waist and connect to your hands. when you extend your arms out they tighten and create tension on the wing area of the suit and help to slow you down. They also make flying more of a challenge. (at least to me) as I fly MUCH better without them. I got some tunel time in recently in orlando with Mike coaching and was able to really slow my fall rate. He is I would guess 180 and within a very short time I was able to match him.

As a big guy I would suggest that you might spend alittle time in the tunnel on fall rate before spending alot of money on a suit. At 200 lbs I think that you shouldn't have too much trouble slowing down without going with big wings and swoopcords.

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[LaRusic 0]

+1

I got a really nice hybrid suit from go crazy, great suit, helped me contol my levels better but because it didnt have booties, it held me back a bit in rw, and the grippers on it didnt really make it freefly friendly. Right now im sending the suit back to have booties installed to make it a purely rw suit and will be getting a nice freefly suit to match for when i start learning to freefly. a one suit does all is a nice idea but doesnt fly (excuse the pun) too well in practice as all the experienced people have mentioned

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[Tyjer 0]

Wow! Thank you for the advice:)

Alright, then it looks like I'll be rethinking things.
I had intended to focus more on RW/belly down starting out, so I guess then I'll need to look for such a suit.

Finances are an issue, so I do intend to shop smart (hopefully) from the begining. Used would be nice, but being picky, and intending to jump for years to come, I'm okay with forking out the money on a new suit ....IF.... I can make sure I get the best setup from the start.

That being said...
What says the collective wisdom so far as.

Polycotton Bev suit (for RW) -help slow my fall rate. I'm 200, but closer to 230/235 out the door with gear. And I have a pretty strong arch.

Swoop cords sound interesting. How much influence do they have on normal RW? Can they be used in tracking? or not so much, due to the forward arm position?

So for RW, booties are the way to go.. I'll shop for that to start then.

Any other suggestions? Should I aim for a loose fitting jumpsuit for extra drag? Any other material or design suggestions for a purely RW suit? Or brands that are best quality/bang for buck?

Thanks again for the advice! :)

~T

[BUBLHED 0]

Swoop cords sound interesting. How much influence do they have on normal RW? Can they be used in tracking? or not so much, due to the forward arm position?


Swoop cords really only come into play with a forward arm position. In my opinion they make it harder to fly correctly. If you reach alittle bit to far for a dock then the cord tightens and you backslide or pop up more than w/o them. They decrease your range with your arms. It really just takes getting used too. You will have more of a differance in your aerodynamics when changing your arm position relative to not having them. I always have loved no suit jumps with the bigger jumpers as I was able to move more freely and feel what my body was doing better w/o them. You will also have to get a little more leg into the air to not backslide with the cords tight.

Yes baggy would be good as it will create more drag and help you slow down.


Edited to add I spent alot of time adjusting my swoop cords for the most benefit versus freedom of movement. You can tighten or losen them for your comfort. tightness of the cords will determine at what point of arm stretch they start to take effect. Just be sure you can reach your risers and toggles on opening. In case you need a quick evasive manuever in the first few seconds. I looped mine around my thumb so I could easily release them under canopy.

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[pilotdave 0]

Talk to your instructors about jumpsuit options and what would be suitable for you. They know how fast you fall and what options might work best for you. I wouldn't personally recommend swoop cords unless your instructors say you really need them. They basically turn the material in your armpits into wings. Stretching one arm out (like when reaching for a grip or presenting an arm for someone else to grip) can send you out of control until you learn how to counter it. You don't sound unusually heavy, but it depends on your height and build. Chances are you can slow your fallrate with booties, inside knee grips, and fabric choices. And most importantly, you'll learn technique to control your fallrate better. I know some people that fell like rocks when they got licensed and no longer had any fallrate problems after 100 jumps.

Dave

[LaRusic 0]

that was me, im 190 and fell like a rock, with some good coaching im becoming able to control my levels a lot better to fly with those lighter then me....even floated once haha

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[keithbar 1]

Quote

What they said, I am 245lbs out the door so for me you need to speed up :)

light weight one more week till I'm blowing up clewiston

i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .

[Tyjer 0]

Okay, so I've narrowed it down to likely skip swoop cords.

I like the suggested idea of inside grips (never have too many grips right? hehe) to help with slow down.

However, what materials would be the suggestion as far as increasing drag (while maintaining longevity of the suit)

And lastly, when I take measurements to place the final order...how do I achieve a 'looser' fit without being too loose? Do I just ask the manufacturer for that type of fit and they adjust to my core measurements? Or will I need to specify a looser measurement to begin with?
~I just in Texas..so hot to very hot summers to cool to cold winters. So I need to keep my suit open to wearing more or less clothes under, depending.

So helpful.. I love you guys:) hehe
still feeling sappy post A license grad. ~laughs

~T

[JohnDeere 0]

Get with Luara (rigger/packer) at SDD and she can help you out with options. She also runs the gear store and can help you measure and order it.

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[Tyjer 0]

Oh yes, Awesome is the next best thing to her. :) I'm just trying to avoid bugging her while she's recovering from surgery. You can count on any choices I make going through her before I put any money down though:)

[JohnDeere 0]

Dont worry you can bug her..... Tell her i said so! Then talk to Jonny (DZM/Rigger) I sure he wouldnt mind helping you out at all. Not like DZM's do anything anyway.
Or depending on what day you are up there ask some of the RW guys. When you get more jumps come talk to me or let me know and you can borrow one of my FF suits to try out.

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[LaRusic 0]

polycotton is a nice slow-me-down material, i would think you would wanna stay away from nylon at the moment
When i was filling out the form for my suit, decreased fall rate was one of the ticks in the box. im sure if its not there you can mention it on the comments part of the order form or let the company who is making the suit know....im sure its not the first time someone has wanted a decresed fall rate

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[Faicon9493 141]

I am strictly a belly flyer and I am definately not the skinny jumper that I was back in 1980. When I needed a new suit, I ordered a Bev Comp Suit with spandex forearms but I also added a small wing, swoop cords, and forearm sleeves. As it turns out, I get by fine with the forearm sleeves (and sometimes without) and don't use the swoop cords. Since falling fast is no longer a problem, it's nice having the sleeves and swoop cords to expand my fall rate range when necessary (for those skinny folks).

[BUBLHED 0]

"light weight one more week till I'm blowing up clewiston "



Damn I wish I could go !!!! Next year it's you and me setting the pace. As you say ARCH BITCHES!!!!

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[eightate8at8 0]

I'm newer to the sport and reading over this post I'm just kind of confused, I didn't know such small things can change for what type of diving you want to do? How do grips affect that much? And same with booties? (Booties are what you pull over your toes, right?)

[LloydDobbler 2]

Tyler, I'd actually give you the opposite advice as to what most people here are saying.

I started out with an RW suit, which was fine...except it didn't allow me to do anything else but RW for a long while. In fact, I only just recently got myself a freefly suit.

This wasn't a problem, given that I started jumping in a warm climate and could pretty much go out in street clothes when I wanted to freefly - but it hindered my freeflying abilities a good bit. Luckily I started doing some 4-way FS, which put my suit to good use. But still.

Like others say, you'll get the best performance if you have a FF suit for freeflying, and an RW suit for Relative Work/Belly. But if the budget is really tight (and usually it is when you're just off student status), it's a lot easier to fly on your belly in a FF suit than it is to freefly in a bootie suit.

You likely won't be cranking out points like Airspeed on your belly, but you'll still be able to fly it.

Again, none are ideal situations, except for having 1 of each kind of suit. But if I had to do it differently, I'd likely have grabbed a freefly suit first, so I could more easily explore different types of flying.

Good luck in your gear search!

KC

Signatures are the new black.

[DSE 5]

Quote

it's a lot easier to fly on your belly in a FF suit than it is to freefly in a bootie suit.

Somewhere, I've got video of a guy that bought a bootie suit he was ever so proud of, just as he got off student status. After all, the cool pix in the magazines all have people wearing booties, right?
Not only could he not fly booties on his belly well, but asked if I'd shoot his "first freefly jump." In spite of suggestions, he wore his bootie suit to sitfly.

it's a fun vid.

[JohnDeere 0]

Oh please post! I need a goog laugh

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[BUBLHED 0]

(Booties are what you pull over your toes, right?)




Yes. Just remember anything that creates additional wind resistance can either help slow you down (wings. swoop cords,grippers Inside and out.) booties are more for increasing the power of your lower legs.(flying into formation, rw work) As with anything else everything has a price, wings are harder to fly, add swoop cords even harder. I think someone starting out should keep it basic with a good basic suit built for your fallrate requirements. After you learn to fly your body then start adding things as you need them. I Started with HUGE wings and swoop cords but as I progressed the cords got trashed and then I had the suit altered to remove about half of the wing size. and as I said earlier now I can flatten my body and fly with most average people without all the extras. I believe I would have progressed much faster without having the wings and cords in the first place.

Other people may disagree but that's how I feel. it was very frustrating for me learning to control my fallrate (slowing down that is, faster NO PROBLEM) just my 2 cents and in todays market it's only worth 1 cent.

ATTACK LIFE ! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU ANYWAY!!!!

[virgin-burner 1]

Quote

Tyler, I'd actually give you the opposite advice as to what most people here are saying.

I started out with an RW suit, which was fine...except it didn't allow me to do anything else but RW for a long while. In fact, I only just recently got myself a freefly suit.

This wasn't a problem, given that I started jumping in a warm climate and could pretty much go out in street clothes when I wanted to freefly - but it hindered my freeflying abilities a good bit. Luckily I started doing some 4-way FS, which put my suit to good use. But still.

Like others say, you'll get the best performance if you have a FF suit for freeflying, and an RW suit for Relative Work/Belly. But if the budget is really tight (and usually it is when you're just off student status), it's a lot easier to fly on your belly in a FF suit than it is to freefly in a bootie suit.

You likely won't be cranking out points like Airspeed on your belly, but you'll still be able to fly it.

Again, none are ideal situations, except for having 1 of each kind of suit. But if I had to do it differently, I'd likely have grabbed a freefly suit first, so I could more easily explore different types of flying.

Good luck in your gear search!

KC

+1

besides the point, every guy that's serious about skydiving wont stay on his belly anyway. except for wingsuiting maybe.. oh, and at pull-time of course!

and those sausages just dont look so cool like an ff-suit! and that's what skydiving's about, right!?

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

I had intended to focus more on RW/belly down starting out, so I guess then I'll need to look for such a suit.

That being said...
What says the collective wisdom so far as.......

At this point, you might do a search in the RW forums for additional advice on jumpsuit features. Riggers are skydivers, but the rating give no training on how to fly.

There are a few threads about the right features and the RW forum tends to focus on those and not just become a big place for people to push their BRAND of suit. You want to design a suit with whatever manufacturer you choose, not just have someone point you to their subjectively favorite suit builder.

The FF forum discussions on FF suits is worse, they ONLY talk about the brand and not about the suit features needed for performance - but also good tidbits from those that can restrain themselves from the advertising.

Do the search. You'll get a lot of good info.

short answer for a big guy -

get a custom fit, it's worth it
full sized booties - no zippers
full gripper set -
polycotton (most don't offer it any more, so supplex and not the other nylon at least)
comfy fit, not tight, but not flapping
regular sleeves, not spandex
maybe a set of sleeve covers

Best to add drag with features that improve your performance (booties and grippers) - just a loose fit makes flapping material - that just knocks you around

take a tunnel camp and learn to slow down with your body and be comfy about it

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants