how many jumps till you bought a

[nerd137 0]

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i was wondering how many jumps you people had before you got your first rig?

120

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staring hopelessly at my wallet and crying.

Put it on a credit card. Sheesh.

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personally i am looking at an infinity or a dolphin

Dolphin? Bleh! That's like choosing between a BMW and a Pontiac Aztek.

[210_zoom 0]

You have to pace yourself. I bought my gear all new, but i bought the AAD, reserve, and Dolphin first. I liked that because it was sized to me exactly, plus it took 2/3 weeks to my door. I am a rigger and packed a bunch of these and thought if i am going to be packing these i want the dolphin, its simple in design and FF friendly. Plus i was on the budget so i bought the Vigil II also. I have put 2 years on the rig and 300 + jumps and it looks pretty new still. You just have to treat your gear nice and there will be no issue.

I then demoed the heck out of some canopies before i bought my current main, Pilot 168. I bought it @ jump number 88. I think i bought the gear around 45 ish, because i was still demoing / downsizing.

[denete 3]

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but i was wondering how many jumps you people had before you got your first rig?

20

SCR #14809

"our attitude is the thing most capable of keeping us safe"
(look, grab, look, grab, peel, punch, punch, arch)

[NealFitz 0]

got my first rig around 45 jumps- an old teardrop with a 200 maverick reserve and an Electra 170 for £700. bought the Vigil2 brand new. then i bought a mirage g3 at around 100 jumps with a 176PDR for £900 and kept the Electra and Vigil

Dudeist Skydiver #170
You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again

[skydiverbry 0]

32 umps till I owned my first rig!!

Bry

--------------------------------------------------
Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[Jcoff89 0]

i bought a brand new odyssey/cypres2/pd canopies when i was still 16 years old before i had ever jumped. 2 years later i started using it in aff. true story.


actually no i lied. that never happened. i ordered new gear at about 80-90 jumps though.

http://www.turboskydiving.com

[smurfmws 0]

I had about 17 jumps and then dropped about 2K on a Mirage G4 then after about 20 jumps i spent about 2K more on a cypres in new main. This sport if fucking draining my bank account

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

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i bought a brand new odyssey/cypres2/pd canopies when i was still 16 years old before i had ever jumped. 2 years later i started using it in aff. true story.


actually no i lied. that never happened. i ordered new gear at about 80-90 jumps though.

i swear if i become the awesome rich person i hope to become...im doing this if my kid shows ANY interest in this sport lol.

so when he's broke and in my position and wants the mirage g46 he can look at the rig he already has and decide if that new toy is worth it

[fasted3 0]

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but i was wondering how many jumps you people had before you got your first rig?

26

But what do I know?

[SKYgoonie 0]

still havent... works out on some DZ and makes it difficult on others.

i only pretend to know what im doing
D.S.#619

[mikey348 0]

I believe I picked up a Racer/Astrobe 215/26' lopo for about $1300 at about jump number 16 or so. Wanted a square reserve so I sold the complete rig at jump number 45 and paid $2200 for a Javelin J1/Sabre 135/MR 150. Still have it today. Don't focus on new. Just get in the air on your own gear.

"Admit nothing, deny everything, and demand proof"

[dan7the1man1 0]

i had 47 jumps when i got my first rig. it was a demo rig the year before so i got a good deal on it and had already jumped it a few times with a different main.

[degeneration 5]

About jump 30 I got a 2nd hand Dolphin with reserve and PD190 main. Bought an almost new Vigil to go with it. Put about 70 jumps on it (downsizing to a PD170 in the process).

About jump 100 got my first brand new kit - Wings Vision with a Pilot 150 main. about 115 jumps on it now and will be sticking with it for a while I think.

Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic).

[adobelover 0]

Lucky #13 was the first jump on my own gear!

_________________________________________


Old age ain't no place for sissies!

[airtwardo 7]

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I bought my first when I had 7 jumps (SL program). It had a 27' Russian PC and a 24' flat non steerable reserve. Novices weren't allowed to jump a square till they had 50 jumps. I paid $300 for it and got $200 trade-in when I bought a heavyweight Cloud in a Wonderhog and put the reserve in it.

I think I had 4 or 5...same story, S/L progression.

There was a guy getting out of the sport and made me a good deal.

Bought it even though I couldn't jump it for another couple traing jumps.

Conventional gear, PC & 24' flat...altimaster 1, helmet, hook knife, gloves and goggles for 3 bills.

I still have it all.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[cloudtramp 0]

STAY AWAY FROM THE DOLPHIN !!!!

They are CRAP.

If it means waiting a bit longer then so be it. at least you won't be stuck jumping a dolphin.

(I had to say it since no one else did)

me - 150 jumps or so until I had my own gear. But i was a 18yr old DZ rat livin in a tent and editing vids. Somehow was always able to find something to jump in that time. MAN it was nice to eventually get that Brand-New Mirage in the mail. :-) I remember looking at my wallet and crying too. lol


I almost think that waiting a bit longer is better because that first rig of mine I was jumping for at least the next 4500 jumps (with new mains here and there of course) If I had spent money on a rig at 30 jumps I would have been looking for another one within a couple hundred.

it'll come...

[Dougiefresh 0]

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STAY AWAY FROM THE DOLPHIN !!!!

They are CRAP.

If it means waiting a bit longer then so be it. at least you won't be stuck jumping a dolphin.

(I had to say it since no one else did)

me - 150 jumps or so until I had my own gear. But i was a 18yr old DZ rat livin in a tent and editing vids. Somehow was always able to find something to jump in that time. MAN it was nice to eventually get that Brand-New Mirage in the mail. :-) I remember looking at my wallet and crying too. lol


I almost think that waiting a bit longer is better because that first rig of mine I was jumping for at least the next 4500 jumps (with new mains here and there of course) If I had spent money on a rig at 30 jumps I would have been looking for another one within a couple hundred.

it'll come...

This is what I wanted to say. Did say it, but edited my post to be more diplomatic.

Dolphins suck. Seriously. Get modern gear, fer chrissakes.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[JumpsOffCliffs 0]

haha the only reason i thought dolphin is because it may be ugly...but its SSSOOOOOOO cheap

[keithbar 1]

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and is 6' 3" 155pound strangely tall?

no but it's oddly thin

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 .

[fcajump 164]

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So i have spent a least an hour for the past couple days oogling everyone's for sale rigs...then staring hopelessly at my wallet and crying.

but i was wondering how many jumps you people had before you got your first rig?

personally i am looking at an infinity or a dolphin, for my first rig, but once i get some scratch whatever i can afford and fit is fair game haha.

New around jump 20.
Credit card.
Paid that puppy off in 10 easy years (don't ask what the total payments were... don't know, don't wanna know...) Gotta jump, gotta trust my gear...

PS - still jump the rig/reserve 19 years later, on its second Cypres and 3rd main.

JW

Always remember that some clouds are harder than others...

[Sletzer 3]

@ 80

I paid out the wazoo for gear rental, but it allowed me to know what the appropriate size and type canopy I should get, instead of just guessing. I'm going to be with my current one for a long time. As far as rigs? Just don't get the one that looks like a vagina

I will be kissing hands and shaking babies all afternoon. Thanks for all your support! *bows*

SCS #8251

[captain1976 0]

WHATS WRONG WITH THE DOLPHIN??. I love mine. Just because its cheaper doesn't mean its a bad rig. Its comfortable and seems to hold up well. I did a crash & burn on a taxiway a couple of months ago while avoiding a possible canopy collision. I tore up the container and sent it to the maker "Mike Furry". The whole repair job was $60 and it took a day.
I'm buying a 2nd rig and going to order another dolphin.

You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

[roostnureye 2]

JUMP 25, but i had the rig at jump 15, wasnt allowed to jump it because no AAD/RSL.

and dolphins do suck, thats the reason i bought a wings before i was even off student status. jump something better and tell me you still like it.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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STAY AWAY FROM THE DOLPHIN !!!!

It's as good as a Javelin, just not as pretty. Both rigs were deisgned by Mike Furry. Both have issues with non-belly to earth orientations in older configurations (you wouldn't want to sit fly with an ROL pilot chute pouch equipped javelin).

[masterrig 1]

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STAY AWAY FROM THE DOLPHIN !!!!

It's as good as a Javelin, just not as pretty. Both rigs were deisgned by Mike Furry. Both have issues with non-belly to earth orientations in older configurations (you wouldn't want to sit fly with an ROL pilot chute pouch equipped javelin).

I agree with you about the Dolphin. They are good, reliable harness-containers with excellent customer service. Like you said, they aren't pretty but, the workmanship is spot-on. I have no idea how many Dolphins I sold, inspected, assembled and packed and never heard a complaint. I've jumped them and found them quite comfortable.


Chuck