Need advice on used gear

[Net_Aviator 0]

Hi there,

I am new to this sport and in the market for a used rig. Somebody offered me this for 600 Euro/900 $:

Container: Teardrop 05/91
Main: Flight Concepts Clipper Sprint 195 "F111", 150 Jumps
Reserve: Flight Concepts Fireflite 175 DOM 05/91, 0 Jumps
AAD: Expired

The condition looks pretty good to be honest the kit was not used for years so there are not many jumps on it. What extra cost for services do I have to budget? He told me I have to send the container to the manufacturer for inspection it supposed to be done every 5 years as well as a repack for the reserve if I want a new AAD. I might need to add that I want to jump in Europe (Spain, Uk, Germany).

I know its old but at the moment I am tight on budget and would appreciate some opinions on this.

Thanks

[sundevil777 102]

To help give you appropriate feedback, it would help to know your experience (# of jumps, what you've been jumping and how you've been landing those canopies), weight, and where you jump.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[Net_Aviator 0]

The plan is to do the AFF in a couple of month and clock in as many jumps as possible in 3 weeks in spain. I know it's not a good idea to buy the rig in advance but like I said before I am tight on budget and jumping over 50 jumps in rental gear would cost me a lot. The other thing is even if I would wait until I have some jumps under my belt used beginner rigs are very difficult to find in the European market for the right price so I would end up buying something which is not perfect anyway.

[popsjumper 2]

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The plan is to do the AFF in a couple of month .

Stop right there.
You are waaaaay ahead of the game.
DO NOT BUY GEAR NOW!

You are a long way away from buying gear....for numerous reasons.

- You do 1 jump and don't like the sport
- what you use now will NOT be what you want to use later.
- Most DZs will NOT allow you to jump your own gear in training. I can't think of any that would.
- Focus on training, not gear right now.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[popsjumper 2]

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I would end up buying something which is not perfect anyway.

Only because you are so antsy to buy something...anything...even if it doesn't fit you.
BIG mistake.

Settle down...there will be good deals available to you when it's time to buy.

Being on a tight budget is even MORE reason to wait to get the right stuff.
Again, what you buy now will not be what you need in the future. We don't EVER buy for the future. We buy for Right Now.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Net_Aviator 0]

Maybe I am trying to make plans way ahead instead of going step by step. Have read a lot of threads about the first rig and basically thats what everybody says. By investing in an old rig I thought I could save on gear rental and might be smarter then the rest.

[mr2mk1g 10]

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Main: Flight Concepts Clipper Sprint 195 "F111", 150 Jumps

Irrespective of when you buy (I would agree with the above comments for what it's worth) you would not want to jump that canopy if you weighed any more than about 160lb.

It's an older design made from a material called F111. More modern canopies are made from a material referred to as ZP or "zero porosity". As a general rule, you do not want to load F111 canopies more than about 1lb per square foot of material. That's your weight plus clothes, gear, helmet etc. vs in this case a canopy of 195 square foot in size. Factor in about 30-35lb for gear and that means you're going to have to be either female or a pretty light guy to be wanting to jump that rig – 160lb or less.

That essentially goes for any level of experience so those comments are without even getting in to how much you will want to load a canopy when just off student status.

[potatoman 0]

Yup, don't waste your time. The rig is old, and the canopy too.

Do your aff, if they say you can progress to a smaller canopy, ask if they have one you can rent for the rest of your time there. Get the feel for it, and then only start to think about buying.

PS. I have been in this sport for very long, and it took me about 6months flat, to find what I really want, before I placed the order. (Moving from1 set of gear to the next)

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
Davelepka - "This isn't an x-box, or a Chevy truck forum"
Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.

[popsjumper 2]

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Maybe I am trying to make plans way ahead instead of going step by step. Have read a lot of threads about the first rig and basically thats what everybody says. By investing in an old rig I thought I could save on gear rental and might be smarter then the rest.

Yes, that is what you are doing but there may be some misunderstanding here. We recommend buying used, not old. There is a major difference...and you don't yet know what that difference is.


In reality, you could go ahead and buy now but you will probably run into problems such as....

- maybe not wanting to continue.
- the parachute you get may be too small for your skills
- ...same with the reserve.
- you don't yet know what is good gear vs what is bad.
- you may know how to best protect yourself from buying not-so-good gear.

- and more


just sayin'

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[skybytch 273]

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By investing in an old rig I thought I could save on gear rental and might be smarter then the rest.

Nope. Your student jumps will be done on student gear - which is bigger overall and set up a bit differently than what you will end up using as an experienced jumper.

If you really just gotta buy something before you even jump, buy a pair of goggles, a basic altimeter and/or a basic helmet (ProTec style). Those you may be able to jump as a student, and they are cheap enough that if you decide skydiving isn't for you after three or four jumps, you aren't sitting on a bunch of expensive gear that you will never use.

And in the case of the rig you mentioned, not only will you never use it, you likely won't be able to sell it - except maybe to some other clueless newbie.

[davelepka 4]

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By investing in an old rig I thought I could save on gear rental and might be smarter then the rest.

Gear rental is included in the cost of training, and I doubt that any DZ is going to discount the training based on you bringing your own rig.

As others have mentioned, they wouldn't let you use a personal rig for student jumps anyway. Most student rigs are set up just for student use, and are designed to be safe and easy for the instructors to work with.

You will go through the most rapid changes in euqipment through your first 20 or 25 jumps. In that time, you'll go from jumping something in the 280 sq ft range, down to something closer to 200 sq ft. This is one of the reasons to use the DZ gear, they have a variety of sizes available and you can jump their stuff as you learn how to jump.

Once you have 20 or 25 jumps, you should be in a place where you can buy a used rig that you can get a good 50 to 100 jumps on before you're ready for anything smaller.

After a couple of downsizes, the interval between downsizes will extend. You might go 200 or 300 jumps on a 150 before you jump a 135. At that time, maybe you could buy a new rig, as you'll be able to get some extended use out of it.

But really, slow your roll and just go to the DZ and take the first jump course. Forget about buying stuff, or planning ahead beyond your next jump or two. It's a long road to an A license, and you should really only worry about that journey until you're almost at the end. Get most of the way to your A license, and then revisit the gear issue then. You'll know way more about gear and yourself, and you'll be in a much better position to make a purchase.

[piisfish 140]

plus many places will be reluctant to let you jump 20+ yrs old gear

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[ChrisD 0]

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To help give you appropriate feedback, it would help to know your experience (# of jumps, what you've been jumping and how you've been landing those canopies), weight, and where you jump.

He didn't answere you???

I'll bait this by saying he is about 120 Kilo's

C

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."

[Net_Aviator 0]

Quote

Quote

To help give you appropriate feedback, it would help to know your experience (# of jumps, what you've been jumping and how you've been landing those canopies), weight, and where you jump.

He didn't answere you???

I'll bait this by saying he is about 120 Kilo's

C

That is my goal for 2014 for the moment my weight is around 80 kg depends on the snack I had the night before.

Thank you all for the valuable information though you saved me from looking like an idiot showing up for my first jump with a 20 year old rig. I was thinking that after the first 8 jumps if pass them that I can go with my own rig.