skinny skydiver first jumpsuit?

[Dries 0]

I started skydiving 2 months ago. I have 30 jumps at the moment (mostly solo's, but some 2, 3 and 4 ways too)
I'm looking for a jumpsuit, with booties and grips to do some RW. (I hate the stinky jumpsuits that I borrow on my DZ)
But I am very skinny: 5' 9" and 121 pounds (without rig of course!) On my 3 4-ways I did so far, I was jumping with quiet heavy jumpers (about 180 - 190 pounds). I was wearing a leadvest (about 5kg I think) and I was able to keep up with them, though I had to do A LOT of effort: mantis and extreme arching, glad I'm very agile with my back...

So a jumpsuit for me needs to be very tight, so my fall rate is higher.

Will only a tight jumpsuit make me to fall a lot faster, so less effort is needed, or will I always need to wear a leadvest?

I'm very new to jumpsuits and their materials. Does anyone know which fabric it should be? Spandex, nylon...?

Also, I'm still a student, so I don't want it to be VERY expensive

Thanks in advance

[riggerrob 643]

Start by buying a jump-suit with slick, shiny fabric on the front and lots of stretchy Spandex on the back.
With the right jump-suit and more stretching exercises, you should eventually progress to jumping without extra lead weights in a vest.
If the other jumpers - at your DZ - are too fat ... er ... really fall too fast, you may be forced to salvage their pride by wearing weights for-ever, but look into weights sewn into belts, main containers, reserve containers, back-pads, even mud-flaps, because weights can also be used to adjust your balance.

Weight vests are fat boys' revenge!
Hah!
Hah!

[MikeJD 0]

I'm fairly skinny too (5'11", 154lbs). I resisted wearing weight for many years - just because of the extra effort involved and because, like you, I have a bendy back - but now I routinely wear 8lbs in freefall and 16lbs in the wind tunnel, and I feel much better for it (although it's always a pleasure to take it off again!)

The trouble is that although you might be able to stay down without lead, chances are you'll be at the upper limit of your speed range and in an uncomfortable position that won't let you fly well. If you have everything pulled in to keep your speed up, you're going to have a real challenge every time you have to change your position - even reaching for grips without popping up can become difficult.

In the past I have seen both suits that were made entirely of spandex and those made of the slick material that Rob mentions - but I don't see many slick, or even really tight, suits any more - most people just seem to pile on the lead if they want to go faster. Maybe you need a combination of both.

You mention a 'leadvest', which seems kind of old fashioned. Typically these days lead is worn in a belt around the midriff, and you might find that works better for you. You may even find you can get away with less of it.

One downside of wearing extra weight (as opposed to a close-fitting suit) is that of course it increases the wing loading on your canopy - in your case by a big factor, given your normal weight. So keep an eye on that when choosing canopies.

[Dries 0]

Thanks a lot guys for the answers, really appreciate that! Things are made more clear now!
I'm still a student, I try to keep this hobby as cheap as possible. I found a company called "Intrudair" (hungarian).
Their RW jumpsuits look good and the price is quiet cheap (standard price 200 euro's) with booties and other extra's, and shipment it would cost me 280 euro's, which cheap I think!
Has anyone had any experiences with these Intrudair suits? I heard their suits were developed by a hungarian RW team, so it has to be pretty professional I guess?
[url]http://intrudair.hu/skydivesuit_rw.html