newbie needing help

[Twerky 0]

ok so im in need of my first rig and would like some assistance in deciding on cont, main and res. i think i should go with 170 but which company and model same with cont and res. could anyone help??

oh yeah RSL or Skyhook?

[samhussey 0]

I think most people are going to say that you should ask your instructor, and then look at the relevant safety articles on this site in the meantime. Skyhooks only come on Vectors (as far as I know, could be wrong), so that should help you narrow down your container choice...

[WatchYourStep 0]

Well to get anyone to give you a good answer they'll need some infor; weight, jump #s etc.

With that being said the best place to get some information from is your instructor. They know your flying capabilities better than any of us here.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[Twerky 0]

200lbs
6'2"
8 jumps

[mr2mk1g 10]

If your 200lb is naked weight you'll be looking at something in the region of at least a 230 sq foot canopy as a good first canopy. If the 200lb is your geared up weight then at the very least a 190 or more likely a 210.

Your instructor will be able to give you more precise and accurate advice and obviously overrides anything you hear on the web.

[rasmack 0]

Sounds mighty early to shell out that kind of money at 8 jumps. I'd wait another 30-50 jumps if I were you, unless of course you have an insanely lively second-hand market where you live.

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[Peej 0]

Quote

200lbs
6'2"
8 jumps

Dude, thinking about laying out all that cash on gear at 8 jumps is, imo, a very silly idea. Buy all your peripheral gear first: helmet, goggles, alti, audible, etc. Wait till you have about 50 jumps, that way you'll have downsized off of the bigger canopies and will be in a position to buy something that will last you at least 200 or 300 jumps.

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[skybytch 273]

Check out the articles here. This one may help answer some of your questions.

At 200 pounds body weight, a 170 would not be a good choice for your first main.

[BunkerBuster 0]

I may not have room to talk because of my jump number, but here is where i stand on the topic at hand. I only have nine jumps, but I have already purchased a rig that will get me buy a couple hundred jumps. I dont mind staying with a big canopy untill I am ready to downsize, which souldn't be after fifty jumps anyway. Some people may take longer to downsize or may not want to. If you wait until you have 30-50 jumps you have already spent. $750-$1300 extra depending on how much your gear rental is.That is money that could go towards a used gear purchase, but its gone now. So I would suggest getting your own rig asap. There is alot of used gear that has a decent resale value, so you wont loose the $750-$1300 that you would renting gear. It just makes sense to cut back on startup cost by not renting gear that long.

[GravityGirl 0]

Rasmack,

Some of the smaller drop zones don't have rental gear, or don't have poor rental gear. So it is not unheard of to buy right after graduation.

THere are loads of options. First determine what would work for you. Then look at both the used and new gear market to see what is available and fits your budget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[flyinghonu 0]

IMHO: get used equipment, talk to your instructors about size and skyhook vs. RSL, and get ready to shell out a lot more $$$ because if you are buying this early, most likely you will at some point downsize and will need to buy another canopy and possibly another container (if the first one you buy is too large for canopies you downsize into).

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky..." - Jimi Hendrix