patworks 5 #1 November 30, 2012 1974 ? Jumpsuit Grippers Today all FS jumpsuits sport “grippers” off-the-shelf. Repeated failures led to corrective action. When building round star formations, grips are were the weak link. Big rounds required big hands and strong grips. Men and women with small hands just couldn’t hang on. So, for record attempts, we dispatched runners to the hardware store for 1” rubber hose. Tacked to your sleeve, the hose permitted a stronger and more flexible grip than wrist-grips allowed. Voila! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #2 November 30, 2012 I've got smaller hands. I had the best luck grabbing a handful of material rather than a wrist. It seemed like everyone had belled jump suit for a while. It also helped to keep a little bend in your elbow to obsorb some of the tension on a bigger star. I wonder if most younger jumpers even know what a star is....I haven't heard that term in a long time. Jerry Bird's All Stars are one team I'll never forget. I miss those days. All you had to remember was to look for something round and get in. Everything else was muscle memory.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 37 #3 November 30, 2012 i once tried to dock on a balloon suit. Like trying to palm a basket ball. No grippers. I finally pinched the binding tape at the cuff between two fingers. Only thing I could get a hold of.Didn't know grippers went back this far. My first custom jump suit in 1982 didn't have them. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PROGRESSIVE 0 #4 November 30, 2012 Is that a Green Star death rig with the breakaway reserve risers in that photo? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoobrothertom 5 #5 November 30, 2012 On my first custom flite-suit in '84, grippers were an upgrade only for the knee/calf area in kind of an S-curve. I think you could get arm grips, but suits were easy enough to grab by then if you couldn't get a wrist. ____________________________________ I'm back in the USA!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CarpeDiem3 0 #6 December 1, 2012 QuoteIs that a Green Star death rig with the breakaway reserve risers in that photo? Looks like a Crossbow to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,362 #7 December 1, 2012 Hi Carpe, QuoteLooks like a Crossbow to me. Definitely not a Crossbow; the reserve end flaps do not come around the top & bottom flaps enough. I'm thinking Strong StarMaster where he put the StyleMaster chest container on the back. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
