Shoes and equipment for softer landing

[nikaru 1]

Hi there, several weeks ago I broke my fibula (just below the knee joint) on landing. Long story short, with a wing load of 0.74 and decent Navigator 240 (you can start laughing) above my head something strange happen the moment I touched the ground (late flare or twisted the leg in some way, I'm still not really sure how I managed to brake a leg with such a huge canopy). The doctor said I wont be able to jump for 6-8 months and I will need rehabilitation during several months.

That said, I'm searching the Internet for protective gear that could potentially absorb some part of the force when touching the ground and make the landing softer and more forgiving.

I did not found any paragliding or skydiving shoes or other suitable equipment. There is only tunnel specific accessories such as the G-Form, but they seems to be unsuitable for my purpose (except if I land on my knees). Maybe there are some nice BASE gear that could give me a softer first touch with the ground? What I'm looking for is support for both my ankle and my knees (that is both places where the fibula is connected) together with suitable shoes for this kind of activity or similar.

Thanks!

[skytribe 17]

Proper landing technique works best.

[nikaru 1]

I completely agree and I would definitely pass through some coaching with my instructor for this particular part of the jump. However, I also look for additional measures until I gain enough confidence.

[mjosparky 4]

Skytribe is right. Nothing is going to protect from poor technique. Take it from someone who broke both ankles one a landing.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[Anachronist 2]

I found myself in a similar situation, jump 96 on a Nav 220, got in a little bit of a rotor and didn't PLF, exploded my ankle. Anyway, been several years and several hundred jumps since. Don't sweat it.

The best supports are strong muscles, work out hard, and having less weight on them helps to (i.e. lose weight if you can).

Shoes and ankle braces help prevent tiny crap like twisting your ankle, if the force is great enough to snap bone, a little bit of leather and rubber aren't going to do anything. Put your faith in landing and PLFing well, not protective gear.

[sammielu 3]

Learn to PLF is the short answer. PLFs save skydivers from injuries. Conveniently, the ready yo land/ready to PLF position is also a position where you can take a step or two when you have a soft landing with proper flare technique.

To get there: explain the following to your doctor and wait until you are medically cleared to jump and you've discussed risks of landing errors and banging things around. If you have rods in your body, they won't give/bend like the soft tissue and there can be risks of worse damage.

Once you're ok to start practicing, get with an instructor to coach you on PLF technique. Practice a lot. Practice until you are comfortable PLFing in each direction from 3-4' off the ground, until you can do it without injury and without hurting yourself. Practice until the practice doesent hurt snd you've toughened yourself up enough that you know you will PLF correctly and avoid injury the next time you try to battle physics on landing. Physics will always win and all aspects of skydiving take lots of practice to learn... you will screw up landings again. A lot. We all do over time. So practice PLFs all over the place to avoid injury, listen to your instructors, and take it slow.

RE: braces, etc. They can immobilize ankles and wrists, both of which you need to be able to fly. They might save you a sprained ankle. They will not absorb enough force to prevent breaking bones if there is an impact.

[pchapman 279]

I think skydivers in general don't know a lot about shock absorbing, protective footwear, and thus are poorly placed to recommend it.

Ankle support braces do exist but weren't exactly what you were looking for. Boots of various types provide support too but may be too heavy for other skydivers to want to be around you if doing any sort of formation.

Some shock absorption is handy -- if I'm doing something where I may have harder landings, I'll notice that running shoes with a good thick absorbing sole are much easier on my feet than shoes that are thin and barely cushioned.

There were jumper boots in the 1960's with very thick soft soles but they don't exist now as nobody really needs them.

But others are right: It comes down to landing technique. An inch of the best shock absorbing sole is nothing compared to a foot or more of leg bending, such as when as one starts a PLF.

For a given speed of impact, physics dictates that only thing that can reduce G-loading beyond a certain point is increasing the available deceleration distance.... And different shoes can't effectively do that.

[Phil1111 1,149]

http://www.whitehouse-clinic.co.uk/article/recovery-speed-up

Do some personal research because the limits of rehab can be amended to suit the patient.

[skytribe 17]

Don't go wasting money/time looking shoes/equipment that don't solve the problem when that money is better spent on training to the original problem. There is no simple shoes/braces that are going to make for a softer landing.

After coaching has been received, have the coach video your landings and give a thorough debrief on landing technique. That way you can see any mistakes from another viewpoint. We all make mistakes and that's part of the natural learning technique.

[RichyR 0]

You could easily just slide it in on your ass every time. I know a few guys with no legs that do this. I also know someone with 1000+ jumps who competes in a top AAA national team who does it in nil winds.

Of course learning to flare is the other way!

[hillson 0]

RichyR

You could easily just slide it in on your ass every time. I know a few guys with no legs that do this. I also know someone with 1000+ jumps who competes in a top AAA national team who does it in nil winds.

Of course learning to flare is the other way!

And im sure a bunch of us know many folks that have snapped bones and broken ankles with this approach. One misplaced divot or tuft...*snap*. This person has legs. WTF

Learn to land properly. Make sure that you know how to PLF. just slide...Jesus Christ.

[skytribe 17]

Tandems do it almost all the time, ever tried running with someone strapped to the front of you.

[hillson 0]

Yeah well they have more than 40 jumps...distance and speed runs get pretty slidey too etc etc. lol

[JohnMitchell 16]

PLF training, until it becomes reflex. Good luck.

[Bealio 0]

I have a pair of Crispi Airborne GTX Boots that I used to wear before I was a skygod. They are pretty expensive and heavy, but have excellent ankle support and don't have hooks that could be a snag hazard.

[keleetz 0]

Sliding in was what caused my torn ACL and fractured tibia. One tiny high spot grabbed my foot as I was sliding and snap! I do wear an ACL brace when I jump, and have taken a few canopy courses to help me learn to land better. And I am a big PLF'er! I would rather have a dirty jumpsuit/rig than a broken bone (or worse).

[mjosparky 4]

Bealio

I have a pair of Crispi Airborne GTX Boots that I used to wear before I was a skygod. They are pretty expensive and heavy, but have excellent ankle support and don't have hooks that could be a snag hazard.

I used to wear these on demos. Great support and cushioning.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[DJL 235]

RichyR

You could easily just slide it in on your ass every time. I know a few guys with no legs that do this. I also know someone with 1000+ jumps who competes in a top AAA national team who does it in nil winds.

Of course learning to flare is the other way!

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

There are reasons for sliding in but they don't pertain to AFF students. A sliding landing done wrong puts 100% of the impact directly into your spine. I know people who still can't sit without pain because they followed this advice and broke their coxis bone. Another has a torn shoulder because the next thing to hit in the inevitable tumble was her shoulder.

AFF students need to learn how to PLF and learn how to properly land a canopy. There is no other answer to this question regardless of the 1 in a 100 scenario you could give.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[skytribe 17]

I think the one true answer is to spend time learning to land correctly period.

PLF is something that can help in early jumping if you are not able to execute a correct landing. Great skill to have but not something I tend to use regularly.

Boots, braces etc. Are all avoiding the problem on bad or incorrect technique. Address the real issue rather than looking for short term fixes.

If you have genuine concerns then address them to instructors at you dz who know you and have an idea of your abilities and problems rather than a group of well meaning anonymous individuals who don't know anything about your jumping abilities.

[DJL 235]

Quote

Boots, braces etc. Are all avoiding the problem on bad or incorrect technique. Address the real issue rather than looking for short term fixes.

Amen, brother. I stress learning to properly PLF because we don't know who will have a shitty landing until they have one.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Phil1111 1,149]

DJL

Quote

Boots, braces etc. Are all avoiding the problem on bad or incorrect technique. Address the real issue rather than looking for short term fixes.

Amen, brother. I stress learning to properly PLF because we don't know who will have a shitty landing until they have one.

Or having a reserve ride into a tight spot, getting cut off on short final and having to do a sharp turn, etc. etc. A PLF is a get out of hospital trick that can come in handy in lots of last second oh sh** situations.

[trevA 0]

Following on from the other posts about landing technique, Brian Germain has a whole bunch of videos that you could watch while recovering. Its no substitute from being debriefed on your own jumps but they're pretty extensive.

[FlyLikeARaven 0]

Coccyx, but yea (and holy shit that word is hard to spell). PLF PLF PLF. I was a shit canopy pilot up until a couple of months ago and finally got my timing right. PLF is what saved me from getting broken on some terrible high flares in no wind. If you can't PLF, go to a judo gym once or twice and have the instructor teach you how to fall. Pretty sure my background in martial arts is what gave me the ability to eat shit and hop right back up again.

I'm still working on my canopy skills, and I'm getting better. But this winter had me eating it quite a bit.

Edit: coxis is Spanish for coccyx. My bad! Thanks for teaching me a new word!

I'm not a lady, I'm a skydiver.

[nikaru 1]

Thank you very much for your comments.

I'm aware that the lack of good landing technique is my main problem and there is no gear that could potentially help me in this regard. I will for sure practice PLF extensively and repeatedly until I get it the necessary muscle memory.

However, what I was looking for is some form of orthopedic solution for my knee to reduce the stress and pressure on the knee joint. I will for sure consult my doctor and instructor to see if there is something they could recommend.

Thank again.

[fanya 3]

What others have said, proper flaring tequnie and plfs are key.

Having said that, I noticed that my feet and legs hurt a whole lot less after a day of tandems once I started jumping in running shoes. Nike Flex are what I rock.