dankleinstuber

I called a canopy a chute one time

Really dude?

Thank you! all great advice

Thnaks for the reply...I'll definitely ask about the reverse S...and that video is exactly what I'm trying to avoid haha

thanks man thats helpful... I think I just need to start packing and see for myself...I'm really in my head right now and psyching myself out a little

Thanks man, makes sense

Thanks, Wendy

haha right on, thanks for the encouragement

Hey everyone! So I have about 20 jumps now and I'm all in. I love skydiving to the point that it's scary. I bought my own gear and it'll be coming in in about a month. I'm getting ready to take the packing class and I'm experiencing a lot of new anxiety at the thought of packing my own rig. I know people say, "Wouldn't you rather trust yourself with your own life than to trust a rigger?" Clearly thats a valid point but these guys/gals pack 100's if not 1000's of a parachutes a year. I'm assuming others have felt this anxiety in the beginning at first as well, i guess I'm looking for some advice, reassurance or tips. Did you guys just practice practice practice packing when you weren't jumping to gain the confidence that your rig would open correctly? Is packing super difficult? The thought of going from never packing my own chute to packing it and jumping it right out of the gate is a little scary...Is there a good instructional video I should watch? Is there a certain packing technique thats best for beginners? I haven't had much anxiety with this sport until now. I got thru AFF in 7 jumps no problem, but this seems like a giant leap forward and I just wanna make sure I'm being cautious here i guess. Thanks everyone!

Thanks everyone for the response! Very helpful and great to know you can come here for advice from more experienced skydivers! -Dan

Thanks for the reply! I have around 25 jumps, no malfunctions whatsoever so far, just curious if anyone had any insight on the total malfunction scenario when your main isnt out of the d-bag yet. Thanks again, any help or knowledge from you more experienced jumpers is appreciated! -Dan

I have a question about when to cut away vs. when to go straight for your reserve....I'm reading through forums regularly and watching training videos on youtube etc and I'm getting conflicting information... I'n the case of a complete malfunction (you pull your pilot chute but you get a bag lock, or pilot chute in tow) shoulf you pull your cut away handle and then pull your reserve? Or just pull your reserve? The training videos I've watched all show the jumper pulling the cutaway, and then pulling the reserve but in some of these forums people are saying go straight for your reserve... Can someone please help me understand when you should go straight for the reserve? Thanks!