When you become a more advanced diver, it could be time to look into purchasing your own skydiving gear. The keys to doing this include doing your research and knowing the latest in gear technology.
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced skydiver, buying skydiving gear is one of the biggest moves you make, besides jumping out of a plane. That’s because your gear is your protection from the ultimate bummer. Yes, skydiving is a dangerous sport after all. And there’s some risk of getting hurt, or worse. But by being smart when you buy gear and looking not only for the best prices, but the best quality, you go a long way to protecting yourself.
The main part of any skydiving gear, of course, if the parachute system. It’s made up of there main parts, starting with main parachute and the reserve parachute. Both of these should be packed into a special skydiving backpack, which comes with straps for your chest and your legs. The fourth part to this contraption is for reserve automatic activation, possibly the best fail-safe mechanism you can have in your gear.
Your main automatic activation device helps to tabulate your altitude and rate of descent. It then can shoot out the main parachute, or the secondary one, at a preset altitude. These safety devices are fantastic, and mandatory, or all student divers. But they work so well that many advanced divers still use them, too.
Now to purchase all of this equipment, you could go for used skydiving gear. That means a substantial drop in cost, of course. Estimates on what it takes to completely gear up range from between $2,000 and $6,000. The low end of that range is more the used skydiving gear price range, because you can expect to pay that much more for new stuff. But can you expect the same quality, and safety form used skydiving gear?
Well, the key to that answer, and the key to your piece of mind, is to visit several skydiving stores in and around your area. Do some research on the Web. Ask around with your friends and jump buddies. Then you can figure out just if there is a best skydiving gear store near you.
So a lot of it comes down to your own personal knowledge. It can simply mean, for instance, knowing what the latest in parachutes are. Round parachutes are out. “Ram-air” rectangular chutes are in, because they help to provide softer landings and better control in the air. And the best of these canopies are now made with zero-porosity nylon fabric, which can last for thousands of jumps. These are the kinds of details you ought to know.
