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So my buddies and I are planning our first trip to the Swiss Valley the summer after next and I’m interested in buying a track suit but I’m not sure what I should get. Most of the people I’ve seen doing some hardcore things while tracking (like Douggs) are jumping the PF Track Suit. But I was watching the Superterminal BASE video the other day and noticed they seamed to be wearing some different suits and they were achieving some incredible distances! Since I already have a PF Phantom and am very impressed with it I’m leaning towards PF.

So what are the best track suits? What make them better than others? Any other input?

Coco

You are the best suit......It's not the suit but the suiter......

In superterminal they mostly are wearing cargo pants and windbreakers with bungie cords... i am building a setup now that i will be trying out at the dropzone soon and will post about it. i can tell you that there suits are made for extremely fast tracking...Ie...you need speed as to get them to work for them to perform. i dont think that for the Valley they would be the right choice as the drops are not as high as in Norway. I am no expert at all in base tracking as well as tracking in the dz enviorment but i use to do allot of tracking dives and was always up front..... I will though be flying them at the dz. There is a video on the :www.Pressurized.at. (see vids on site). and you can see That tracking suit in a jump in The valley at the end of the video.

I to am hooked on tracking and will be curious what technoligy will be out next year No doubt be a shocker....

just my 2 cents..... Chris

It depends on what you are looking for

PF has the best glide ratio. VKB suits rule in speed and precision.

Most importantly: by the time you head out to Europe, there will be another generation of tracking suits out. Whatever you pick today will be obsolete next year.

bsbd!

Yuri.

Practicing your tracking is far more important then suit selection. Go on lots of tracking dives with other people.
~J

Be sure to read this thread especially the initial post from Douggs regarding the safety issues involved with tracking suits.

Totally agree. And I have an 1100 footer A that I will use to get very proficient at Sub-T tracking before I go.

Coco

Edit to add: In addition to doing a lot of tracking dives.

Sounds good. Thanks guys!

Coco

 

Holy Shit! That talus looked pretty close!! How high above the ground would you say you pulled on that one?

Yea, Well...I'm what you could call a lazy bastard when it comes to making stuff like that so I'll probably just buy a PF track suit set.

Coco

Nice one Chris :)

By the way, nice editing! Greetings to Ricardo and Dingo ;)

Jul.

 

Happy groundrush to you!!!

God Dammmmmn! Nice track. Yeah how high were you at pull time?

 

can you post more details ( brand - mods made ) and some more pics ?

tnx

That was really impressive! I'd appreciate any details on how to make one of those. Is there a certain brand of clothing that is loose in the right places or did you just buy whatever brand in a larger size and rig up some tensioners?

 

I had a pair of cheap Walmart specials blow out on me in flight. I lost the entire seam up one leg, which left me spinning in circles. I also saw the waistband fail on one pair, leaving a very experienced tracker (he's an instructor in Norway) fighting for his life, with his pants around his knees, 6 seconds down a cliff.

Be careful with the "cheapest." A little more quality would not necessarily go amiss.

Yea thats a big reason why I'd rather just buy. That way I don't have to keep fixing stuff. The PF suit will last a lot longer!

But I am definitally interested in how you have made your suit. Maybe down the road when I have the time I'll give it a shot.

Coco

People soon realize that cheap clothing uses cheap thread.

I would gladly use cheapish clothing and reinforce them with size 69 nylon thread and possibly the addition of some binding tape.

Flying suit users buy clothing with flying in mind. Flying Suit manufacturers make clothing with distruction in mind and plan accordingly.

Good luck

I made a pair of pants modeled after atle's smoke pants out of walmart grade ripstop nylon rainpants. i reinforced all the seams with binding tape and made mid thigh inlets using some 5"x5" cordura patches with 4 #3 grommets in each patch. I've used them for tracking at the dz with excellent results as far as track distance and inflation. I'll post pics shortly. (added) I also sewed on belt loops made of bindtape and use a leather belt to prevent them from ending up around my ankles.

sweet video dude

Just Curious. How far ahead in freefall did you decide if you could clear the ledge? After that choice, were you thinking a) HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, that was close. or B) Sweet, planned it exactly how I planned it. or C) Man, I could of gone further... ?

Nic

From the sound of his voice on opening, I'd say option A.

Ho

Nice track

Be careful with the cheapest. A little more quality, reinforced all the seams with binding tape is a good invest.
Good luck

Nice Cris! A perfect B!!! 1 meter is enough, as long as it is possible to pull later! Come to northern Norway. There you can get 3-4 such low passes during one jump and 50 sec delay! You got the spirit!

Don't know the exact word for ripstop nylon in danish, but did a little research on it and found out that even though it's water and wind proof it's at the same time also breathable.. Isn't that a bad thing.. Wouldn't those really old rainjackets were you skin couldn't breath at all be the best material you could use.. It's not easy to find those any more, but I'm sure some low price or second hand store would have them.. Another question I have orderd the PF track pants, but couldn't afford the jacket, so I'm at the moment looking for a jacket made out the most ZP material, I'm gonna but bungeecords or ripcords in it, but should I also make air inlets in the sleeves like on the smoke pants????

By the way sorry about the spelling..

i dunno. I figured ripstop would be a bit more reliable fabric. as far as inflation goes, it seems to work alot like an f111 canopy. yeah its breathable, but it stays pressurized the whole time so i don't think it makes any difference

Hey Lokky, I hope you dont mind me posting a pic of one of the VKB superterminal suits i found. You must of had a hand in this or it's Mr Andreas..."superterminal " . The work and design looks awsome. " I must have one" ....Everyone has been looking for a picture of the suits you are using so i thought they would appreciate it.

chris

Do they cut of there legs underneath the knee to get a better performance?

Yo Vandev!

I will post a better pictures of my suit during the day, I look like a ampute in that picture..

Ill post pics from the front, back and in profile so you can see what I`ve been flying with in Superterminal. The rest of the guys also have similar suits, except lukky luke, who has taken it even further as you might have seen in Superterminal..

Meanwhile, take a look at the future... This is the conservative stuff, look forward to Lukky Lukes out of the hangar..
Details later...

Peace out!

Yo Andreas, Good to hear form you....

How did you hook up the cords in the pants?

Espen said he ties the ends to the loop on the back of his shoes.....Said the setup is a bit uncomfortable when standing but kicks ass when tracking...

VKB tips and tricks...

I've tied the cord to my shoelaces (near the toe) in the past, at the same place you attach the Phoenix booty clip.

Works fine.

I'm curious about two things.

1. What's in their hands? Notice how his sleeve ends very wide. I can't imagine that's just his thumb sticking to the side. Is it a build in handle?

2. Where do the tensioning cords in the arm go to? In the past I've used a single elastic from thumb to thumb, stretched across my chest. This gave me greatest range of motion. Alternatively you can use a separate elastic on each side and pull them towards your belt. It limits the motion somewhat, but it gives more surface under your arms. Looking at the image, it doesn't look like he goes to the belt, and it seems he has the cord running behind his back.

From what Andreas and Espen have told me is... Loke Luke is the technical wizard and that they go from thumb to thumb. Andreas said he was going to post some more pick's of his setup. As soon as he gets the rest of his legs from the knee down connected he will probally post them..

I would bet that even with legs only down to the knee thay would kick ass....

Suggestion to VKB...... Get a Mcdonalds in your town to keep things fair...

Behind the back or across the chest? On the picture it looks like it's behind the back. I'm wondering if there is a significant advantage to that. It creates a cupping effect, rather than a flat smooth surface. My guess is it'll make you fall slower, but move forward slower to.

Then again, they're the experts.

We should get a reply in the morning ... How have you bin Japp? did you get some New gear yet??

Not yet, saving up money...

Meanwhile I'm modding my Phoenix suit (hence my interest in this thread) for some skydiving.

Like this one? Or this one?

American culture: taking over the world one Big Mac at a time...

Let's give them directions to both... I would be willing to even send free big mac with double cheese coupons...... Now thats taking one for the team....

Skinny fit bastards..... Have they know vices.....

besides tracking like formula one cars...

I don't think the McDonalds coupons will help. what they need are cable cars to their exit points and stop all that friggin' hiking!

Here are few additional pics of my set up.

The jacket was donated by Alti-2 (free!).

The pants are Wal*Mart. (19.95).

I know Tom has concerns about the quality of the pants from his past experience.

However those are pretty well built and all you really have to do if in doubt is to reinforce all critical points with e-thread zig-zag or bar-tack.

The booties and knee pads are made out of cordura. The leg intake is z-po fabric, and the mesh fabric for the intakes is a semi-rigid one.

Anyhow, I get vertical speeds in the 70s and I am very, very pleased with the performance.

I forgot this one.

No doubt - i've had cheap wal mart rain gear break after a low amount of usage more times than not. Wouldn't want to be half way to speed four or five seconds into a dive and have my 10 dollar pants break on me.

thanks guys....guess I'll experiment a little.

this may be crap - sorry if so...

what is the use of those cords?

It makes the sleeves rigid. Same for the legs.

Rigidity and no flapping = good thing.

ok - this sounds logical.
do the cords strech (a little) or are the inductile?
inductile cords could be risky when pulling the PC, couldn't they?

Dacron lines, no strech, well close to

You'd pull like you would do on a WS with both hands on the BOC, no problems at all. Actually if you are tracking if feels more natural to put both hands to the BOC...they are already there in a way.

Hey Nicknitro71, Thats a really great suit...very nice work.. Now thats Nicknitro rigging correct? and I will take the container and the suit. Send UPs if possible...

Nice.......

Should I include my highly modified S3 as well?

I dont think so , i am looking for a clasic 1 suit as i am looking to do my first wingsuit dive in june. I need to turn out 80 skydives to get current again and hone thoes tracking skills... I also need to drop 20 pounds.....I was thinking of a Norgie diet.....

The container looks great though....when are you going to jump it?