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Hello base jumping community.

Let me introduce myself first. Im 26 year old sky diver (new to the sport with sub 50 jumps) and am already looking to base. I read the forums daily but as ive nothing to add to the conversation (except one post i think) ive never said anything. Im an Australian currenlty based here in England and am trying to get my numbers up. Due to weather constraints its proving difficult so ive planned a few trips overseas to add the log book!


Well down to business.
I've read on the bridge day web site they will take you through a base course with only 100 jumps. This is compared to the common 200 jumps required in places like Norway etc!

So, in anticipation of next years bridge day im just begining the research on gear etc. I will buy new as I know nothing about it so it would certainly be the safest way. I know there are cheaper ways but I would prefer to spend the money.

Im looking to get an APEX 2 pin container and a Troll canopy. This preference is based soley on what ive seen other people use in Videos etc.

Is there anything that you more experienced jumpers could add to my selection?

Regards

Out of interest, any reason why you're looking to take the "path of least resistance"?

As for getting the skydives in, I live in the UK and managed 100 in my 1st year (no trips), then 350 in my 2nd and 350 in my 3rd... It can be done. (yes, I did jump abroad)

When things go wrong - and inevitably they will - you'll be glad of the extra experience.

At risk of repeating myself, here's a couple things I've written on this subject in general:

Getting into BASE
My First BASE Rig

To hit some specific questions you had:


I think the Apex DP and the Troll MDV are both excellent products. However, watching videos is not my preferred method for selecting gear. They can be helpful, if you are interested in specific technical points, but simply saying "I saw that jumper X did a great jump with gear Y" isn't exactly useful.

In choosing the right gear for yourself, I'd recommend a bit more research. Specifically, I'd recommend actually getting your hands on some real gear and practicing packing it, jumping the various canopies a bit (out of airplanes is good for that, and doubly so for you since it will help you prepare for BASE training), and asking jumpers local to you (preferably in person--they're usually very happy to chat if you're buying the beer) what they prefer, what they jump, and why (remember that they are the ones who will be around for you to ask questions later on, as you progress into BASE).

How to accomplish this? First, meet some local jumpers. A good spot to start that search that is the UK BASE board (here). Throw a post up offering to buy some beer for anyone who'll meet you to talk about BASE. That's likely to give you better advice (both on gear selection and on starting BASE) than any amount of posting here.


The 100 jump minimum for Bridge Day is an indicator of the minimum level of experience that the Bridge Day organizer feels is required to make a successful jump at Bridge Day, which is one of the easiest, safest and most highly supported BASE jumps in the world. It is not an indicator of adequate preparation for a successful BASE career, especially not in jumping technical sites. You are, unfortunately, faced with some of the most technically challenging jumping on the planet--neither the UK nor Australia are exactly blessed with an overabundance of easy beginner sites. Ask yourself this: do you want to make some fantastic jumps at Bridge Day, or do you also want to be well prepared to deal with significantly more dangerous and technical sites when you return home?

Even if you do decide to start at Bridge Day, you're going to be well served to make many more skydives before you attempt further jumps at home.

It's one of the safest jumps provided that you make a water landing and the thousands of spectators don't affect you more than a few of your mates.

There are legal objects with much bigger obstacle free landing areas and fewer spectators.

That's why I said "one of".

There are aspects of a first jump in Twin Falls (for example) that are more and less safe than a first jump at Bridge Day.

For example, Bridge Day has roughly twice the altitude, and routinely sees botched first jumps that result in no injury (because of the extra time to sort out things like line twists) but that would have resulted in injuries in Twin Falls.

The same thing is true in the opposite direction, as well. For example, Bridge Day routinely sees landing injuries that wouldn't happen in Twin Falls, because the quality of the dry landing areas is so much better here.

I disagree with that, as I would never assume that the water landing is intentional, nor a primary lading area.

The dry landing areas, while not the most technical I've seen, require higher skill levels than commonly exibited by 100 jump skydivers.

The river has always been designated as Bridge Day's primary landing area. However, the majority of jumpers will land dry on NPS property along the shoreline.

Thanks for all your replies guys.
I realise watching videos is not the best way to gauge a gear selection but when you dont know any better its all youve got.

I've actually had a look at quite a few base courses now both in the States and Norway and im begining to think that maybe im better off getting my jump numbers and experince up so i can take full advantag of my base experiences.

..Blathering removed. Can be summarized by the old skydiving standby: "talk to your instructors."


thumbs up (and I'm right there with you).

(Geez you guys are touchy..)