Basejumper.com - archive

hey. just wondering what you guys use for body armor in different situations. i was thinking that standard skateboarding elbow/kneepads would work with some shinguards. but i do not know this so lets assume you are jumping a solid object with a rocky landing area. what do you put on yourself?
thanks

Dainese: protection-jacket,body-shorts,long-knee-pads, Han-Wag superfly boots, sweet helmet(carbon)...good protection and low weight..i never jump without this gear...

Dainese Shuttle Pro full-body armour, Scarpa SL M3 boots, Giro Nine helmet, and a good pair of fingerless mountain biking gloves.

I've had the Shuttle Pro suit for a few years now. If I was going to replace it, I'd probably go with a separate jacket, shorts and knee/shin pads. I'm beginning to think elbow pads are less useful than the rest.

A back protector is a great thing to have, especially in a rocky landing area. It will give you the confidence to roll if you need to, which might save your ankles/legs.

Michael

oh no...believe me ... elbow pads is NEVER useless, if i had a set of those when i had one of my cliffstrikes, my elbows would be fine now...

Charley Insider helmet, Velocity back protector, Dainees Mountain Biking Knee/Shin guard (one unit not seperate), Crispi Paragliding boots.

Cookie helmet, axo knee/shin pads, swede-o ankle braces. If you need more than that maybe you should do some more preparation......

Enjoy

Jim

i like to hear you repeat these words when you bouncing into some big rocks

Giro Nine helmet, full Dainese jacket (forget which) and john, Scarpa mountaineering boots, fingerless gloves. Eerily like crwper's list. :) I wear the same thing on every jump. My feeling is you plan and train to avoid specific hazards, and wear armour for the "etc", which can be just as ugly from that friendly 'S' as it can from the gnarly 'B' or 'E'.

I'm kind of surprised to read that so many people are wearing armor.

Haven't seen one picture yet with people wearing armor.

What I will probably be saying is 'I wish I had worn jacket,body-shorts, Han-Wag superfly boots and a sweet helmet like that anonymous wanker on basejumper.com wears who probably only has 20 jumps of perrine so is an expert now'

That's good to hear. I've certainly given some thought to cliff strikes, but figured my elbows are one of the things I'd be able keep out of the way. Your experience would seem to indicate otherwise. Thanks!

Michael

For example.

Michael

im sorry that you looked at it this way...
but for my own "record" i have 5 years 30 objects(never been in perrine) and 145 jumps...not much comparing to many of you guys, but it is what it is....but for me base isn`t about numbers..

And for the anonymous i don`t care about showing my full name her, i have never meet any of you guys anyway..i only jumps in a small circle of people and none of them are lurking on this board, i guess they are smart enough to keep away from it....

UberChris,

I mostly jump a 420ft cliff and always wear a Charly Insider, full Velocity armour, Kayland PG boots.

I do have an issue though. I hate wearing PG and similar boots; find them restrictive when climbing and hiking and also excessively cumbersome. I don't think they will help support my ankles at all unless I really tie them up tight which again is uncomfortable. I wonder if this is not the case with most jumpers, i.e. they wear them because that's what others do but they never tie them properly and thus never really get full ankle support.

I was wondering if it wouldn't be preferable to wear any reasonable hiking or other appropriate shoes or boots and then put on ankle braces before jumping. That's what we do with our armour so why not do the same with ankle protection?

Am I missing something?

John

I also jump with the Kayland PG for 3 years now and I bought these boots exactly because of the reasons mentioned by you... But I think the Kayland PG boots are very light and comfortable. I did about 4 jumps with the Hanwags PG boots and had
the feeling that they pull me down... The Kaylands compared to the Hanwags is a big difference in weight and comfort but I'm sure the Kaylands give enough protection for unsoft landings.
As I do 95 of my jumps from cliffs and many times the landing area is not so good I was happy to have worn the Kayland PG boots more then one time

Hi John...hope you are well.
I usually 'hike' in my boots ( Hanwags) with the laces undone a couple of eyelets.....gives me lots more flexability and some added comfort
I simply.....tie 'em up to the top when ready to jump ...for the benefit of ankle support/protection they offer.
I wear them for some other climbs and hikes as well and whilst you are right they are heavier/more cumbersome....the more you wear em...the more they become like slippers.
I cant climb 'technically' in them as well as other lightweight options....but on balance, for the job they are used for ( getting to an exit point and providing a degree of ankle support for jumping) they work well ( with the compromise in lacing illustrated above)

John, have you looked at the Crispi's? The ankle support is a removable, rigid plastic insert. You can take it out while hiking, then insert it for the jump.

Hey Tom (or anyone else)...have any extra ankle supports laying around for Crispis? Know where to buy new ones?

I wear as much armor as I can on any given jump, which means I wear full armor unless I'm doing a bigwall wingsuit jump. My armor set consists of:

Giro Helmet (don't remember the model, not full face)
RockGardn Flak Jacket (with shoulder plates removed)
RockGardn LandingZone Knee/Shin Guards
RockGardn FATE Gloves (with index and middle fingers cutoff just after the knuckle plates)

I used to also jump with the CYA Shorts, but I didn't feel like they were really doing much, so I stopped using them until I can find some better ass armor. As for boots, I have some hand-me-down hanwags (thanks Jaap ), but they don't really fit me very well, so I just use some cheapy costco adidas boots. I've been thinking about getting some of those new carbonfiber ankle inserts that 661 just came out with, but I haven't ordered them since I don't know anybody that has even seen them.

If I were to get all new armor, I think I would go with some heavier duty knee/shin guards and a VOZ brand helmet, but the Flak Jacket and FATE Gloves would still be on my list.

A good spine protector like Dainese or similar
Good elbow forearm guards
Good Knee Shin Guards
Prefer jumping in my Hanwags

I went to a motorcycle shop and picked up 12 dollar knee/shin guards ==>This model. You can find similar for only a few dollars more. They don't have upper velcro on them to hold the knee caps down so wear them under your pants or sew some on.

Picked up some elbow guards ==>This model. Also the same brand knee/shin guards are 15 bucks if the thors aren't available.

Just find something similar.

Good luck

beautiful. i dont and will not have money for dainese equipment as im more of a walmart shopper these days. i think i will be hitting up my local moto-x shop for some knee/shin guards for starters, as well as finding some jerry rigged ankle support for my hiking boots. (hanwags or crispis are $$$$) not that im gonna be jumping solid objects yet but im slowly collecting gear. thanks for everyones input

I just think if you are going to start giving advise you should let people know who you are so that they can decide whether or not to trust that advise for themselves. Just say you were some one who has had a cliff strike coming into land from an uneventful span jump, I could understand why you would recommend excessive body amor, but I wouldn't take it to seriously then. Some one always knows some one, who knows some one.

I avoid giving advise because, although I have lots of jumps, I havn't been jumping that long so don't feel I have the experience to do so. You could say jump numbers don't mean much to me either.

Enjoy

Jim

500 jumps and 111objects in 1 year...i believe you, it`s just some numbers right!?

Almost 2 but are you saying I did all those jumps because I like the number? You really are a wanker!

il be a wanker..that`s fine...but at your speed you probably will be dead soon,... i rather be a wanker than dead..
Gday!!!

Yeah thats true, you just watch those cliff strikes on landing.......

you don`t have to worry about me maaaate, i`m covered with shitload of plastic and carbon.., worry about yourself......

UberChris-
I'm not a fan of the HanWags, I have narrow feet. Danner and Belleville both make excellent boots, and the winter insulated boots have beefy ankle support (mostly because they lace up really high), and dont have any hooks or snag points.

The remarkable thing about the winter insulation is that I find it perfectly comfortable regardless of the outside air temperature, they are truly year-round boots. The danners have better traction on snow and ice, I wear them for work in Antarctica very comfortably.

These boots are not cheap, last I checked they were in the 150-200$ range but they have lasted me several years of pretty serious use and I have several pairs. It helps to polish 'em every now and then. Well worth the price IMO.

OK so the original question wasn't about boots, but other people have mentioned it, so I got distracted :P
... armor, I wear knee/shin and elbow-to-wrist guards from some mountain biking manufacturer, a protec helmet, and sometimes a back protector. I made sure that they all fit underneath clothing that I wear, and a lot of times it doesn't look like I'm wearing any protection. except the helmet of course

I used to have a rockgarden jacket but my opinion was that it sucked... struck me more as "feel good" protection. And it didn't feel good when I crashed on concrete one night and dinged my elbow, despite the jacket's elbow guard that I thought would actually do something.

It's not quite Wal-Mart, but if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Dainese, you should seriously consider Velocity Gear's back protector:

http://highvelocitygear.com/...ges/velo-shield.html

These are certified back protectors. Check out their article "What You Should Know About Motorcycle Back Protectors" for more information on back protectors:

http://highvelocitygear.com/menupages/products.html

As you can see, Velocity Gear's back protector is actually certified to a level higher than Dainese. The main advantage of Dainese, I think, is the fit of their suits, but that's not really an issue if you're just looking at a back protector.

Michael

Don't buy into that. That means it was tested differently. It's not better protection than the Dainese. Helimot makes better armor but has no CE cert at all.

Dainese has spine protectors that are exactly like the wave2 that are aimed at snowboarding. Same protector, but "Not suited for motorcycle riding" (or some words close to that). They were tested for snowboarding, that's all.

Velocity is fine. It copied Dainese. They don't have a honeycomb crush zone like Dainese does but in reality, it's not really going to do much when it comes to BASE.

Armor is impact resistant however one of the big plusses of good armor is puncture resistance. Like sliding into a foot peg that is careening down the road attached to the motorcycle you just got off ...

Anyway, bottom line is don't by the certification propaganda. It's not better armor but it's still good.

To make up for your lack of skill..... Do you only wear it now after that incident?

yohoo......so hey mate, ya gat skilzz huh...
YO RAP
so how is it down under where all the sick mega cool guys hanging around.....

It's all about jump numbers and body amor down here.....

Hey that reminds me of last week, when I saw a little kid wearing a helmet while he rode his bike down the street. What a wuss, I teased him until he cried! Cuz if he was so bad that he needed a helmet, he obviously had no business on a bicycle. what a loser! hah!

Don't know the exact wording
or when it passed, but there is
some new rule/law about kids
under 18 wearing helmets
when bicycling.

On the one hand I agree with you
cause we all went balls to the wall
in the 80s and we made it through.

On the other hand preventing a
serious head injury for a simple
$7 helmet makes good sense too.

If you go to Big 5 Sports or whatever sports store you have in the area, you can pick up some nice lace up ankle braces. Most often landings are just normal but when you hammer in unexpectedly or are forced to land a bit harder than anticipated, decent ankle support does wonders. Boots are pricey. Cheaper than the hospital but still pricey none-the-less.

A lace up will REALLY help to keep the parts in place and offer additional lateral support. One friend of mine with a previous ankle injury jumps with them all the time. I've worn one for a while after I screwed up my ankle and busting my fib. (not BASE jumping) It was something like ==>This. I'm not sure of the exact model. For a while there, I could barely step off a curb safely but with it on, I could do almost everthin I'd do normally.

Good Luck

hookit, thats exactly what i need. i have some hiking boots that i got for cheap, so ankle support like that is gonna be perfect. thanks for the heads up.

also my boots do have those metal hooks, so im unsure of whether im gonna clamp them down permanently, duct tape them before each jump, or try to tie my pants around the outside of them. i suppose clamping them with the laces in place would make them a bitch to put on but would be a permanent fix.

Joe Shaw (TheList#28) was my best friend. He had cliff-strike under a fully inflated canopy where an outcropping rock punctured his lung. It was his only injury and I'm sure that wearing the chest protection offered by some suits would've negated this somewhat.

g.

by sweet helmet you mean the company sweet right... just checkin because my kayak students always say sweet helmet and im all thanks, but didnt realize they have no idea wtf a sweet is.

since this thread has already been bumped Ill use this opportunity to say that I just bought a set of knee, and elbow pads in the 661 EVO line and it rules. The shit is so flexible until you slam it and it really does its job. When I first put it on it was so flexible, and comfortable I thought there was no way it could work, so I started slamming my elbow as hard as I could onto the sidewalk and didnt feel a thing.

If the only thing holding you back from wearing some knee/elbow/shin protection is freedom of movement or ease of stuffing in a stash bag then go for the EVO, packs up small, great maneuverability, and actually does its job. Durability is very suspect, it seems like there's just a thin layer of cordura or something over the pads, but hey, I don't expect to need it so if it only lasts a few hard tumbles, that will still be a couple years from now and Ill probably want a different set of armor then anyway.

Elbows: http://www.sixsixone.com/...7a-a048-b5f8c9303be0

Knees: http://www.sixsixone.com/...62-8c52-3540a0909afe

Shin: http://www.sixsixone.com/...fe-8fad-9e91b015f6ba


Pads can all be bought for something like 25% less than those prices from amazon.

Next step for me, spine protector...

661 sale

sweet deal!

Wow...that is a good deal. Anyone have one? I was thinking of getting the 661 core saver vest because I like the protection without the restriction of movement but this looks like a better deal. Any experience? Hell i might buy the pressure suit and just hack the sleeves off.

if you like it, consider ordering something else as well. it looks priced just below the free shipping threshold.

I also had a great experience with Cycle Gear I buy BILT Amped Evo Helmet at a discounted price, you can also get these things at Discounted prices through Cycle Gear Coupon Code.https://www.couponoutlet.org/deals/cyclegear.com

BILT Amped Evo Helmet:https://www.cyclegear.com

Features:
*Aggressive lightweight ABS shell
*Large eye port for maximum visibility and superior goggle fit
*High grip goggle strap guide keeps goggles located