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BASE Technical

Base942
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WS Base Pouch
I've been away from the sport for a long while and am finally getting back to game after a 10 year hiatus Pirate.

So a lot has changed since I was bombing around in my hot shit BirdMan Skyflyer3 Crazy and so I'm curious what people are thinking about base pouches on wingsuits.

I have something like 300 WS jumps and 200 of them being on my Skyflyer3. I realize that what was once an "advanced" suit is now more akin to a intermediate/beginner suit, but with that aside I'm curious if the base pouch is an old relic or if people still think it has a viable place in WS base.

The reason I'm bring this up is b/c I was inspecting my gear and noticed that the velcro bridle sleeve is coming unstitched and needs some new bar tacks. So I started thinking, do I really need this?

Since I've been taking a break I don't really have the same "ingrained" muscle memory so moving pilot chute location is something that makes sense to do now rather than later IMO. So I'm curious, should I move on from the base pouch or keep it?

All things being equal, I like the idea of the base pouch, but my gear knowledge is nearly a decade old so curious what people's thoughts are.
roostnureye
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Re: [Base942] WS Base Pouch
Base942 wrote:
I've been away from the sport for a long while and am finally getting back to game after a 10 year hiatus Pirate.

So a lot has changed since I was bombing around in my hot shit BirdMan Skyflyer3 Crazy and so I'm curious what people are thinking about base pouches on wingsuits.

I have something like 300 WS jumps and 200 of them being on my Skyflyer3. I realize that what was once an "advanced" suit is now more akin to a intermediate/beginner suit, but with that aside I'm curious if the base pouch is an old relic or if people still think it has a viable place in WS base.

The reason I'm bring this up is b/c I was inspecting my gear and noticed that the velcro bridle sleeve is coming unstitched and needs some new bar tacks. So I started thinking, do I really need this?

Since I've been taking a break I don't really have the same "ingrained" muscle memory so moving pilot chute location is something that makes sense to do now rather than later IMO. So I'm curious, should I move on from the base pouch or keep it?

All things being equal, I like the idea of the base pouch, but my gear knowledge is nearly a decade old so curious what people's thoughts are.

the V series suits are the only ones offered with shrivel flaps and base pouches any more. i owned one and just used my boc because that is what i am use to. opinions may vary though.
Pendragon
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Re: [Base942] WS Base Pouch
I think the pouch is a good idea; the one on my V1 gives a very clean and quick extraction in a BASE environment. However, the move away from pouches has been forced by changes to wingsuit design that preclude the use of such a pouch due to the wing material - which now frequently attaches down at the ankle rather than the waist - covering the position of a pouch when orientating for the pull. As a consequence, for example, the V4 does not have a pouch anymore, nor do any of the Tony Wingsuits (amongst others).
Base942
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Re: [Pendragon] WS Base Pouch
Interesting, thanks for weighing in!

After a few infamous incidents where PC location was changed, I want to pick either BOC or pouch and then stick with it (within reason) as I progress back.

I feel like WS have been subject to a bit of a similar phenomena as Moore's law these past 10 years.

Titty Sparkles
LukeH
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Re: [Base942] WS Base Pouch
The pouch is still there on v4 and v5.

Wingsuit performance potential has perhaps doubled over the last 15 years. It's impressive but not what you might imagine if you're thinking Moore's law. Wingsuit fatalities, are probably closer to Moores law.

Buy a Phantom 3 for a season to get current, you'll probably get better performance from it than you got from your old suit. If you buy one second hand you can probably sell it for very little loss in a year.

You can't practice base exits from a plane, so it doesn't matter how many skydives you are going to do, the cliffs waited for you for 10 years they aren't going anywhere.
sinjin
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Re: [Base942] WS Base Pouch
the modern winsuits "inflate" and make a rigid surface. so when you reach back the BOC now there is not material in the way because it is hard. Before inflation you had floppy material that was getting in the way. That is the reason the modern suits even though are much bigger with more surface area have a clean pull now. you dont even notice the wing there.
jakee
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Re: [Base942] WS Base Pouch
What the guy above just said. The main reason that modern big wingsuits work without base pouches is that the wing stays firm and pressurised when you reach back so your hand can go cleanly around it instead of having to push a bunch of flapping material out of the way. So I wouldn't have been comfortable using a BOC with my Vampire, but I'm quite happy going BOC on my newer, far larger Squirrel.

YMMV.