Basejumper.com - archive

Hi! I have old pf tracking suit and several times when i jump from plane my leg zippers open midle of track. I was thinking that it is due to the age of the suit but recently i jump new pf suit and leg zippers open again. While basejumping i didnt have same problem(i still start taped zippers down when basejump)

So please tell me if you have some idea why this is happening. Could reason be because i track very steep angle or do somethin wrong? Most of times zippers open after i feel im tracking very well.

Do you mean the leg zippers that go on the inside of your legs from under the knees down? That is weird, I have about 90 skydives in a regular track suit and maybe 5 with a power suit, often go very steep and try many different angles, never had a problem. The only zippers that opened are the zippers on the pockets and that is only when I fly on my back and that was on the regular suit, no problems on PTS. Does the suit fitt correctly? Maybe the pants are to long for you and the extra slack causes to much flapping of the material? Do you put enough tension on the bootie clip? I pretty much always try to have as much tension as possible on the bootie clip and stretch my feet down to create as smooth surface as possible when tracking.

I had a similar thing happen to me on a friend's pair of PF pants that sound like a similar generation to yours. When one leg unzipped but the other didn't, it was obvious needless to say.

I am lazy so I just tied the zipper down to my shoelace, which generally did the trick.

and it served a dual purpose to ensure my shoes didn't fall off on deployment

Try roling (once) the elastic end of the suit inwards, when your zipped up. That should eliminate your problem.

Yes, I always roll elastic end of the suit inwards but it not eliminate my problem. Maybe Lukasz_Se is right. Tracksuit is made for taller person than me and material below knee is flapping much and perhaps can cause zippers opening. Maybe i have to try smaller size trackingsuit.
Thanks for your answers and help

put a button on the zipper like on wingsuit

Duct tape.

I had a tube 3 zipper split from the top down on a skydive. It sent me into a crazy roll… If it happened on a base jump it could have been really bad. I sent it back to Pressurized and they put a new style zipper on it, but I sold it before jumping it again.

I'm considering super gluing most of the leg zip closed on my new PF suit, as i don't see any benefit in not doing so.

I've not jumped for a while but used to have a Tube 2. Never had a problem with the zips.

I always tied the waist buckle closed with a pull up for back up, after a mate had his track pants (pf i think) pulled down during a jump when the buckle popped open.

That happened to me on a jump yesterday, but luckily there was not so much drama. I noticed i had crap forward speed and felt something was flapping on my leg, but other than that it felt ok. After some thinking i decided the clever thing to do would be to pull, looked down and found the zipper had blown.

Mind you, this suit has seen some air miles and i was the second owner. I'd have thought all zippers will end up failing over time given enough usage, specially if you are a gipsy like me.

And so that it doesn't put people off the brand, just to point out that the tube4 has different zippers and the boys would have made sure the new ones don't blow.

i have the same issue, which isnt really a problem with my P3. if i dont reach behind my wing before every skydive to make sure the wing zips are still in place, they will work themselves unzipped. its not an issue during flight because the wing still stays pressurized, but in the saddle ive looked over and seen my entire wing unzipped and hanging off.

i suppose this is what happens when you purchase PF products............... =(

The zipper at the end being able to move up, is done by design (otherwise it would have a locking snap on it), so the wing doesn't tear by your rig moving up/pulling into the fabric.