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Hello!

I'm a skydiver that want to start base jumping as soon as I have the experience and skills needed. I do a lot of tracking jumps from the plane, but I still have a lot to learn.
Now I'm looking to buy my first tracking suit to develop my tracking skills more.

What would be a good tracking suit to start with?
I've heard good things about the Sumo 2, but maybe it's to advanced for a newbie?

Get a low-volume 2 piece for your first suit. IMO, you can't go wrong with the PF Classic.

Rigging & gear-up is easier with a 2 piece & for anyone without a significant amount of subterminal tracking experience, more volume leads to instability rather than more performance.

+1 The original 2 piece.

i did my first tracksuit jump with a tube 3 after 50 slick tracking jumps. for the first few jumps it was more fighting than flying but doable. now i fly a sumo and it's definitely easier to fly than the tube 3. i think a sumo 2 should be fine. if you choose to pull from the box postition do some practice pulls before it's time to pull. some people have stability problems... a jump buddy was on his back after the pc was out of the boc.

consider the tube4 (http://www.pressurized.at), it has a volume reduction system, means for you first jumps you can use a zipper to make the pants a bit smaller and learn to fly the suit. when youre ready you can open them up and you will have a lot more power in the pants.

Yup, agree again, early PF, first or second gen. I see a lot of people getting giant suits early on and absolutely sucking in them. You can learn a ton about tracking in a smaller suit, easier to control suit, and crush a lot of people with the giant ones. Plus im sure you can pick one of these suits fairly cheap by now.

Thank you for all the good answers!

The delivery time is quite long on the PFC, faster on the Sumo. But probably the PFC is better for me as a beginner.

If I am to look for a used one, where is best to look? Not so many ads here on Basejumper.com. Any good Facebook groups with used gear?

Regards,
Matthias

Which suit isn't nearly as important as how much time you spend flying it in the sky before you BASE jump it. A smaller suit is easier to control and will be less frustrating for most people at first. Still, I have seen people who did their homework and learned to skydive their suits well make a very successful transition to base tracking on PTS's, Tube 3/4, and sumo 1/2.
The most important factor in tracksuit performance is the asshole zipped inside, and that is the first thing to focus on.

+1

I love my standard PF tracking suit. I am onto my 3rd Europe trip with it now and still learning a lot about how to squeeze the maximum performance out of it. You cannot go wrong with this suit.

Hey Mattias - I agree with the above comments about the first-gen PF suit.

I've actually got a second generation Phoenix-Fly tracking suit (not the PTS, the newer version of the regular one). It's size large if you want it. I'm 6'2" and 190 lbs and could easily go up or down (they have adjustably positionable footstraps). Condition is like-new. Red pants and black jacket.

They're €600/$510 new from PF - I'll give it to you for $350USD/€300 if you're interested.

Right Size

Wrong Color

Homework is important.

I'm 5'9", so I think the suit is to big for me. Otherwise I would be interested.

Fair enough! My Sumo2 will be green!!

The track suits are standardized sizes, not a custom fit so I suspect the suit would fit you just fine.

Not at Phoenix-fly.

that's what you think

Absolutely and since i work at PF that might actually hold some weight.

:-)

Then why does mine have tags saying size 'Large'? I'm pretty sure they were back then..

Because that's the template used upon which we than customize it to a persons body type. You can have a fat guy and a slim guy and they both have size L written on it.

That doesn't mean the fat guy is going into a slim guys pants :-)

Would you say that a suit that fits a 6'2" guy will fit good on me that is 5'9"?

Well then I stand corrected. All these years I have erroneously assumed the XL on the tag of my suit referred to size Xtra Large. No worries just let me reword my post.
To the OP. Due to the loose and somewhat accommodating sizing used in the fit of tracking suits I doubt you would notice a difference in the fit of the previously mentioned suit. I suspect it will fit you and fly just fine.
Caveat: This is the internet so there will of course be counter opinions.

Assuming you are same weight, you will be at the far end of the envelope. Try before you buy, offcourse.

:-)

I fly a PTS, and have lent it to a friend who's way shorter than me.

I fly it with the leg snaps on the longest setting (with carabiners on the straps because they're a pain in the ass to unhook from my shoes).

My suit is definitely a little too small for me in the arms, but putting it on someone smaller hasn't been an issue, moving the leg snaps up to the shortest setting. 6'2 to 5'9 is a pretty substantial gap, but I'd at least try it on.

Why is that word in red and not green?

Very worrying.

ha ha ha funny sir.

Because his suit is Red.

Hope you are well John.

Surfer's suit will fit you just fine. Tracking suits have a huge fit range.

That suit has been subjected to Brian's mediocre tracking for far too long. Give it a good home and some long overdue horizontal movement!