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To anyone that's been in recent years: how much skydiving gear do you see at Bridge Day and does it ever cause problems? Just interested.

Gus

Too much!!


I guess that depends on what you consider problems...personally I think a dbag on a base jump is a problem in itself.

Off heading openings, line twists, slow openings - things that may have been prevented by using BASE gear. I was also thinking along the lines of people turning up with inappropriate gear and being turned away.

Gus

Approximately 90% of all jumpers will use BASE specific gear at Bridge Day.
We will only turn you away if your gear is grossly unsafe or if you are jumping a high performance canopy.

I for one think it's high time to once and for all get rid of non-BASE specific gear at bridge Day or in the sport in general.

BASE is not a sport where skydivers with no BASE experience should be able to come out and huck themselves off of a bridge a couple times one day a year.

When someone takes the time and money to buy gear, learn how to pack it, find a mentor, and generally show that they're taking the necessary steps to LEARN how to BASE jump, they're doing it right.

Who would YOU rather have representing our sport? Some skydiver who has an appropriate level of skydiving experience who has taken the steps above, owns their own BASE specific gear, etc? Or some 400 jump wonder who borrowed an old Vector or Racer or Wonderhog with a ragged out Fury in it to come out to BD and throw their first gainer off of a trampoline? [or an FX89 for that matter?]

Let's get real. BASE specific gear is safer, period. Let's be responsible enough to be choosy about who is allowed to jump what at BD and other legal BASE events. All the slots will still sell out. People can still do their first jumps at BD--they should just have to do it right.

mh

Amen..

I see no reason what so ever that skydive gear still are being used for BASE.Whats the reason? theres loads of BASE gear for sale out there,also even if you dont want to buy new gear..

While I generally agree with Motherhucker...

There is a great deal of history surrounding Bridge Day, and the Bridge Day culture (as distinct from the general BASE culture).

I don't believe that BASE jumps should ever be made on non-BASE gear.

Do I believe this strongly enough to sever some of our cultural ties to the past? Do I feel that I have the moral authority to deny a Bridge Day jumper who has used the same gear for the last fifteen years? I'm not so certain.

I'm not sure that I really lump Bridge Day into the BASE category in my mind. There is a certain separation there that makes me hesitant to impose my general BASE values on Bridge Day.

Yes, I may have the experience to tell a fifteen jump old-timer that he needs real BASE gear. But do I have the seniority, as a three time Bridge Day jumper, to impose my views on a fifteen time Bridge Day jumper (even if those are his only fifteen jumps ever)? Again, I am uncertain.

I guess what I'm saying is that Bridge Day isn't real BASE, and as such, I'm not sure what rules ought to apply to it. If I was running Bridge Day, I'd probably require BASE gear. But I'm not running Bridge Day, and one of the reasons is that I don't have a sense of it's history.

I think Jason is the right man in the right place right now. I'm very happy going along with whatever decision he makes.

 

point taken.

But ask yourself this:
When that fifteen jump old-timer goes in at Bridge Day, who's that incident going to reflect on? Who's going to pay the price for that person's lack of good judgement/skill/good gear? It's not really going to be the 15 jump old timers, it'll be me, and you, and all the folks out there going hard all year every year.

I say fuck tradition--do what's right for the sport. If the 15 jump old timers were BASE jumpers, they would have evolved with the sport. Jumping shitty gear does not make a BASE jump more fun.

I guess I'll be part of the 10% not using base specific gear come saturday. I agree with Tom regarding the fact that bridge day is a little different from the base communtity in general. This will be my third bridge day over twenty years as a skydiver. My first bridge jumps were when I had 100 jumps in 1986. I made it back in 1993, and got a "ten year itch" to go back again this year. While I wouldn't consider using this gear on other base jumps, I probably wouldn't be going if I had to have base gear. This highly supervised event makes it easy to find out the safest way to use the gear you have an d to experience a base jump even though it's not what you normally do. That is not to say that I won't be checking out the new base gear for future exploits, but for now I am psyched to be able to come down and make a few and join the party