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As a very newbie type with new gear on the way, I was wondering if it makes any sense to start going stowed right off the bat? If going hand-help at how many jumps do you switch or is it when you feel comfortable? I am comfortable with my exit position, but don't want to get overwhelmed All jumps will be 400' plus.

My basic rule of thumb is: Slider up = stowed. If you are jumping slider up stuff right off the bat, I don't see a problem.

If you are doing slider down jumps, I'd recommend doing at least the first one hand held, to give you a chance to play with your gear.

I think the decision of when to go stowed (both when in your jumping career you start and which jumps you go stowed on) is very personal.

If you have a zillion skydives, you're going to be more comfortable going stowed than hand held. On the other hand, if you need to time deployment precisely due to other factors (like vertical spacing of obstacles) then hand held is the ticket.

I know people who had over 100 jumps before going stowed. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I know people who did their first jump from 2000' stowed. That sounds ok too. It all depends on the jumper and the object.

If you want more thoughts on your particular situation, give some particulars.

dont rush on getting stowed,unless your doing slider ups.
i have 1 slider up jump and 2 jumps were stowed total...Not saying that i do it right,but as i like low jumps,i never really understanded why you should be stowed unless
1. you gonna fall for a long time(3+sec)
2. your on a sketsy exit were it requires both hands to stay there
3 your doing areials
4 your going to wave to spectators on the ground

I did my first stowed jump from 115m span. It was my seventh jump, and my first night jump also. And it was on my first jumping day, to be precise. I felt comfortable, and I knew that it is (was) right decision.

Stay safe,

I.P.

when i decide to go stowed it's usually in a place where i know i'll get a stable launch and pull at an altitude high enough where a pc-hesitation won't kill me or put me in a knarly place. i don't care which mushrooming technique you use, there's always that chance your mushroom could open slow and give you a fast trip...

Just to add a new opinion ;-)

Going stowed with slider up can have following risks:
- bad timing
- bad body position
- bad body position and the attempt to correct leads to bad timing

Handheld with slider a couple of times helps to prevent this things.

When you feel you're ready for new things, wait until the new thing just happens (and it will)...