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| So. Many. Options! |
Yet young skydivers will still most likely end up with the same brand of container, canopy and same main discipline as the majority of the jumpers at their DZ, or in their group of friends or their main coaches/instructors for no other reason than it's what everybody else uses. And that is a shame. In fact, I have been looked at funny when one day I decided to "step out of line" on the usual canopy progression and buy a new main canopy from a company not known in the country I'm from. It almost seemed like someone had decided for me that my canopy progression should be to follow the line of canopies from a certain company that EVERYONE was jumping. I was just jumping what felt right for me, and I happily did around 2000 jumps on these canopies before I became a devoted NZ Aerosports fan.
In the country where I am from, CReW/CFS (canopy Formation) Has been a dead discipline for over a decade. Nobody (zero) were doing it, partly due to the fact that everybody was busy freeflying and swooping like the next guy. But isn't it a bit of a shame to not explore the virtues of flying not just in close proximity under canopy, but actually making formations, grabbing your mate's canopy with hands and feet? I think it sounds really cool, and so did a small group of skydivers from a club in Denmark. So they went to a DZ in the Netherlands to get some training. It is my hope that this small group will bring a little bit of life back to the CReW discipline in Denmark the coming years. There are lots of other cool disciplines to explore than just freeflying and swooping. Acro-wingsuiting and accuracy to mention a couple.
If there is anything interesting to you that is different to what everybody else is doing or gear they are jumping, don't be afraid. Have a talk to someone about it, and feel your way forward. Want to learn how to do CReW? Reach out and get coaching. Want to Skysurf? Get coached and get on with it. Wanna jump a new rig nobody has heard of? Check with the local rules of your country and if at all possible and if it is safe for your experience-level - have a go at it. Always check the rules and common sense first ;)
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| Doesn't this just look awesome? |
Diversity on the gear market is awesome because it's good for competition and development. If the biggest canopy manufacturer didn't have any serious competitors, they would never have to develop anything new.
Diversity in disciplines is awesome because we as skydivers develop new techniques and knowledge that contribute to higher safety and more fun for everyone. If everyone only did hop 'n' pops and swooped, the tandem videos would surely suck, because nobody would be able to fly their body in freefall.
Diversity in lives are awesome because if everyone were the same, we would never go forward, and nobody but you can tell you what the right way to live is. We as skydivers know more about this specific subject than many others.
So hey! Don't be a sheep (Baaaaaaah)
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Luckily they were mechanical and electronic engineers, and soon found out how to make a small elctronic device that could sound an alarm at a pre-set altitude.
To speed things up in building the instrument, it was easiest to "borrow" grandmother’s wall barometer, put a switch, a battery and a loud speaker module on it. By means of adjusting the distance from the aneroid to the switch, the altitude when the warning should sound could be controlled.
The first (bulky) prototypes worked as planned and a small production series of 10 units was immediately sold to the local skydivers.
Later the same year, Niels and Mads, being members on the Danish National 8-way team went to participate in an International Championship in France and brought several more prototypes with them. They also got sold immediately!
Now it was time to think big! The prototype had to be made into a nice looking sports instrument. Soon the company LARSEN & BRUSGAARD was founded and the first real production series of the "DYTTER" was started. This model sold very well for many years. New models (Pro-Dytter and Pro-Track) were developed. These instruments could sound more than just one warning signal and among the features in the Pro-Track was the possibility to store data during the freefall for PC download and analyzing after the jump.
The range of products today feature both visual and audiable altimeters suchs as the Stella, Altitrack, Viso II and Ares II (All visuals) and the Protrack II, Optima II+, Quattro and Solo II (all audiables) plus a big range of military products.
I personally jump the Stella and Ares II for my work jumps (Tandem and video). For HALO jumps and other speciality jumps requiring more ruggedness I use a Altitrack and the Ares II. In my helmet is a Protrack II audiable.
The Stella is the perfect option for someone who needs something simple that will just tell the altitude on a scale like an old analog altimeter. For tandem masters, AFF instructors and students/novice jumpers it's perfect. You get an altitude reading immediately, and do not have to process a two-decimal number in your head.
The Ares II is the newest generation of digital visual altimeters. It incorporates durability and superior engineering from military technology to the civilian market. It has scratchproof 2 mm. thick hardened glass, and is waterproof (3ft/2hrs) It keeps a record of your last 200 jumps, and is just an overall bomb-proof altimeter for freefall and canopy piloting.
I choose to jump with L&B products because of the superior customer service they are known for, and the testing and development that goes into every product they put out. It is a company I feel I can trust, and I would never hesitate to recommend it to anyone, a brand new jumper with 5 jumps, or a colleague with 25.000 jumps.
I'm a raving L&B fan. But in line with this blog, I encourage you to look at every option on the market of alties. In my opinion L&B is the best out there.
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