So you’re looking to skydiving? Aside from safety procedures and the various methods of how to perform a skydive, it is beneficial to know about the different pieces of equipment that are used during a dive.
There are so many different types of gear that could be used during a dive, but only a handful of of the products are thought of as “must haves.” You could buy different jumpsuits like Kurupees or Merlin Suits (Don’t know what they are? It’s OK, it’s not important), but they are not necessities.
The following is a list of the 5 essential pieces of skydiving equipment.
Parachute- I think it goes without question that this is the single most important piece of equipment used in skydiving. Without it, I don’t imagine the sport being that enjoyable. When you take a jump, the parts involved with the parachute includes the container (fancy word for a back pack), the main canopy, and a reserve canopy. The total price of all this will put a major dent in your wallet, rounding out around $3,500.
Helmet- It seems kind of dumb, but why would someone have a use for a helmet when they’re jumping out of a plane? There’s no physical contact involved in skydiving. So whats the use of having a helmet?
The thing people don’t realize about skydiving is that the majority of skydiving injuries occur when people hit the ground with a hard landing. If you come down to hard, you have the possibility of losing your footing and having your head collide with the ground. After jumping 2 miles from a plane, I don’t think thumping your head on the ground would necessarily be the best thing.
There are 2 different types of helmets that could be used in a jump: Soft hats and hard helmets. Soft hats cost around $100, while a hard helmet will run you upwards of $200. The extra money in hard helmets goes with the added safety that it provides.
Goggles- While you’re soaring through the sky, the experience would probably be a little more enjoyable if you could see where you were going. That’s why I would recommend wearing goggles during your jump. There are various types of goggles depending on style. The cheaper models cost under $10 while more stylish, “designer” brands can fetch a price of $20+.
Altimeter- Although not entirely necessary, altimeters are a good tool to have. The purpose of altimeters are to measure your altitude in the sky; something you might need to know so you don’t open your chute too late lose out on the fun of life. Altimeters can be anywhere from a reasonable $150, to an ungodly $350
AAD- Automatic Activation Device. Like the name says, they automatically activate your parachute at a certain altitude. AAD’s act as an extra safety feature in case something goes wrong with your jump. The price of these are alittle steep at about $1200; but a price completely worthwhile to guarantee you leave with a positive memory of your jump, rather than no memory at all.
The price of equipment rentals could get to be a little pricey depending on where you look (Freefall Adventures in Cross-Keys offers equipment rental for $30). If you’re looking to make skydiving a ritual in you’re life, it might be a good idea to buy these items to avoid constant rental fees.
**all prices of equpment taken from The Skydiving Store
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