This advice is meant as a general guide.  Always consult your local rigger and instructor.

In the years I’ve been a rigger, I’ve often seen the results of skydivers’ gear buying experiences. Most experiences go well, but some do not. In this article, I am going to try to lay down some advice on how to go about choosing gear. I’m going to try to not go into brand specifics, but rather which components you should get and in what order, buying new or used, and sizing.

This advice will be good for everyone, not just newbies, so read on…

New vs. Used?

Let’s tackle this one first. Should you buy new or used? Traditional advice is that if this is your first set of gear: you should buy used. You’ll probably only be on your first set of gear for the first 100 jumps or so. If you buy used, you can save some money (over new) while jumping your first set of gear, and take your time figuring out what you really want to end up on.

Let’s break it down though.

So to put together a rig, you have to get 4 components: a harness/container, a reserve parachute, an Automatic Activation Device (AAD) and a main parachute. Whether to buy each of these pieces new or used depends on the piece.

AAD

Let’s start with the easy one: the AAD. Used or new does not matter, as you’re paying a fixed cost per year for these units (See my AAD article for a breakdown on costs). If budget is an issue, and you can find one used, grab it. They are rare as they expire faster than the gear they are in. If your budget allows, you can buy new. AADs are super easy to re-sell if you ever need to.

Reserve Parachute

Next up: the reserve parachute. For newbies, I always recommend buying a used reserve parachute, as you can save a significant amount of money here, and the benefit of a new reserve isn’t really justified over the cost of a new one. These things don’t get used very often, and even after 10 years, are usually in next to perfect condition. A 10-year old PD Reserve is the same as a brand new one, it’s just cheaper to buy. Ensure the reserve has less than 5 or so “rides” and is no older than 15-18 years old. Also, ensure it has no holes, patches or repairs, or if it does, make sure pay much less, and consider sending it back to the factory to have it checked out first.

Main Parachute

For the main parachute, it is almost the opposite. I recommend buying a main with as few jumps as possible (under 200 if possible), and buying new here is an option, if budget allows. You will use this parachute to save your life 99.9% of the time. Its condition matters. Age isn’t really that much of a concern as much as the number of jumps. I like to make sure it’s still got the original lines, because you can tell the number of jumps by the condition of the lines. Trying to estimate the number of jumps on a canopy after a reline is sometimes difficult if the parachute fabric has been kept clean, dry and out of the sun. Another consideration is where the jumps were made. If the parachute was jumped in the summer in Canada or the US Northeast on green grass for only 6 months of each year, it will be in much better condition than one jumped all year round in desert-like or beach locations, even with the same number of jumps. The sand really eats away at the fabric coating and gets into the seams.

If budget is really an issue, then a modern-design (last 10-15 years) used main parachute with more jumps is ok too, but make sure to have your rigger take a look and don’t pay too much for it, as it’s not going to worth as much.

Again, ensure it has no holes, patches or repairs, or if it does, make sure pay much less, and consider sending it back to the factory to have it checked out first.

Harness/Container

Last is the harness/container, for 80% of newbies, a used harness/container is probably the right way to go. Newbies tend not to land on their feet 100% of the time, and if you get a used harness/container a little dirty or scuffed up, it won’t matter as much. The problem is getting the right size for both the canopies *and* for your body (harness size). Sizing for canopies is easy enough, but then sometimes it’s difficult to find the perfect sized harness. Having a harness that is a little too big or too small isn’t the end of the world, but it’s not as comfortable as a made-to-measure harness. If the harness is more than a little too big or too small, then resizing a harness is always an option, but it may cost more to have a harness resized than the harness/container is worth.

For 20% of newbies, their body type makes it almost impossible to find a used harness/container. I’m talking about the 6’ guy who weighs 120lbs, or the 4’8 girl who weighs 95lbs, or on the other end of the spectrum, what you’ll find advertised as “big-boy rigs” for the really large and/or heavy people. For these people, while resizing a harness is sometimes an option, getting a new harness/container is sometimes a better option. Some manufacturers make basic rigs with no bells or whistles that end up costing less than a fully featured used harness/container. I’m talking about rigs like the Shadow Racer and the Rigging Innovations Genera. These are great rigs at an even better price.

Also, if you are a serving military member, some manufacturers offer incentives (up to 30% off) on new gear. This is a great deal, and a no-brainer. Get new stuff!

Before I move on, I want to mention that when you buy used, you will have to keep an open mind when it comes to colors. It’s the price you pay to save some money.

So now WHAT should I buy, but more importantly – in what order?

So you’ve been jumping a certain size main for a few jumps and think you’re ready to downsize (See my article on downsizing first!) and get a different set of gear. Great! Let’s go through it.

One of the biggest gear-buying mistakes is choosing (or buying) a harness/container first, and then trying to fit the canopies into a container that was not sized for those canopies, so….

Here’s the order in which you should think about it:

Select the Reserve canopy first.

Select an appropriately sized reserve. Your reserve should be big enough to not seriously hurt or kill you in the event of an unconscious reserve landing (no flare). This means that your reserve should be sized according to your wing loading on that reserve.

For most people, that means I recommend getting a reserve at least one size bigger than the main you intend to jump. So if you think you want to jump a 150-size main parachute, get a 160 or 170-size reserve, and if you’re a big guy that jumps a tiny cross-braced canopy, you’ll maybe still want a 170-sized reserve (4-8 times larger than your main). You’ll thank me when you actually need to use the reserve.

Then, pick a main, any main. Well, not really, but decide on the size of main you want to jump. You can pick the type of main later, but decide on size now.

Now you can think about a harness/container!

Then and only then start doing the research on what kind of harness/container you want based on the features you think are important to you. Look at harness/container manufacturers’ published volume charts to see which size container you would need to fit the reserve. You want to pick a size of container that fits the reserve and is described as “soft” or “normal” fit (if those descriptors are available). Stay away from a “tight” reserve fit at all costs.

You’ll quickly notice that not all the manufacturers offer combinations that will fit a reserve that is bigger than a main. That’s really a shame. You should really ask those manufacturers why they don’t offer this.

An expensive solution to this problem is the newer lower-bulk PD Optimum reserve, which is marketed a being able to pack one size smaller than a regular reserve. So, if you want a container combination that fits a regular 150-sized main, and only fits a 150-size reserve, an Optimum 160 may be an option. Careful though, it doesn’t scale down. For instance, an Optimum 126 may not fit in a 113-sized container, or it may fit but be so tight that it interferes with the normal deployment of the reserve. This is bad, and should be avoided.

So you’ve picked a reserve, and you know what size of harness/container you need, only then should you start looking at the classifieds to see if you can find something that has the right size harness attached to it.

If you find something that you think fits, or that’s described by the seller as: fits from 5’6” to 5’10”, ask the seller for the serial number of the harness/container. Then contact the manufacturer of the rig (even if it was made 10 or 20 years ago), and ask them what size the harness was made to fit. Most manufacturers keep data on all the rigs they have built, and will be happy to disclose this information to you, and discuss whether it would fit you based on your measurements. There is no need for guessing games. You can know before you even buy it whether it will fit you or not. The only exception to this rule is if the harness has previously been re-sized, which is uncommon.

Main Parachute

7-cell, 9-cell, F111, ZP, Hybrid, low bulk, square, semi-elliptical, elliptical, air locked, cross-braced, etc., etc… There are many mains on the market today. There is no right or wrong answer here. It depends on what you want to do.  I’ll have to save this topic for another article! Refer to my comments above on age and condition.

Don’t forget the AAD!

The last part is to get an AAD. As long as the AAD in question is within its service life, has been maintained (if required) and operates normally, and is approved for the harness/container you want to put it in, then you’re good to go.

So there you have it. It’s not obvious at first, so I hope this guide will help some of you out. If you have any comments, leave them below.

And I haven’t even talked about which options you should get on a harness/container. I’ll save that for another article…

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Alain Bard has been an active skydiver since 2003.

Alain holds the following CPSA ratings: D CoP, Skydiving Coach Level 2, Jumpmaster (JM), Ground Control Instructor (GCI), Skydive School Instructor (SSI),  Skydive School Examiner (SSE), Exhibition Jump Rating (EJR), Parchute Rigger (RA). He is also a Skydiving Tandem Instructor.

Alain is a certified Hot Air Balloon Pilot (Transport Canada)
Alain is a certified Paramotor Pilot (Transport Canada)
Alain is a certified Paraglider Pilot (HPAC)