You just cracked open your brand new jumpsuit – how do you know if it is right? Do the booties fit? Read on to discover if your suit suits you!

General fit

Start by putting your jumpsuit on using your regular skydiving clothes. Pick your usual shorts/pants and shoes in particular. Once you have the suit on, evaluate it for general fit.

If you can’t get it on, it needs significant attention. Suppose something is glaringly long or short at this stage that is obvious too. Be aware that the torso should be slightly longer in this standing unarched position.

Is it too baggy or tight? Snugness depends on your desired fall rate with the suit. If you were looking for a slow fall suit, but it is skin-tight, that is a problem. This aspect will be apparent standing up.

 

On the ground

Once you have it on, lay down on the ground and get into an arched position. On the ground is where we get real answers.

Arch range

You must be able to reach a full arch with the whole suit. If there is a problem here, it will typically pull at the shoulders or crotch.

 

Arms moving

While arched on the ground, you should be able to reach in front and to your sides. If you can’t reach out for grips, the suit will need modification.

 

Booties – Flex and pointed fit

When you are on the ground, arched, point and flex your toes. When you pull your foot inwards, the bootie should sag/be loose. When you point your toes all the way, they should tighten fully between your toe and knee.

 

This action is what gives a booty it’s amazing power. If the “blade” doesn’t activate when your toe is pointed, you have a shoe warmer. Conversely, if you can’t unrelax this blade, you will have a hard time stopping a forward drive.

With gear

Many jumpsuits do fit a little better when you put your gear on. If the jumpsuit is long, it gets tightened up when you put your leg straps on. Using the leg straps to tighten can make for an ok sky experience but has the downside of failing in the wind tunnel. And since most FS people spend a tremendous amount of training in the tunnel, this isn’t ideal.

An older solution for a too long suit was to dig up a student climbing harness to wear in the tunnel. If you have a used suit, or can’t get it altered, this makes it work.

What to do if it doesn’t fit

If the suit isn’t functional, you will need to get it fixed or altered. Hopefully, if it is a new suit, you can work with the manufacturer to get it right. Take pictures of yourself in the suit where it doesn’t work so they can figure out appropriate modifications.

Many dropzones have a rigger or local jumper who can modify suits. If the manufacturer isn’t an option, ask around to see who has the skill. Some people have great luck taking their jumpsuits to local (non-skydiver) tailors but will need to understand and articulate what you want very clearly.

First Jumpsuit Tips

If you are considering your first suit, here are some tips.

• Do not buy a “hybrid” freefly/fs suit. Hybrids are garbage and do not function well for either discipline.
• You want booties immediately. Do not delay until you are “better”.
• You can’t effectively do FS in a freefly suit or just a t-shirt and pants. It will make flying and docking much harder for you.
• Get inside leg grips. If you end up liking FS, you can’t add them later.
• Minimize the zippers and snaps. This is personal taste – I find the more bits a suit has, the more bits can break.
• Shoe goo your booties. Get the magic stuff called shoe goo and put it on your booties once you are sure they fit. It reduces wear dramatically.
• You don’t have to get all black. The all-black suit thing doesn’t matter until upper levels of competition. Big way flyers even prefer bright colors, so go nuts if you like.

Hopefully, this has helped you understand how to check out a jumpsuit. If you would like to test out a new suit option in the air, grab some tunnel with me, and we can see if it is working together!