You’ve done it. You’re a licensed skydiver. You’ve spent the last season (or perhaps even two) working your way through the growing pains involved with starting out in the sport. You’ve either been jumping rental gear and racking up pretty impressive spending habits each weekend, or you’ve cobbled together a decent fitting container, a workable main, reserve, and an AAD with some life left in it. You’re a lifer now, and you know it. 

You’re a proper jumper. Your gear bag is filled to the hilt with absolutely everything you need to have a great day/week/month/season of skydiving. But how can you make sure you're gear stays in good condition? Whether you're a new jumper or you've been at it for years, it's always a good idea to think about about maintenance, especially as some of us head into the winter season or start migrating to warmer climates for events. 

There isn’t a skydiver out there who hasn’t watched a competition of some type and wondered what it would be like to stand on the podium or train and compete alongside the best of the best. 

Tis almost the season… already? Yup, that’s right. It’s almost time to start planning that last minute Halloween costume and carving pumpkins, and next thing you know it’ll be sleigh bells ringing. Along with the kids on Christmas night, those babies that we call our rigs will be lovingly tucked away for at least some, if not all of the winter. Inevitably for many of us, that means that the beginning of next season starts off with dusting off unused skills, recurrency jumps, and paperwork; but thankfully there’s a way around some of that!

So you’ve taken on the challenge of skydiving. You had an amazing first experience with a great instructor, there’s a really great vibe on the dropzone and couldn’t think of anything you’d like to do more. Your ground school made perfect sense and you finished the day feeling ready to tackle the incredibly rewarding experience to come.