Earlier this season I was talking to a fellow jumper who was looking to buy her own gear. She, like me, was on the smaller side, looking for a rig that not only fits her, but held a moderate size canopy. Most of the used small rigs out there hold 120s and below – not ideal for the recent A-licensed skydiver.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to sell off my gear so quickly, but when I saw a jumper in need, I took the opportunity to not only help her out, but to go down the path of ordering brand new custom gear myself. When it came to a container, naturally, I went with Infinity again.

(Brand new out of the box!)

The container has since been packed with a brand new PDR 126 and I’m currently sporting a green and white Triathlon 135 until my custom Sabre 2 -120 arrives.

(Packing up! *Photo by Steve Mead)

Here’s what I LOVE about this container:

1) Integrated secondary riser cover. Not only does this keep everything in place, whether you’re freeflying or belly flying, but it looks slick. It’s all one seamless piece.

(*Photo by VSE)

2) Bridle cover within the bottom flap. My old Infinity didn’t have this feature, and I have to say, for freeflying it’s the only way to go. I have no doubt that my bridle is secure when I’m out there on my feet and (attempting to make it) on my head.

(*Photo by VSE)

3) The people! I’m a big believer in customer service can make or break a company. Between Kelly, Tony and Gail, I was given the most incredible customer service ever – even when I was a total pain and asking Tony to send me pictures of fabric colors. Gail even went so far as to send me a picture of my rig before she shipped it off because she knew how excited I was. It’s little things like that that go a long, LONG way in my book. Love these guys!

4) Speaking of colors – the color options they have available are some of the best I’ve seen. I love that they have a charcoal option aside from the lighter silver. And I can’t say enough about the neon blue. Oh come on, you know color matters in this sport – don’t fool yourself, it’d matter to you too!

(All dressed in my Freak N Suit and Infinity…two of my favorite skydiving brands! *Photo by Steve Mead)

5) Sizing. It fits perfectly! Beyond perfectly. Since it was made for my measurements, it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever put on my back. And as I’m flailing in the sky, I don’t even realize it’s there. This new one is so little and compact too!

6) All the little features like stainless hardware, articulated harness, completely freefly friendly…even the angled tuck tab for easy pin checks.

Needless to say, I’m a huge Infinity fan. Those crazy kids over at Velocity Sports Equipment really know what they’re doing! They got me hooked – I’ll forever be an Infinity users. Thanks guys, for an incredible product with impeccable service!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Last July I bought my first rig off dropzone.com. I just happened to be surfing online at 2am when it popped up. I was one of 5 people to respond within the first few hours. But luckily, I was the first and had dibs. The entire rig had 70 jumps on it. I thought for sure I’d keep it a long time.

Fast forward to Safety Day this year when a student, who is also a small girl, overhears me saying that I’m planning to downsize and want to sell my canopy. She was all over it. So I just happened to mention that my rig might fit…so she tried it on. Sure enough, she fell in love with it.

That’s when I realized it was time to start looking for new gear, again. Wait, didn’t I just do this?

So, being the mildly obsessive girl that I am, I went home and printed off at least 20 Infinity container order forms, pulled out my markers and colored pencils and went to work designing the perfect rig. I’d told myself I was going to get away from the electric purple and blue color scheme, go with something a little more “me.”

I tinkered with Spartan colors (green and white) but it just didn’t do anything for me. I tried my hardest to find a way to use their blue violet color, mainly because it was unique, but I still just wasn’t pleased. So after weeks of playing with colors I finally settled on a design.

And guess what: my new rig is blue and purple (and black). Turns out that color scheme was me after all.

Naturally, after placing that order it was time to get a matching freefly suit. So I called up my new friend Angela over at Freak n’ Suits and gave her a rundown of what I was looking for – but ultimately I wanted to give her creative freedom to make it look how she thought would be best.

Less than a month later my suit arrived! It fits perfect, and the colors are incredible! I highly recommend the electric blue for any suit that Angela makes for you. I couldn’t be happier with mine!

(Hard to tell just how bad ass the suit really is in this photo.)

Of course, the ordering process still is not complete. I need to get with Performance Designs to order my PD reserve – though that shouldn’t be too difficult as I’m just going to get stock white. And of course I’ve spent plenty of hours on PDs online canopy designer trying to find the perfect colors for the Sabre2 135 that I’m thinking of purchasing.


As you can see, purchasing gear can be a very involved process, especially when ordering new. But, in the end, when everything fits you like it should because it’s custom made for YOU, it’s worth it!


Needless to say the buying is never complete in this sport. Just when you think you’ve got it all, there’s the newest toy or shiny object you just HAVE to have.

My rig is scheduled for delivery in mid-July. When it arrives you can be sure  to find pictures of my newest toys right here!

Blue skies!

Ashley

I don’t like being told that I’m going to need something in order to accomplish what I want in freefall. Sure, we all need parachutes, that’s a given. But when I was told I would need a weight belt (or vest) to keep up with others in freefly (and on my belly too, though you’ll rarely catch me there), the stubborn ass in me came out.

“I can just stand and catch up if I need to.”

Well, that didn’t prove to work as well as I thought it would – even standing I’m still pretty floaty.

“Well then, I’ll go head down to catch up.”

Turns out my head down skills aren’t where they should be to stick with a group of sitflyers.

“Well, what’s 10 pounds going to do anyway?”

Turns out…a lot! I’ve been flying with the belt off and on the past few weeks, forgetting it at home once, doing some solos another time, but for the most part the belt has been on. Though until this weekend, I didn’t really realize just how much of an effect it has on my fall rate.

(The first jump I did with a weight belt at Zhills. You can see a little bulk in my lower back, but nothing too terrible. In fact, it’s the same jump as my blog header – you can’t even tell I’m wearing weight there! *Photo by Aaron Stocum)

Jump #1 at The Ranch entailed me in a sit, looking down at my buddy Tom. Once I realized a stand was going to be necessary, he was too far gone and I, for the life of me, couldn’t stick a stable stand .

So for jump #2 I strapped on an extra 10 pounds around my waist and off we went. On this jump, I was only very slightly above him, in fact, if I would have kept a better heading and focused on driving my hips forward we could have easily made a couple good docks.

I think I was in awe of the difference the weight really made.

The rest of the weekend I worked on my fall rate changes and focused on the differences the weight makes on my skydive. I was even surprised how much I could feel the difference under canopy and coming in for a landing.

Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the weight. Who would have thought a girl could get so giddy about putting on 10 pounds?!

Best part is, in freefall, I don’t really even realize it’s there. I tuck the buckle back between my rig and lower back and, aside from the little jelly roll appearance it gives under my clothing, I’d never even know it was there on the skydive!

For all you floaty skydivers out there, I highly recommend strapping on a weight belt and giving it a go. It might just make all the difference in the world!

Blue skies!

Ashley

A couple weeks back I was contacted by this awesome chick Suji who had recently spent some time in the tunnel. Bad ass!

Apparently she came across my blog and noticed a couple posts about the “skydiver diet,” as I like to refer to my inability to eat and skydive. I don’t recommend this, it’s unhealthy and honestly very unsafe to let yourself get low on fuel during a sport like skydiving.

Adrenaline will only take you so far before you hit the floor from lack of energy.

So she recognized the need here and suggested I give these little nutritional chews a try. They’re called PhytoBurst (sold by my friends over at Guaranteed Wellness), and as the name suggests, they pack a HUGE nutritional punch.

As I passed on lunch at the dropzone, I remembered that I had these chews to try out instead. They certainly don’t fill you up, but that’s not the point – at least, not for me. The last thing I want is a heavy meal sitting in my stomach as I’m plummeting to the Earth at 140 mph working on my freefly skills.

But the typical dip in energy I experience on a day without lunch nearly disappeared thanks to these little jems. And they are freakin’ tasty! As I was eating the mixed-berry flavor the other day I was trying to put my finger on the flavor; it’s like Flintstones Vitamins without the chalky texture.

These things are THE BOMB!

Check out what they have to offer:

I even gave them a try yesterday as I was sitting at my desk, busting away on the never ending pile of work, realizing I didn’t have time to eat lunch. One chew got me through the afternoon without feeling like I was going to pass out on my keyboard.

So they’re certainly not just for athletes, though I recommend them for anyone who is training. They sure beat that disgusting power gel in the packets. And they’re gluten-free! With a best friend who’s a glutard (cute little pet name, eh?) this one hits close to home.

Thanks, Suji, for recommending PhytoBurst. These will be a dropzone staple from here on out! Give ‘em a try, y’all. If you’re interested in getting your own free sample, check out their website or let me know and I’ll hook you up!

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Being back in the cold and snowy weather of the Midwest has me pining for the sun, warmth and blue skies of Florida. I can’t help but day dream of the times spent in Ft. Myers, DeLand, Sebastian, Zephyrhills, and Clewiston.

Which is where I will begin my journey – the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures.

This was the main event for us: the reason we chose Florida this time of the year as opposed to Arizona or Puerto Rico where other jump buddies were traveling this winter.

The Everglades Boogie caught our eye for a number of reasons: the high altitude jump, the skyvan, the Pitts biplane, and of course, the affordability of traveling to this state.

We kept our budget low by stocking groceries in a cooler and sleeping in our car most nights. Luckily our “midsize” rental ended up being a Dodge Journey.

Fold the back seats down and you’ve got the perfect sleeping arrangements… well, close to perfect, anyhow.

After spending our first day in Ft. Myers, walking along the beach, eating some mediocre seafood and watching the sunset over the Gulf, we headed to Clewiston for our first night around the bonfire.

(Sunset over Ft. Myers Beach)

To our surprise there was only one other group camping out that night – a couple guys who are regulars at Skydive AirAdventures. The following few nights were spent around the bonfire with these fellas.

Here’s video evidence that the times spent around the fire were quite entertaining:

Thanks to Rick and Lisa for the 8 kegs provided after hours. Oh the things free beer will entice you to do…

Anyway, back to the skydiving.

There are a lot of individual stories to tell from this event, but I’ll give you the basic rundown before we go into any specifics.

The first two days were beautiful, a little breezy, but nothing to worry about. The LZ was large enough where I didn’t have to worry too much about off landings. In fact, I only landed off once – into the packing area on the last jump of day 2. This made me think that it’s time to seriously start considering downsizing my canopy. With an exit weight of 135, it gets difficult to make it back to the dropzone on breezy days under my Triathlon 160. But that’s a topic for another day.

Thursday was the first day of the boogie and it was a little slower than anticipated, but by the end of the day the Super Otter was turning loads. To my surprise though, I couldn’t for the life of me get anyone other than Rick to jump on the sunset load. So I ended the day with four. Here’s a video compilation of these jumps.

I edited in a little commentary and music (Angels & Airwaves, one of my favorites!) for your enjoyment as this one is a little lengthy.

As you can see, we’re really working as a team to stay close and relative in our sit. Needless to say this trip gave us a great chance to practice … by the time we got to Zhills we were seeing incredible improvement!

Friday was another beautiful day. The skyvan showed up from DeLand too so our last three jumps were from a tailgate. It’s pretty fun to watch a huge plane poop out people like that.

The GoPro didn’t want to cooperate on Friday, but here are a couple of our skyvan jumps that day: another 2-way sit and a 4-way horny gorilla exit that looks pretty cool. Rick also had a close call with a swooper as you’ll notice at the end of the video. But it’s all good and everyone is okay.

Saturday was our last day at Skydive AirAdventures and the day we took part in a high altitude jump – and my first chop. Both of these will be discussed in greater detail later.

What I do want to take time to mention is how incredible the experience was at Skydive AirAdventures. The Everglades Boogie was run very smoothly, and though I’m sure it seemed like a madhouse to DOZs Rick and Lisa, they pulled it off successfully. There were a number of vendors there doing demos and selling their stuff including Performance Designs, EG Suits, Aerodyne, and more. I was incredibly impressed with the reps at PD…that’s all I’ll say on that for now.

Aside from the boogie, the atmosphere at this DZ is incredible. The regulars were welcoming and Rick and Lisa made us feel right at home. After my cut away Rick was quick to take me aside and make sure I was okay. Thomas is an incredible rigger who took the time to thoroughly check out my rig and repack my reserve as well.

This is definitely a DZ I’ll be visiting again in the near future.

The last evening there was spent around the bonfire, watching Jeff carve a block of ice into a closing pin shot luge. Not only is this guy an incredible wing suiter, he’s also an ice sculptor. Talents abound in the skydiving world!

(The finished product, ready for ice cold shots!)

We also met some fellow mid-westerners out of Missouri who we’re hoping to connect with again soon. If you’re reading, great meeting you Susan!

Thanks to everyone for making this an incredible boogie weekend. I was able to meet fellow skydivers and make some new friends. Can’t wait to get back in the air with y’all again soon.

If you’re ever in South Florida, I highly recommend heading over to Clewiston for a jump or two at Skydive AirAdventures. The staff will take good care of you.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from the first few days of our trip – in Ft. Myers and around the Everglades Boogie. (All photos below by Ashley Mead)

(Looking out over the Gulf in Ft. Myers)

(Attempting to feed the Heron – notice the shirt!)

(This little guy kept dive bombing for food)

(Sharing a sunset at Ft. Myers Beach)

(The PD tent during the boogie)

(Jet rides were available)

(Last night at the bonfire)

Blue skies!

Ashley

A few updates in the life of a Skydive Chick (and no, I have no idea why I’m using bullets here):

• The balloon jump didn’t happen again yesterday. I think I’ve jinxed it by announcing it on Twitter and Facebook. So we’re trying to reschedule, but this time I’m keeping the wheres and whens to myself. You’ll know it’s happened when I post the video.




• We tried calling around to all the local DZs and no one was jumping. With a ceiling of 1900 ft and a possible clearing by 5 p.m., that didn’t leave us much time to skydive, and it was still a big IF that the clouds might clear.




• So instead I spent part of yesterday evening at North Coast Body Mod in Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH, having Donny draw up the second half of my skydiving tattoo. The closing pin on my wrist was just a little too simple for me, so I decided to have phase 2 drawn up. Donny was able to take the concept in my head and make it come to life. Flipping through his portfolio I knew the tattoo would turn out amazing as his detail work was incredible! I didn’t anticipate actually having the ink done yesterday, but I needed some form of adrenaline rush without jumping. Here’s what it looks like the day after.

(Still a little goopy from the A&D, but you get the idea. What an incredible original piece. I’m so proud to wear this. Thanks, Donny!)

Another great skydiving tattoo that came out of North Coast Body Mod is this one that’s on Rick’s shoulder.

(Actual colors of Rick’s Sabre canopy, absolutely incredible!)

This is a cover up piece done by Brian. I’ve yet to see a reaction other than pure amazement when he shows this off. Needless to say I’m now a huge advocate for North Coast Body Mod. I’ll definitely be tapping their talent the next time I decide to get inked.

Okay, enough about this skydive chick’s life – on to some weekend happenings you actually care about.

Given that this weekend is Halloween, I’m sure there will be a lot of spooktacular boogies going on at most DZs. However, in case you’re unaware, I’ve listed a few that you might want to consider attending if you’re in the area.

• 10/31 – Target Skysports. UK. Frostbite Friendly 10-way speed competition and Halloween party. Check out the details at Dropzone.com.
• 10/31 – Skydive Tecumseh. End of year party. This is an event that may be better suited for regulars as they’re having an end of year film competition with footage from around the DZ this season, but it’ll likely be worth the trip as they’re having helicopter jumps as well as a super otter. Don’t forget about what’s likely to be a hilarious Halloween costume contest.
• 10/31-11/1. Skydive Pennsylvania. Grove City, PA. This is where you’ll find me this year. There’s a Halloween party going on Saturday evening and the weather is supposed to be clear for lots of jumping on Sunday.

Where ever you end up this Halloween…

Blue Skies!

Ashley

You may recall a couple months back when I was lucky enough to attend a local Aerodyne demo tour and test out a brand new Pilot canopy and Icon rig. I fell in love with the Pilot and knew that one day that would be the canopy for me.

In fact, shortly after earning my A license I was prepared to start piecing together the perfect rig. Lucky for me, the perfect complete system was practically dropped into my lap during a random search on Dropzone.com.

The main canopy was a Triathlon. In student training I’d jumped one 7-cell and liked it well enough, and given that it’s an Aerodyne product, I figured it was a good enough option.

What I like most about this system is the Infinity container, manufactured by Velocity Sports Equipment. As soon as I put it on I knew it was the rig for me. It fit like nothing I’d ever tested before. Sure, most of those were student rigs, but even those that were sport rigs didn’t fit quite like this. For a girl with a small frame, it can be hard to find used gear that fits quite this well. I’d recommend Infinity to anyone with a small build – they certainly know what they’re doing.

Other points to note: it’s completely freefly friendly and packs like a dream! Two things that were critical in choosing a rig.

(Climbing out for our three-man rolling train last week)

As you’ll notice, it’s very sharp, too. Purple with blue, black and gray accents. Now, if only I had a matching pair of freefly pants…

If you’re in the market for a new rig, or know someone who is, I highly recommend checking out Infinity.

Blue skies!

Ashley

If you live in my neck of the woods and you looked skyward this weekend, it may have seemed like a bust for us skydivers, but for me, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to make the trip up to Skydive Tecumseh to take advantage of the Aerodyne demo tour that was in town. With the consistent cloud cover throughout the day, the Cessna was only running hop & pops, but that was sufficient for canopy demos.

Though don’t get me wrong, I would have loved a couple trips up to 14,000 in the Otter, but for the purpose of testing out the Pilot, I was completely content with what we got.

When I arrived, I headed straight over to the reps to get myself a rig and canopy to demo. Naturally, we ran into the issue that I’m a small girl with a low number of jumps. So they had rigs that would fit with canopies that were way too small to even consider jumping, or canopies that would fit into a smaller rig, but then the reserve is entirely too small.

But, with some quick thinking and innovation, the Aerodyne team put together a rig for me to test out. I was happily able to jump an Icon with a Pilot 188. It was a great ride. Still a bit too big for real excitement under canopy, but it got me to the ground safely and smoothly, which is all I can hope for at this point.

Now, I’ve always been a huge fan of the Pilot. It packs easy – well, at least the one’s I’ve packed before – and opens comfortably. It flies flatter than some of the other canopies I’ve tried out in the past (you know, those 10+ different rigs you jump as a student) giving me time to get back from a long spot or just to play around a little longer and still know I’ll get back to my target.

I also learned that the Pilots tend to react better to turbulence than some of the other canopies on the market, too. A huge plus for me!

It definitely looks like I’ll be purchasing a Pilot in the near future. After this hop & pop and the great customer service of the Aerodyne folks, I’m sold!

Once it appeared that the clouds were just not going to cooperate, the rest of Saturday was spent back on the road to Cleveland so I could get home and rest up for a big Sunday.

Sunday morning I was back on the road to Canton Air Sports for my friend Rick’s 200th jump. The weather wasn’t looking so great for us this day, either. 

I sat around the drop zone for a few hours, watching BASE jumping videos with the other regulars, while trying to will the clouds away. Just as I was about to leave we got word that the weather was clearing from the North. So I stuck around. After all, I didn’t drive all that way to miss Rick’s 200th.

Around 5:30 we were able to get into the air. Rick decided on a shirtless, shoeless hybrid (him, not me), with our buddy Tod doing outside video for us. So we piled out of the Cessna-182, with me and Nick as the linked base, and Rick hanging from our chest straps.

*Photo courtesy of Bill Ramey. Thanks Bill.                

This is what our hybrid looked like!

The exit was flawless – except that Tod couldn’t see Rick’s count and ended up shooting video a little higher above us than expected. Nick and I kept a steady base from which Rick hung straight down. He even kicked his leg out for a bit and put us into a fun little spin. We broke off at 4,000 and met up back on the ground to celebrate Rick’s accomplishment. 

So glad I got to be a part of your 200th, bud!

Thinking that was going to be the last of the day, I finished logging the jump and packed up my stuff. Naturally, I was convinced to get on the sunset load – really, who can pass that up – and headed back up for a three-way with Rick and Tod. 

We were going to do the hybrid again, with me in the hanging position, but changed our plans on the ride to altitude. Instead, Rick and I did a train with a rolling exit. This was my first true freefly attempt – yes, I know, beer – and was a little bummed when it didn’t go exactly as planned. But we did manage to exit smoothly and stay linked for about 4,000 feet until we spun apart.

With a little post-jump coaching on the ground I completely understand how it should have worked to get us vertical. Next time we’ll get it!

And yes, I did mention that video was taken on both of these. As soon as they are in my possession I’ll be sure to post them. With three jumps, I definitely made the best of what otherwise would be seen as a cloudy, gloomy weekend.

Blue skies!

Ashley