Mike Gruwell

While ChutingStar may seem to some like some huge corporate monster of a company, we are a group 7 people serving the skydiving community out of one location in Marietta, Georgia. For the most part, we're available 24/7 in some manner be it in the shop, on the phone or online.

Since 1999, we've mostly been able to provide seamless support by staggering breaks for our staff and covering for each other's "specialty" so that you rarely know when one or two of us are gone for a few days.

Many skydiving manufacturers have a summer and a winter shutdown that may be a week or more. ChutingStar has always stayed open during those times to support skydivers with info, advice, parts and gear. That will be changing slightly this year.

For 2024, there will be a couple of larger staff breaks to give our group a breather. This will delay custom orders processing and some shipments, but we've scheduled these breaks around holidays and manufacturer shutdowns where we are limited in what we can do at that time anyway.

The Parachute Industry Association has released Technical Bulletin TB-266 that gives its interpretation of the FAA regulations for sealing a packed reserve container. This bulletin addressed the common use of lead seals, which are banned in some countries due to environmental and health issues.

The PIA Rigging Committee completed a review of other available materials being used outside the United States, and found these to work just as well as lead seals while satisfying 14 CFR 65.133.

14 CFR 65.133 Seal. Each certificated parachute rigger must have a seal with an identifying mark prescribed by the Administrator, and a seal press. After packing a parachute he shall seal the pack with his seal in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendation for that type of parachute.

The popular speaking audible altimeter from Freefall Data Systems has an available update for improving the sound quality, volume and reliability of its built-in speaker. Reports of failing speakers was determined to be a firmware issue, which is resolved with a firmware and sound file update.

If you have a SonoAlti 3V unit with a firmware of 1.0 or 1.1, this firmware update is for you. To find out what firmware version you have, press the button adjacent to the speaker with a paper clip to hear the firmware number.

Vmag, which makes the magnetic breakaway GoPro mounting system, has released an updated version that includes an integrated button lock. The Vmag V2 now requires a center button on the mount to be pressed to release the camera from the base mount. This will help prevent an accidental release from bumps and knocks to the mount or camera.

For the next year, from March 2024 to March 2025, Vmag is offering a trade-in exchange program for those that have the original Vmag mount. For $35 USD plus shipping, you can send in your original Vmag mount and receive back the V2 version. A new Vmag V2 is currently $140, so this is saving you $105 if you were planning to upgrade.

It's time to boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie! And the ChutingStar Crew will be out there with you at drop zones all over the US, providing all the support and goods you could ask for.

The one and only Laura Bales is packing up the van with demos from Larsen & Brusgaard (altimeters), Cookie (G4 helmets), Alti-2 (altimeter mounts), Square1 (KISS helmets), and many more. Laura is available for container, canopy and jumpsuit orders as she'll be able to measure you up and walk you through the ordering process for any of your custom gear needs, including the helmet sizing kit for the Tonfly TFX Full Face Helmet.

With most skydiving helmets over $200, and the most common at $500 or more, it's a smart investment to protect your helmet when you're not using it.

Most skydiving helmet bags also have additional pockets to carry your smaller skydiving gear and helmet accessories together so you're able to keep everything in one place whether you're at the drop zone, the wind tunnel or traveling around the world.

Henry Kochen of the ChutingStar Crew took some time to show off a few of our most popular helmet bags this week to show you which helmets fit and the features of each.

Check out this video as well as a video from Mike Gruwell on the new Cookie Flight Bag, and then click the links below for additional info and ordering information.

Skydiving Helmet Bag Overview from ChutingStar.

Looking for that perfect gift to surprise the skydiver in your life? We've got an entire section of skydiver gifts for a birthday, milestone jump, the holidays or the like to help you find just what you've been looking for!

Click here for a direct link to our Gift Ideas section online. And then below are highlights of several gift ideas we know will be a hit.

ChutingStar makes it easy for you to save plenty of money when buying all the gear, goods and toys you want and need to enjoy your days of skydiving to the fullest.

Here are the top 11 ways you can reduce the price of a product, save on shipping fees or find a great deal on gear you need to make the most of your weekends!

#1. Free ChutingStar Gear Bag, $100 Off, Plus FREE US Shipping of a Complete Skydiving Rig!

All complete rig purchases get a free ChutingStar Gear Bag! Our package pricing at this link also includes a $100 discount off the prices if purchasing each item separately.

Plus, you can select Free Standard Shipping at checkout to any US, APO or FPO address!

#2. Free Standard Shipping in the US for orders of $99 or more!

More often than not, ChutingStar usually has the best price around on every product we sell and support, but we're human and we miss price changes or just flat out didn't price something correctly.

Our ChutingStar Crew doesn't want to lose you as a customer, or for your next purchase, just because we didn't realize our pricing was higher than that other shop. So ChutingStar offers all of our customers Price Match Rewards!

In the most simple terms...if you find a price lower than ours on the internet for a product you purchased from us, we're going to give you the difference in SuperStars Rewards Points value to use on your next purchase. So if you find something $10 lower in price, we'll give you $10 in SuperStars Rewards Points...or if it's $100 lower in price, we'll give you $100 in Rewards Points...etc.

Check back here for all the gear sales from skydiving gear manufacturers and ChutingStar throughout 2024!

Discounts usually are a rare thing in skydiving, and even more rare in the current supply shortage climate. We're focusing on making sure we have available items in stock and shipped to you by the time you need it for your next jump. Currently for 2024, ChutingStar has the following sales and ways to save listed below.

Here's the rundown on current deals:

• Discounted stock of all PittZ Freefly Suits & Pants
• GoPro Camera Discounts
• UPT Stock Containers
• PD Europe Used Canopy Sale
• 30% off the base price of any In-Stock Wings Container
• Top 11 Ways To Save $$$ @ ChutingStar!

Deal Details

Here are the links to more info and the ordering process for these deals from ChutingStar: