It sounds like a funny thing to say, “save money in skydiving”. Especially since we all know that skydiving is an expensive sport and also where we jumping addicts tend to spend a lot of our finances. So what we mean when we say save money in skydiving, is that there are some tricks to cut costs, so that you can spend more money on jump tickets! There are certainly some areas you do not want to be skimpy with your money. Think, don’t buy a super old and used reserve canopy because it is listed for really cheap online. However, there are also ways to be more savvy with your finances in the skydiving world. Follow some of these tips to keep a little bit more of your money, so that you can put it towards more jumping!

Pack for yourself

This may seem obvious, but to save yourself some money in skydiving on those busy jumping weekends. Pack for yourself. Maybe you are a new jumper and are still not confident in your packing skills, so you continue to pay for pack jobs. Well this can really add up the cost your skydives. Take a packing course, and start to pack for yourself and save more money for jumping. Perhaps you are a seasoned skydiver who just doesn’t feel like packing anymore. Well your weekend full of jumping sure costs a lot more, adding all those pack jobs on top of it.

By no means am I suggesting not to support your local packers. Its amazing when we can support our community. However, some times we need to save a bit of cash. And so of course we recommend jumpers to pack for themselves to save a bit. This doesn’t mean we do not ever support our local packers! We love our packers!

Jump packages

If you generally jump at the same drop zone all the time, consider looking into discounted jump ticket packages. If we know that we will be making a lot of jumps at the same drop zone, its a good idea to talk to manifest and check out the jump packages. Often DZs offer discounts on jump tickets when purchased in bulk, from 10, 25, 50 up to 100 jumps! If you are local to the DZ or attending an event where you know you will make a bunch of jumps. Buy your jump package and get a few dollars knocked off the price of each jump. This will also save you the time of going back to manifest to keep buying tickets.

If you are attending an event, be sure to verify with manifest that jump ticket packages can be used during the event or boogie.

Early bird registration

Speaking of events, camps and boogies, there is sometimes a way to save money when registering. Not all, but many events will often have an early bird registration. So if you purchase your registration prior to a certain date,  you can save some cash and skydive more. If you are certain that you will be attending this event, make use of the early bird discounted rate. This might also be a good time to check out travel prices and hotels. If you are making your reservations far ahead, you can potentially save money here as well.

GoPro TradeUp program

Did you know that GoPro offers a trade in program? They do! And this is a way to save some money on the purchase of your next new GoPro. The TradeUp program allows you to trade in any old GoPro or digital camera, in any condition. “Dented, dinged or destroyed, no problem, we’ll take it!”

The TradeUp program allows you to choose between the purchase of their new cameras. Once you make your selection, you get $100 USD off of your new camera purchase. The program covers the shipping costs of your old camera. After it is received, GoPro will ship your new GoPro camera off to you.

Please note that the TradeUp program varies by country and currency.

Share tunnel time

Often we get caught up in training in the tunnel with just our coaches or ourselves. We are super focused on our personal progression, that we forget we can also enjoy the tunnel time with friends. Which also improves are progression in flying with others. When we split tunnel time with a few friends, it can significantly decrease your flying costs. If you are splitting time with three of your friends, between the four of you, think how much you could fly. If everyone purchases 15 minutes, the return would be flying an hour together shared. Sharing tunnel time is an amazing way to save money while flying more. Not to mention all the fun you have with your friends.

Carpool to the drop zone

For many skydivers, they do not have the luxury of living right beside a drop zone, as we have here in Empuriabrava. Most of the time a car ride out to the DZ is required, and sometimes the drive could be 1-2 hours for some of us! Just imagine every weekend, how many of our skydiving friends are coming out to the DZ from the same place as us. Consider chatting with some of the other jumpers who are driving, and see if you guys can carpool. Splitting on the cost of gas will be a good thing for everyone! And of course good for the environment.

If possible, consider setting up a car pool group on Facebook. This could be an opportunity for everyone to save a bit of cash on the drive out, while having great company along for the ride.

Demo canopies

Demoing canopies is another avenue to save some cash in skydiving. For example,  you wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first right? Well the same can be said for a canopy. If you end up purchasing a canopy you never jumped before, you might end up not loving it! Then you will need to sell this canopy and purchase something else. For sure you will loose some money in these transactions, as well as pay shipping costs. That is why these demo programs exist. To help skydivers make a more knowledgeable purchase. Especially considering the financial investment which canopies are, we want to be sure we are jumping a canopy suited for us!

Icarus Canopies has a demo program is available, you just need to follow the tool on their website in order to set yourself up. There is also a calendar displaying all the current demo tours, as well as representatives to get into contact with.

Performance Designs also has a popular demo program. You can request the canopy for 2 weekends, for a small fee. The $95-$125 fee covers shipping costs as well as an inspection fee, which is performed once the canopy is returned.

If you are unsure which canopy might be best for you to demo, get in touch with the manufacturers. They are experts and will help you get the best suited canopy for you! And if you know that Icarus or PD will be at an upcoming boogie or event. Get in touch, and maybe their rep will be able to bring you a canopy to demo at the event! If you will be at Skydive Empuriabrava, PD representative Dedric (dedric@performancedesigns.com) can help coordinate your demo canopy, just get in touch!

Pack your own lunch and snacks!

Okay now maybe I am going to sound like your parent. Pack your own lunch, snacks and drinks when you are going to the drop zone. If you spend many days and weekends out at the DZ, you know how fast you can spend money on food. Quickly ordering food for delivery, or buying food and drinks all day at the DZ café. Your food bill by the end of the weekend can be surprisingly high.

If you are trying to save some money to put towards more jumps. Pack your own food! Bring your lunch and pack easy to eat snacks. Buy a bunch of water bottles and drinks ahead of time. Its impressive how expensive water can become from cafes. During the day you will likely feel much better eating a home packed meal, than eating restaurant foods or highly processed snacks.

CYPRES trade-in program

CYPRES AAD Device has a trade-in program for customers to receive a credit towards the purchase of a new CYPRES 2. The program works  by customers simply trading in their old CYPRES unit when they are ready to purchase and upgrade to the CYPRES 2. The CYPRES trade-in program is valid for 1-year after the service life of your device. Bring your old CYPRES to your dealer, and the discount will be automatically applied to your purchase of a new CYPRES 2.

If you trade-in your old CYPRES with a cutter, you will receive a credit of $70 USD or €60. If you trade-in your old device without cutter or activated cutter,  you will receive a credit of $50 USD or €40.

Buy used gear

Buying new does not always have to be the only option. Especially if you are just starting out as a skydiver. Chances are you will be using a larger container to fit larger canopies for the beginning of your skydiving career. Buying used equipment will save you a lot of money. It wont be long until you are going to switching to a smaller container with a smaller canopy. Since you will potentially have this next set up a while longer, now is the time to consider purchasing new. However, its really practical to still consider purchasing used containers and canopies. Be sure you speak to your rigger and instructors at the DZ before purchasing used gear. They can give you advice on sizing and gear condition, etc.

Think about other smaller gear, like altimeters and dytters, which you can also consider buying used. Often there are people at our drop zones who love new gear. Each season they will be getting rid of their “old” altimeters or cameras. This is a perfect option, you know the gear is in decent condition, so why not save a bit of cash and buy it used. Maybe you need a jumpsuit, but for just random jumps every now and again. Why pay for a brand new fitted suit that you hardly plan to use? Look for someone your size at the DZ or keep your eyes on Facebook classifieds. You can pick up a decently fitted, used suit for much cheaper.

Share skydive coach

Skydiving coaches charge a daily rate for their coaching services. (As well as covering jumps and packing costs). Sometimes coaches will even allow you and a friend, or even a group to split the daily coaching fee’s. This is an amazing opportunity to save some money, while receiving quality coaching. If you and another friend share the fee’s, both of you will be getting 2:1 coaching the whole day. But with half the price! You will for sure be walking away at the end of your coaching day feeling pretty damn stoked.

Keep in mind every coach and drop zone is different. Be sure to check out the coaching services and pricing where you are at and inquire about sharing a skydiving coach.

Keep coming back

I hope that I have given you some new ideas to help you save some money in skydiving. Well…save money so that we can buy more jump tickets! Do you know of any other ideas to save some money as a skydiver? Let me know!

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