What should I wear when I go skydiving?
Choose functional over fashionable and fun over fussy when jumping from a plane.
When you decide to do a tandem skydive, what you’ll wear on the big day may not enter your mind straight away. It’s one of those things that’s often an after-thought, something newbie skydivers consider the day before their booking, or only when they show up at the dropzone.
The clothing you wear skydiving is important. It will also differ, depending on where you do your jump. Skydive Geronimo operates from a dropzone on Rottnest Island.
We often get asked, ‘What should I wear when I go skydiving?’ so in this post we’ll discuss the best clothing to wear when you jump from a plane.
Choose what you wear skydiving carefully
Some clothing is just unsuitable for skydiving. Anything with tassels, strings or any loose bits that will flap around in the wind can become entangled in the equipment, which could be hazardous. These flapping bits could also strike you or your skydiving instructor repeatedly during free-fall and result in injury.
It’s customary for skydivers to wear jumpsuits over normal clothing. These special suits often feature velcro that keep pockets, cuffs and zippers in place so there’s less risk of pieces of clothing going rogue at 200kmph. Not only do they take the worry out of what to wear, but they also keep you warm at 14,000 feet above the ground when temperatures can drop to well below freezing in the winter months. So, whether you choose to wear a skydiving jumpsuit (we have ones you can borrow) or not, you’ll want to wear long pants and a warm jumper when skydiving between May and October at Rottnest Island.
During the warmer weather, it’s common for customers to wear short and t-shirts during their jump. But remember, the air is a lot cooler up there, so always consider the temperature when choosing what to wear.
When tandem skydive passenger Jess Featherstone jumped over Rottnest Island, she wore the perfect garb. It was a bright and sunny day at Rotto when Jess did her tandem skydive. She wore a comfy pair of black exercise tights and a bright banana-patterned snug-fitting jumper over a loose fitting singlet.
“I wanted to be colourful and my personality is quirky so a banana outfit jump seemed logical as some people may think you’re bananas to jump from a plane,” she explains.
“Luckily the staff aren’t bananas so I felt very safe. I think tight activewear is the best as it can get a smidge chilly up there where the ocean meets the sky.”
In our opinion, Jess nailed the clothing brief and managed to combine fashion with function. Well done, Jess.
But it’s not just about what to wear on your tops and bottoms, you’ll need to wear the correct footwear too. Enclosed, flat and comfortable shoes like trainers are best. You cannot wear thongs or flip-flops or anything with a heel. Jess wore a light-weight pair of canvas sneakers with her activewear, which were perfect. If you’re travelling and you don’t have anything suitable in your suitcase, we do have a box of sneakers that may fit you.
Have fun and get festive for your tandem skydive
Before you think we’re getting all serious about what to wear skydiving, let us tell you about our awesome collection of onesies.
Customers love to wear a cosy and comfy animal-themed onesie. They’re fun and functional (they’ll keep you warm in the cooler months). Choose from our Holstein Friesian cow, giant giraffe, or zany zebra costumes. And by all means, bring your own – just be mindful of accessories that may be hazards, such as tails or full-face masks.
Holidays and special events are great excuses to dress-up for your skydive. Australia Day brings out lots of Aussie costumes – we even have green and gold onesies you can wear!
Hens’ and bucks’ parties also attract some far-out outfits. We once had a groom-to-be wear a mankini. And Father’s Day is a great time for Dad to wear his Superman ensemble. Birthdays are another great excuse to get quirky and wear a fun outfit on your skydive.
“I loved my first-ever jump and I’m hoping to take my sister for her 30th birthday in February. I plan on making her wear a matching bright outfit with me, maybe even a unicorn tutu,” says Jess.
Don’t be shy. See what you can come up with for an eye-catching or outrageous costume for your tandem jump.
What about no clothing at all?
Yep, nude skydiving is a thing. Back in the day when achieving 100 solo skydives was a big deal, some crazy skydiver thought it would be a good idea to celebrate the milestone by jumping naked. The tradition stuck and today it’s still a fun way to mark your 100th jump. There’s even a group in the USA called S.A.N.S (Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving) who regularly get together to jump in the buff.
Skydive Geronimo’s director and Chief Instructor, Glenn Stutt, has taken two nudies for tandems in the past: one female and one male who wasn’t technically naked because he wore a pink g-string, but close enough.
“He was dared to by his mates, they paid for his jump if he did it,” says Glenn.
Glenn was fully clothed on those tandem skydives and says he’ll probably never do a nudie jump.
“As I get older I’m probably not going to put anyone through that torture,” he laughs.
Nick Cummins, a.k.a the Honey Badger and feature bloke on The Bachelor Australia 2018, told Channel 10 that he’d like to skydive nude.
“I think it would be very liberating,” he said in an interview while promoting The Bachelor Australia earlier this year.
Skydiving naked may be liberating, but let’s face it, it’s not going to be pretty.
“It’s going to be cold and it’s going to shrink. And nothing is going to stay in place, biologically/geographically speaking,” advises Glenn.
In that case Nick, you may want to wear a pair of your TRADIE boxers. After all, you did say the underwear is so comfortable, that you feel naked wearing it.
So, we hope this post gives you better insight into what to wear, and what not to wear, when you do a skydive at one of our amazingly gorgeous skydiving locations at Rottnest Island.
Book your sensibly dressed skydive with Skydive Geronimo today 🙂
