Regarding Lauterbrunnen 12/21/09

[nicknitro71]

On my very first WS base I also went head-low because I slipped on an icy exist. Fortunately it was at the ITW so who cares. Had it been at a more technical wall, who knows.

I put very expensive VIBRAM soles on all my suits for this reason. Granted that I do not know if high-traction soles would have made a difference in this accident but I can assure you that the grip is much greater than plastic or leather soles.

Ironically, VItale BRAMani invented those very same soles in 1935 because he lost six of his buddies due to slips and falls as consequences to inadequate soles grip.

Any accident is useless unless some learning comes out of it.

[ZegeunerLeben]

>>I fell off an exit point once. Lucky for me, I fell backwards, back onto the antenna. I was able to get my pilot-chute back together, climb over the railing and jump off. It was a terrifying experience to fall from an exit point. Best wishes to Darren's family and friends

[primemory]

FiveTen

[couloirman]

How thick are the soles you stitch on? Doesn't it make walking kind of weird because your foot is angled up?

Would you be willing to put a set of soles on a phantom 2 for me if I decide that's the way to go?

I think maybe a set of these microspikes( Kahtoola MICROspikes Traction System from Backcountry.com ) might be a good option as well as they would easily fit over the toe of the wingsuit but not hurt it, although your sole idea intrigued me as well.

[nicknitro71]

The soles are not that thick, 4mm, and they are sewn into a ballistic nylon inner sole with cord 5 (same thread as the one on the harness).

Walking is fine and because the soles are longer, there are no chances of your feet sliding out the booties.

I won't put those soles on other suits and the work involved is not worth it (we're talking about hours of work unpicking the old soles, leg wing, and rebuild the lower part of the booties). PF suits soles are too short to accommodate the Vibram soles. I pretty much designed the booties around those soles.

The traction system you hyper-linked seems valid and affordable and they might slip over your booties.