{"id":30657,"date":"2021-01-20T10:22:39","date_gmt":"2021-01-20T10:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=30657"},"modified":"2026-04-05T18:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:08:03","slug":"which-wingsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/which-wingsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Wingsuit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Understanding suit models, and which is right for you, at what stage…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Image by Thrash Gordon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wingsuits, to the untrained eye, all look pretty similar. They\u2019ve got arm wings, a leg wing, and they inflate into a wing-shape. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Piece of cake. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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To a slightly more informed jumper, the difference between a \u201cbig\u201d suit and a \u201csmall\u201d suit, are apparent \u2013 simply put, some wingsuits have bigger wings than others and most experienced skydivers will understand that the bigger the suit is, the more experienced the pilot should be to fly it. That \u201cbig \/ little\u201d distinction is referred to as Surface Area<\/strong>, and while it\u2019s definitely a lot more complicated than that, surface area explains a lot about wingsuit design and is the most obvious place to start. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surface Area <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Surface area is measured in square centimeters and varies primarily with suit model and pilot size. A beginner wingsuit will have low surface area, aka small wings. The reason for this is not that small wings are easier to control (in fact the opposite is true), but because small wings are easier to control when you are out of control. When you exit the aircraft on your first jump and begin to tumble, it\u2019s much easier to regain control of a small-winged wingsuit, than a large-winged wingsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of your wingsuit as an air mattress floating in the ocean. A large air mattress will be comfortable, stable, and easy to lay on. But if it starts to get pushed around, then it\u2019s a lot of mattress to try and maintain control of. A very small air mattress, in contrast, is less stable, harder to lay on comfortably, but you’ll be able to control it a little better as it gets pushed around. Similarly, a big wingsuit is easier to lay on and fly in a straight line, but good luck regaining control of a large, advanced wingsuit on your first jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Surface area \u2013 Start with a small surface area then slowly progress to huge suits like these
Photo : Amber Forte and Espen Fadnes, by Andreas Hemli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, to bring this back to beginner suits, the reason they are small is because it is expected that a beginner will lose control of it and we want you to be able to regain control easily. Piloting that small surface area suit makes for excellent training, and once you\u2019ve dialed in the control inputs needed to keep a small wingsuit stable on all axes (pitch, roll, yaw), then moving up to the next size will be more enjoyable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the SQRL range, the smallest suit we offer is the Sprint<\/a>. It\u2019s ideal for your first few jumps \u2013 maybe just your first 1-2 jumps, and is the suit we recommend First Flight Course instructors to use in their schools. It\u2019s not the suit we recommend that you buy\u2026 for that, we generally recommend the Swift<\/a>. The Swift is slightly larger in surface area and offers a lot more performance and range, it\u2019s perfect for your first year of flying and will allow you to fly with a lot of different beginner-intermediate wingsuits out there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suit Strengths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Apart from surface area, there is the type of flying that each wingsuit is designed for. Freestyle, Performance, and BASE, would be the three major categories that we identify. Inside each category there are options depending on your skill, experience, and goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wingsuit with back inlets is clearly designed for back-flying. Hey, you don\u2019t need back inlets for back-flying, but they sure do help a lot. Conversely, those back inlets add drag, so you won\u2019t find them on a suit that is designed for performance flying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A suit with a large amount of surface area is not going to be as agile as a suit with less \u2013 it will likely feel more powerful, but surface area is a fact of physics and more of it means more suit to wrestle. So, the biggest suit in the range is not going to be the best for freestyle flying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suit strengths line up into categories of surface area, speed range, and agility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wingsuits are designed for different types of flying \u2013 The C-Race is all about performance (speed)
Photo: C-Race wingsuits pilots at the Red Bull Aces competition, Red Bull Content Pool
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Difficulty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like the tools from many other sports we enjoy, there is generally a trade-off between performance and ease of use. The biggest suits in our range will not be the easiest to control (even if they are the easiest to lay on, and fly in a straight line). But the biggest suits will offer the most performance \u2013 by which we mean, the shortest starts in BASE jumping, the most glide performance in a competition, and the most power for freestyle flying. So, generally speaking, bigger = more complicated and thus a higher skill level is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WS CATEGORIES<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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!! Disclosure Alert !! <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I started a wingsuit company in 2012 and in this article I only refer to the suits my company makes. There are a lot of great options out there that you will find many opinions on. I\u2019m only going to speak about what I know best, which is SQRL wingsuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FIRST FLIGHT COURSE \u2013 The Sprint, made for first wingsuit jumps
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First Flight Course<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Easy choice, pick a Sprint if it\u2019s available for your first couple of jumps. A Swift is also perfectly acceptable, particularly if you have a strong skydiving background (ie, more than the bare minimum 200 jumps). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BEGINNER \u2013 Swift4 – the ‘first year’ wingsuit
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Beginner<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Swift is the perfect first wingsuit. It serves most jumpers well for at least their first year of wingsuit skydiving. If you can put 75-100 jumps on one before moving up, do it! As wingsuits go, it\u2019s the most \u201call-around\u201d design that we know of. It has excellent performance, a great speed range (meaning that it flies fast, but also has a low stall speed), and is relatively easy to transition and back fly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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INTERMEDIATE \u2013 ATC , the ‘second suit’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Intermediate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now you\u2019re at a crossroads. The next higher category of suits includes two great options: the ATC, and Low-Ki series. The ATC has become a very popular second suit option, and is a natural stepping stone to the Freak series which is the most popular advanced category suit in our range. The Low-Ki series has been gaining in popularity though due to its slightly easier character and surprisingly good performance. If you are edging towards freestyle, the Low-Ki is a good option. If your focus is more on performance, then consider the ATC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news here is that you can’t really make a mistake. Both suits are fun, and both suits provide a solid transition to higher performance models. So don’t overthink it — buy what you think will fly best with your friends at your home DZ, and get some jumps in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both models, and the ATC in particular, will introduce you to the mid-chord surface area increase that all modern advanced wingsuits feature \u2013 this is the extra surface area on the arm wing that is concentrated around your hips, which extends in a straight line (parallel to chord) down to your ankles. It took many years of wingsuit design to arrive at this planform concept. It was first introduced by Tony Suits in 2008 with the release of their \u201cBird\u201d series, which kick-started a new generation of higher performing wingsuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ADVANCED \u2013 Freak5, the ‘go-to’ suit
Photo by Puro Skydive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advanced<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Talk about choices. At this point, you could be heading in any direction, but all of the advanced \/ expert wingsuit pilots we know, want a Freak or similar suit in their arsenal. It\u2019s the go-to suit for daily dropzone use. It\u2019s fun, it\u2019s fast, it\u2019s agile, and it opens up a huge number of possibilities in freestyle flying and also in BASE. It is our primary Advanced \u2013 Freestyle<\/strong> design, and we think it\u2019s without question the best all-around suit in this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ADVANCED BASE \u2013 many choices, the Aura4 gives excellent starts and glide
Photo by Rachel Bakin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Advanced \u2013 BASE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most of the suits in our advanced category are appropriate for advanced BASE use. The Freak series is a popular choice. By the time you get to this phase of your wingsuit flying career, you’ll already have strong opinions about brands and models and who am I to tell you what to do at that point… but to point out what you already know, most people choose between the Aura and Colugo series. If you’re still keen on freestyle flying even in the BASE environment, the Creature series is a fun option as it has more surface area than the Freak and therefore a shorter start arc and more glide potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Advanced \u2013 Performance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have your eye on performance competitions, then the C-Race<\/a> and CR+<\/a> are the two suits to choose from. The CR+ has become the most popular suit in wingsuit performance competitions by a wide margin, and nearly all of the World Championship, World Cup, and National podiums around the world since 2015 have been won by CR+ pilots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What WS is Right for You? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a high-level, overview article for information and understanding. There is a lot more detail about each of our suits on our website<\/a>… scroll down, there is tons of info. For personal advice, talk to your WS instructor or local expert, or contact us<\/a>. Other manufacturers have similar pages with their recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: big way training over Skydive Elsinore, by Claudiu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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