Skydiving equipment is an important to a safe and effective skydiving experience.  The altimeter is an essential piece of equipment for the sport.  The altimeter is used for notification of skydivers to know when to deploy their parachutes as well as to break formation.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not require that skydivers use altimeters; however, they are highly recommended for safety.  One may keep count in one’s head in order to keep track of the timing to deploy one’s canopy as an alternative.

The altimeters come in two main varieties.  There are visual and audible altimeters.  There are two main types of visual altimeters.  One is the wrist mounted altimeter, which is worn on the wrist.  The other is the chest mount altimeter, which is naturally worn on the chest.  The audible altimeters are worn near the ear of the skydiver on the skydiver’s helmet.  The audible altimeters are gaining in popularity.  The most commonly used altimeters are visual.

The chest mounted altimeters were initially designed so that when one is skydiving with another individual they could read the altitude from the person across from them.  The wrist altimeter is more common in the sport for individuals.  There are some altimeters that read differently depending upon the skydiver’s orientation.  Hence, if one is inverted it may provide a different reading then if one is not inverted.  Models exist that compensate for this difference and I am not exactly clear as to how much variation there may exist between the two models.  There are models that are designed for inverted flight.

Again although the altimeter is not part of the required gear, it is probably the most important piece of equipment next to the canopy itself.  It is very important to be altitude aware during freefall.  Additionally, glow-in-the-dark altimeters and/or auditory altimeters are recommended for night jumps.

The altimeters come in a variety of grades from a variety of manufacturers.  I would recommend talking with a skydiving professional before purchasing one as well as doing a little shopping around so that the device fits your application and budget.  Be safe and have fun.