I ordered my own rig while I still only held an AFF license, which is earlier than most advice suggests. The lead time is what made it reasonable.
People disagree about when to buy. Some say wait until you have an A license. Some say only buy if you are jumping regularly every year.
Why I ordered when I did
Singapore was raising GST from 8 to 9 percent in 2024, so ordering in 2023 saved that one percent.
More importantly, as of August 2023 there was a shortage of reserve canopies and my rig was quoted at 24 weeks. That is the real answer to the "too early" objection: by the time it arrived I would have my A license and possibly my B. Ordering on an AFF license and receiving it on an A license are not the same decision.
The rest is ordinary. My own rig means I know its history and its handling, rather than adjusting to whatever is on the shelf. I can jump at any dropzone without depending on rental availability. And rental costs about $40 SGD a jump, close to the ticket itself, so it pays for itself given enough jumps.
What was hard to find out
I could not find a detailed comparison between brands anywhere online. I research everything before I buy, and there was nothing to research with.
Most sellers are in countries with more dropzones than Singapore has, which is none, so I had no local option and went through my AFF provider, who is an authorized seller for some brands.
The 24-week wait on a reserve still strikes me as a supply chain problem rather than a fact of life.
These gaps are part of why I started building ExtrmSport.
Choosing it
The choice was VSE or Aerodyne. I went with VSE because it was more available.
The 3D rig designer works, though it is fiddly. The color scheme took me longest. I do not have much taste and I mainly did not want it to look like a rental rig.
$7,890 USD with minimal add-ons, including the reserve canopy and the pack job.