Jeeperrs

I know equipment is a personal choice. However, I thought I would throw this out there. I was airborne on active duty and have some jumps. I recently decided to try free fall since my jumps were all static line. My first jump was an extremely hard tandem open, hard enough that they guy jumping with me decided not to jump the rest of the day because it hurt him. I had a sore neck for a few days and some burn rash between my legs for a few days. Two weeks later I decided to start working on my license and student rigs are not a good fit for me most of the time. I will buy a rig sooner than later so I don't dislike the sport due to one size fits all pains. I have been to two different drop zones and they both seem loyal to a specific brand. I am 5'9.5" and 180 lbs. I will use other measurements for the harness. However, I just want an easy opening parachute with easy handling. I am 46 years old and just enjoy, as they say in the Army, the breeze between my knees. I don't every plan to do the crazy crap you young people do, but I do enjoy watching on Youtube, LOL. What are some good mid range containers, main, and reserves? Does adding rings to the harness make a big difference? I plan to jump this for a long while. I know some will say I will want to upgrade in the future, and I may. But, I have the means to buy now and can take the financial hit if I sell early. I will go high end on helmets, altimeters, AAD and that stuff because they last forever. I have a good idea of what I want on those items but not the a container set. Thanks for any recommendations.

I can't answer this specifically to sky diving and a timeline but I have had 3 right should surgeries. My first surgery was rotator cuff, labrum, and bicep relocation. That took 9 months before I could do anything with heavy lifting. My second was a capsule reopening, that took 4 months. My third was just a rotator cuff and that took 5 months. I am a lifter. A year after full recovery from my last surgery I was lifting 200 lb on bench. Two years after my last I was benching 245 lbs bench (with a spotter of course). I have recently started working on my skydiving license. I had a tandem first and unfortunately had an extremely hard open (the guy jumping with me was concerned I was going to be hurt as it hurt him and he declined jumps for the rest of the day). My shoulder was fine but my neck was sore for a few days. So, my experience with shoulder surgery is that you can do anything. I was told that I would never be able to lift over 150 lbs, but I made it 100 lbs over with no damage again, plus at least one super hard opening. So, take physical rehab seriously. Work through the hurt as your body allows. Start strength training slow and steady, as your shoulder will be very week for a few months but muscle rebound is a real thing. Advance as your body allows. Back off if your body shows it isn't ready and you should be fine. I am not letting it stop me from skydiving. I probably should not say this, but I even had two discs in my neck replaced and still am going to skydive. But, I took rehab serious and did the exercises (they look dumb) serious. FYI, I am now 46 years old for an age comparison if you think you are too old.