Selling Your Rig: How to Price Used Skydiving Gear Fairly

Discover the standard rigger formulas for depreciating skydiving containers, main canopies, reserves, and AADs to price used gear fairly.

Selling your rig is emotional. That container kept you comfortable, that main brought you home safely after every hundred-foot swoop, that reserve sat quietly on your back as insurance you hoped never to cash in. But when it's time to upgrade or cash out, the feelings have to sit this one out.

Overprice based on sentimental value or what you paid for custom colors five years ago, and your listing sits gathering dust while buyers scroll past. Underprice it and you're leaving real money on the table. The industry doesn't run on guesswork here — certified riggers and gear lofts use standard depreciation math to price containers, canopies, reserves, and AADs. Here's how to run those numbers yourself.

The Golden Rule of Used Gear Valuation

One principle before the formulas:

Value of Complete Rig = Container Value + Main Canopy Value + Reserve Value + AAD Value

Never price a complete rig as one vague number. Buyers and riggers will break the system into four components and depreciate each separately — do that exercise yourself before they do it for you.

1. Container Depreciation

Your container — a Vector 3, Javelin Odyssey, Mirage G4 — is the chassis. It depreciates on calendar age and customization, not jump count.

Initial drop: the first jump costs it 15–20% of value immediately — it's no longer "new in bag."
Annual depreciation: after year one, $100–$150 USD per year.
Customization penalty: unusual body dimensions (6'5" and 150 lbs, or 5'2" and 220 lbs) or a loud, eccentric color scheme add a further 10–20% penalty — a heavily customized harness has a small buyer pool by definition.

Worked example — container

$3,200 new in 2022, standard dimensions and neutral colors, sold in 2026 (4 years old).
Year 1 drop (15%): 3,200 − 480 = $2,720
Years 2–4 (−$120/yr × 3): 2,720 − 360 = $2,360 fair market value

2. Main Canopy Depreciation

Mains — a Sabre3, Safire3, Crossfire3 — depreciate on jump count and line condition. Every pack job, deployment, and hour baking in UV degrades the nylon a little more.

Standard rate: $1.00–$1.50 USD per jump off retail.
Line set factor: a standard Spectra or Vectran line set lasts roughly 300–500 jumps. Past that, the lines are worn and need replacing — subtract the replacement cost, roughly $350–$450 USD including rigger installation.

Worked example — main canopy

$2,400 new, 250 jumps, original lines still airworthy (~150 jumps left).
Jump depreciation (250 × $1.20): $300
Worn line penalty: $0
Fair market value: $2,400 − $300 = $2,100

3. Reserve Canopy Depreciation

A reserve — a PD Reserve, Smart, OP-150 — sits sealed and rarely deploys, so it depreciates on a different curve: age and repack count, not jumps.

Age limit: most riggers and manufacturers (EASA in Europe, UPT and PD guidelines elsewhere) recommend retirement at 20 years regardless of use — call that a straight 5% loss per year.
Repack depreciation: subtract $10–$20 USD per repack cycle, for the fabric wear packing cards and tension cause.
Deployment penalty: a real emergency deployment costs a flat 20–30%. Two or more deployments and the value goes near-zero — most buyers won't trust it regardless of price.

Worked example — reserve

$1,800 new in 2016, never deployed, 10 years old, 20 repack cycles.
Age depreciation (10 of 20 years = 50%): $900
Repack wear (20 × $10): $200
Fair market value: $900 − $200 = $700

4. AAD Depreciation

Cypres 2, Vigil Cuatro, and m2 units are strictly pro-rated, because they have a hard legal expiration date and nothing extends it:

Vigil Cuatro: 20-year lifespan (240 months)
Cypres 2 (post-2015): 15.5-year lifespan (186 months)
m2 AAD: 15-year lifespan (180 months)

Fair Value = Price of New AAD / Total Lifespan in Months × Remaining Months of Life

If the unit is approaching mandatory or recommended factory maintenance (a Cypres at 5 or 10 years), subtract the service fee — roughly $250 USD — from the calculated price.

Worked example — AAD

Vigil Cuatro, $1,300 new, 96 months of life remaining.
1,300 / 240 × 96 = $520 fair market value

Summary Valuation Matrix

Component	Depreciation Method	Average Rate	Key Deductions
Container	Calendar age	−$100 to −$150/year	Non-standard sizing / loud colors (−20%)
Main Canopy	Jump count	−$1.00 to −$1.50/jump	Worn line set requiring swap (−$400)
Reserve	Age & repacks	−5% per year + −$15/repack	Emergency deployments (−20% to −50%)
AAD	Strict pro-rata	Price ÷ total months × remaining months	Imminent factory service fee (−$250)

The Math Doesn't Care About Your Patch Collection

Custom colors and embroidered patches are worth $0 to a buyer — price the container on age and sizing, not on how much you loved it. Get a pre-sale rigger inspection so you're defending your number with a card, not an opinion (our rigger inspection breakdown covers what that involves), and disclose everything — a water landing, out-of-trim lines, a repaired patch. Hiding it just gets the sale killed at the buyer's escrow inspection instead of at the listing stage. Know the common red flags before you write your description, and if you're pricing for a first-time buyer, our first-rig checklist shows you what they're already comparing you against.

Ready to Buy or Sell Your Parachuting Gear?

Pricing fairly is the first step to a fast sale. HornyGorilla is built for skydivers — list your components with clear technical forms and verified rigger inspections, and skip the sketchy forums entirely.

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Depreciation methodology checked against PIA Technical Publication TS-104 (2024), Performance Designs & UPT's Harness/Container and Canopy Retirement Guidelines (2025), and the FAA Parachute Rigger Handbook (FAA-H-8083-17A) Chapter 5.