How to Ship Skydiving Gear Safely (and Internationally)

Selling or buying a rig online is exciting right up until the payment clears and you realize you have to actually ship thousands of dollars of life-support equipment across the country, or the world.

Parachutes aren't normal cargo. They're bulky, heavy, and carry a sensitive micro-computer — the AAD — with an actual pyrotechnic cutter inside. Throw one into a single-walled box with some cheap tape and you're asking for trouble: carriers crush containers, and customs officers occasionally flag an AAD as an explosive. Here's how to avoid both.

1. Build an Armored Box

Your rig will get thrown into cargo holds and stacked under heavier boxes, so the packaging has to act like armor, not a formality.

Prep the harness first: secure every buckle (loose hardware slamming around scratches or punctures fabric), power the AAD completely off, and make sure the cutaway and reserve handles are seated so nothing can snag and partially deploy in transit.

Rig → Wrapped in Clean Plastic Bag → Double-Walled Heavy-Duty Box → H-Taped Shut

• Plastic first: a clean, heavy-duty garbage bag around the whole rig — keeps grease, oil, or rain off the nylon and Cordura.
• Double-walled box: rated for at least a 200-lb burst test. A 20×20×12" or 24×18×12" box fits most complete sport rigs.
• No foam peanuts, ever. They crumble and the debris gets into pin covers and grommets. Use kraft paper or bubble wrap instead.
• H-tape it: 2" packing tape down every center seam and edge seam, top and bottom.

2. The AAD "Explosive" Problem

The pyrotechnic cutter inside a Cypres, Vigil, or m2 is exactly what occasionally gets a package flagged, seized, or held by an overzealous scanner or inspector. It doesn't have to.

Manufacturers have spent years securing formal exemptions with the FAA, IATA, and TSA — under IATA's Dangerous Goods Regulations, these units are exempt from hazardous material classification under normal shipping conditions. You just have to prove it's inside the box:

• Cypres: print Airtec's "Cypres Travel and Transport Document."
• Vigil: print the "Vigil TSA / IATA Compliance Card."
• m2: print the "m2 Technical Declaration for Transport."

Tape a visible note to the outside of the plastic wrap, on top of the gear:

This package contains sport skydiving equipment with a built-in AAD certified by the FAA/IATA as non-hazardous, life-saving emergency equipment. Documentation inside.

3. Carrier and Insurance

Skip untracked postal services — recovery on a lost package is nearly impossible and their default insurance caps are too low for a $4,000+ rig.

• FedEx or UPS for domestic US/Canada/Europe shipping — solid tracking, high declared-value limits.
• DHL Express for intercontinental shipping — its own customs brokerage network clears faster than most.
• Require a direct signature. Never let a driver leave a valuable rig on a porch.
• Insure it for full value. Under-insuring to save $30 means you eat the difference if it's lost or crushed. Keep the rigger's inspection report (see our rigger inspection breakdown) as proof of value.

4. Customs: The One Code That Matters

Declare it wrong and the buyer can get hit with 20–30% in import duties and VAT, or the package bounces back to you.

On the commercial invoice: describe it as "used personal skydiving equipment (parachute harness and canopy) for personal sporting use," and always emphasize "Used." Most countries tax new luxury imports hard but give used personal sporting goods a much lighter rate — or an exemption entirely. Sending it for repair rather than sale? Declare it as "Temporary export for repair — to be returned to owner."

The Box Is Cheap. The Contents Aren't.

A rejected customs form or a crushed corner costs you days and, sometimes, the sale. None of the steps above are expensive or slow — they're the difference between a rig that lands on the buyer's doorstep ready to jump and one that sits in a bonded warehouse for three weeks while someone argues about whether it's an explosive.

Ready to Buy or Sell Your Parachuting Gear?

Whether you're shipping across an ocean or buying across the country, HornyGorilla verifies every listing with a certified rigger inspection before it goes live. Ship — and buy — with peace of mind.

→ Sell Your Verified Gear on HornyGorilla

Checked against IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations § 2.3, Airtec's Cypres 2 User's Manual & Shipping Information Pamphlet (2025), FAA Advisory Circular AC 105-2E, and the WCO Harmonized System, Chapter 88.