What to wear skydiving in Interlaken: clothes, shoes and what to bring

This is the question with the simplest answer on the whole site, and it is worth stating plainly before the detail. The listing for $526 includes four things: the skydive, a safety briefing, the skydiving equipment and a tandem master. One instructor per client, attached to you from the door of the aircraft to the landing field. That means the jumpsuit, the harness and the goggles are part of what you have already paid for, and they are fitted by people who fit them every working day.

What is not in that list is ordinary clothing, and it is not in the list because it is yours. You arrive at the Outdoor Höheweg Shop at Höheweg 95 in Interlaken in what you intend to jump in, travel the thirty minutes to Reichenbach in it, and the suit goes on over the top when it is your turn. There is no changing room stage to plan for and nothing to pack beyond a small bag you leave with the bus.

So the practical question narrows to two items: what goes under the suit, and what is on your feet. Everything else on this page is a footnote to those two. Get them right and you will not think about clothing again all morning, which is the point — the booking runs 3.5 hours door to door and none of that time should be spent worrying about a shoelace.

One more piece of the fare is worth knowing here, because it changes what you carry. Photos and video of the jump are filmed on a handcam worn on the wrist of your instructor and paid for separately at the airfield. That is why there is no reason to bring a camera or a phone into the air, and every reason to bring a way of paying on the ground.

Shoes are the item to get right. Closed, laced and snug: trainers, light hiking shoes or light boots. The test is whether they would stay on if nobody held them, because for 45 seconds at 200 km/h (120 mph) nobody will. Sandals, slip-ons, flip-flops, clogs and heeled boots all fail that test, and the walk in and out across a grass field at Reichenbach is a second reason for something closed. If you own hiking shoes and you are in Interlaken, you almost certainly have the right footwear in your room already.

Layers under the suit, not bulk. The jumpsuit goes over what you are wearing, so think thin and comfortable rather than thick. Leggings or trousers with some give in them, a long-sleeved top, and in the colder half of the year a thin thermal layer underneath. What does not work is anything stiff, anything voluminous, or anything you would not want to sit in for the climb to 4,000 metres — that climb is several minutes on a bench with a harness on.

Tie long hair back, before the suit goes on. This is the most common small regret people report after a jump, and it is solved by an elastic band in a pocket. Goggles come from the operator and will hold most of it, but a tie does the rest.

Leave jewellery and loose accessories on the ground. Scarves, dangling earrings, loose hats, sunglasses on a cord, anything that hangs. None of it enjoys 200 km/h (120 mph), and the bus back to Interlaken is a far better place for it than the sky above Reichenbach. Sunglasses in particular are ground-only: goggles go on for the jump.

Glasses and contact lenses. If you wear contacts, wear them and the goggles go over the top. If you wear spectacles, mention it at the briefing — the instructor fits goggles every day and has seen it before. This is exactly the kind of thing the briefing stage exists for.

Bring a warm layer for afterwards, and leave it on the bus. Standing on an open field at Reichenbach waiting for a slot or waiting for the handcam footage is the part of the day you feel the weather in, not the jump. A fleece or a light jacket in the bag covers it, and you will not carry it into the air.

If you are flying rather than jumping, the kit list is similar and the operator supplies more of it. The nine tandem paragliding listings on this site name their gear in the fare: $222 includes a qualified pilot, the equipment, hiking boots and transport; $234 names mountain shoes, flight equipment and a safety briefing; $209 names a helmet, insurance, space to transport small items and boots or a jacket when necessary; and the Zermatt flight goes furthest, naming a flysuit to keep you warm along with a helmet, hat and gloves. Those flights also launch from mountain slopes rather than climbing to 4,000 metres, which is why they fly in a wider band of conditions than the aircraft does — a genuine advantage if your week in Interlaken is short. Either way, the clothing advice is the same one sentence: closed shoes, comfortable layers, nothing loose.

The only real clothing decision in this niche is how much to put under the suit, and it comes down to the half of the year you are in.

The warm half of the year. One thin layer is plenty: trousers or leggings, a long-sleeved top, trainers. The jumpsuit the operator supplies does the rest, and anything more will be too much while you are waiting on the field at Reichenbach. Take the warm layer anyway and leave it on the bus.

The cold half of the year. Add a thin thermal layer under the same clothes rather than a thicker jumper over them. Bulk is the enemy here: the harness needs to sit properly and you need to be able to move. Light boots instead of trainers make the walk across the field more comfortable, and gloves are worth having in a pocket for before and after.

What does not change with the season. Closed laced shoes, hair tied back, nothing loose or dangling, and a way to pay for the handcam footage at the airfield. Those four lines are the same in every month, because 45 seconds at 200 km/h (120 mph) is the same in every month.

The verdict. Dress as if you were going for a short walk in the Alps on that day, then add nothing. Book $526 and let the operator handle the rest: the fare names the skydiving equipment, the safety briefing and a tandem master one-to-one, and it holds 4.9 across 586 reviews. If you are also flying that week, $222 includes hiking boots with the pilot and equipment, which means the same pair of comfortable clothes covers both days in the air.

Clothing is the one part of planning a jump in Interlaken that the calendar genuinely touches, and it touches it lightly. In the long-daylight half of the year a single thin layer under the suit is enough. In the short-daylight half, swap it for a thermal layer and put light boots on instead of trainers. That is the whole seasonal difference.

What the season does change is planning, and that belongs to the other pages of this site: how many slots an operator has in a day, and how quickly the single jump sold in Interlaken fills up. The practical habit is the same in every month — book $526 for an early day of your stay and keep that day loose, because the booking runs 3.5 hours door to door from the Outdoor Höheweg Shop at Höheweg 95 in Interlaken to the field at Reichenbach and back. The listing publishes free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.

If the colder months are your window and you want to be certain of getting into the air, the tandem flights are worth booking alongside. They fly through the year from slope launches, and their kit lists are generous: a flysuit to keep you warm, helmet, hat and gloves on the Zermatt flight; a helmet and boots or a jacket when necessary on $209; hiking boots, equipment and transport on $222.

1. Shoes that can come off. The single most common mistake. Sandals, slip-ons and flip-flops have no place on an airfield or in 45 seconds of freefall. Closed and laced, every time.
2. Dressing too thick. The jumpsuit goes over your clothes, and the harness has to sit properly over both. Thin layers, not bulky ones.
3. Buying gear beforehand. There is nothing to buy. The fare for $526 names the skydiving equipment and the tandem master; the suit, harness and goggles are waiting at Reichenbach.
4. Wearing anything that hangs. Scarves, long necklaces, loose hats and sunglasses on cords all belong in the bag on the bus.
5. Forgetting a way to pay at the airfield. The handcam footage from the wrist of your instructor is bought on the day, not with the ticket.
6. Bringing people to carry your jacket. The seats on the transfer to Reichenbach are for the people jumping. Companions make their own way there, so pack as if you are alone.