[the_af]

I think base jumping is slightly closer to suicide.

Or that almost suicidal thing with the wingsuits some people do: I get the appeal, I'm sure the rush of feeling like flying must be incredible, but they are playing Russian roulette.

[ghaff]

Wingsuits aren’t something I really follow. But my understanding it’s an activity that most serious practitioners die sooner or later from a crash/fall.

[sampullman]

It's very dangerous, but I think "most serious practitioners die sooner or later" is an exaggeration. The number I see is 1 death per 500 jumps, which I assume is also biased towards people with less experience.

It might have been true for the pioneers of the sport though.

[the_af]

I (and probably the commenter you're replying to) meant wingsuit BASE jumping, who is considered one of the most dangerous sports in the world. I think it's borderline suicide. I think its practitioners are thrill seekers who want a higher and higher rush, much like an addiction, which has a high chance of killing them.

It's more dangerous than jumping from a plane with a wingsuit.

[sampullman]

I'm under the impression that wing suit base jumping is a lot safer than it was 20 years ago due to design improvements, and I believe that's what the 1 in 500 number I see in a few articles comes from. I could be wrong, but it matches the impression I have from watching a few content creators doing it.

[ghaff]

Yes, I'm basically referring to base jumping in a wingsuit though, as I say, it's not an activity I'm remotely interested in or have much knowledge of beyond some videos. Of course, serious/elite practitioners do quite a lot of jumps.

I read the fatality comment somewhere presumably somewhat authoritative but it was a while back.