Skydiving rocks! Unfortunately, documenting this exhilarating activity is currently an unfruitful, monotonous task.

Think back to your AFF days when the instructor explains the importance of logging, which takes 30 seconds.

“You’re going to accumulate more stories than you can possibly remember, so document each skydive in this napkin-saved notebook. That will surely capture the thrill.”

This, of course, is a joke. But there is sad truth in it.

As an experienced skydiver, chances are good the days of logging are behind you.

Here’s why:

The value of paper logbooks erode over time.

The more jumps we make, the less value paper logbooks have. Their worth quickly erodes to an ambitious tally system.

After several milestones, it’s hard to justify keeping a logbook.

Disciplined loggers fill up a logbook and set it aside. Old logbooks collect dust on a shelf, or worse, are lost and forgotten.

Individual skydives, events, and milestones devolve into foggy memories within the larger, thrilling story of your skydiving career.

Logging is currently low-value but worthwhile.

Your lifestyle is unique and thrilling. Therefore, it’s worth documenting to some capacity.

As a result, maintaining a logbook moves from a requirement to an intrinsic desire, as long as the documenting process becomes faster, easier, more enjoyable, and more valuable.

As a statistic, skydivers are a small sliver of the world population. Few people have the opportunity, the balls, the drive, and the ability to live the lifestyle you’re living. Therefore, it’s worth documenting.

We just need a better medium to capture our skydiving pursuit.

The state of “logging” in other domains

We live in an age where apps like Strava, RunKeeper, and Google Fit track and log our exercise activities using only a smartphone.

I’ve longed for something similar in skydiving:

• The ability to record skydives like other apps record exercise activities.
• The ability to immediately see robust data.
• The ability to conveniently fill out log details using historical suggestions.
• The peace-of-mind knowing that all data is safe in the cloud.
• A logbook that isn’t a chore, but something actually enjoyable to maintain.

Skydivers deserve a platform to tell the individual stories and the holistic story of our skydiving pursuit. This is why a team of myself and three others are building “Boogie - Skydiving Logbook.”

The potential of a logbook app

The conditions are right for skydivers to transition to Boogie Skydiving Logbook.

Boogie leverages several key opportunities made possible by mobile technology:

1. Cloud storage, where your skydives belong (that joke never gets old)
2. Turn your phone into a skydiving computer
3. Learn faster by immediately analyzing your skydive
4. Always free
5. Entertaining to maintain, so you can log more and log better

By default, any mobile logbook app has advantages:

1. Phone accessibility makes maintaining a logbook much more convenient.
2. Convenient updates, thanks to the App Store and PlayStore

By default, any digital logbook (mobile or otherwise) has advantages:

1. Unlimited log entries
2. Positioned for advancements with updates

1. Cloud storage, where your skydives belong

We all have friends who have lost or damaged their logbooks.

One of my friends thinks she left her logbook at a Boogie out of the country, which contained her first 500 skydives; some in elaborate detail.

Another friend meticulously maintained a logbook in spreadsheet form saved locally on her laptop. Each log contained a thorough description of all skydives; not to mention, blog-worthy descriptions.

Unfortunately, her computer crashed. She lost everything.

In both scenarios, cloud storage prevents those catastrophes.

Cloud storage has become so accessible there is no reason skydivers should risk losing their logbook.

Logbooks should be saved in the cloud where they belong – for free. Free, cloud-based storage is a minimum requirement for any logbook, in my opinion.

Skydivers who log with Boogie have the peace of mind knowing their logs are safe at no effort and no cost.

2. Turn your phone into a skydiving computer

We all want to improve as skydivers.

Currently analyzing data is inconvenient and painful, which is why Boogie has committed to turn your phone into both a recording and analyzing device.

Barometers (pressure sensors) are fairly common in modern smart phones. Therefore, your phone can be a skydiving computer.

Boogie captures reliable skydive data.

While testing and developing Boogie the past three years, we’ve captured altitude data comparable to altimeters.

When describing this feature, most skydivers are skeptical of phone barometers. We were too.

Each skydiver is surprised to see that Boogie-recorded data is nearly identical to their digital altimeters.

“Love this app! Spot on with my ditter.”

Ben Darling, A-59656

Furthermore, during a day of skydiving, battery consumption is comparable* *to a non-skydiving day. I record every jump and use my phone moderately between skydives. Battery usage is indistinguishable from a usual day.

*Note: as of now, we are currently still developing recording for iOS.

3. Learn faster by immediately analyzing your skydive

Recording skydives with your phone is significant, so you can see altitude and vertical speed graphed immediately – in the palm of your hand, standing in the peas.

No plugging into a desktop and importing data. No fumbling through options on a 2-inch screen.

Reliable data graphed immediately.

Data analysis is an important component of skydiving, especially for skydivers who push the bounds of their discipline. Instant accessibility to that data plays an important role in skill advancement.

Skydivers who record their skydives KNOW:

• How fast the formation was falling, and see how it slowed down as more people filled their slots.
• What altitude they flared their wingsuit WITHOUT exporting/importing to a computer.
• The altitude when their angle became steep.
• The altitude the formation funnelled.
• When their canopy inflated.
• How fast they flew vertically during that head-down jump.
• How much the rate of descent increased as more CRW dogs joined the stack.
• How fast they descended before their swoop.

Skydivers who log with Boogie know more about their skydives and improve faster.

4. Always free

Skydivers are already skeptical of logbook apps. A price tag is an easy excuse to turn us away.

Boogie will always offer a free skydiving logbook with fantastic features:

• Unlimited logs
• Cloud-based storage
• USPA-compliant
• Recording-enabled
• Data Analysis

Like many software products, Boogie will additionally offer a premium logbook for skydivers who crave more.

5. Entertaining to maintain, so you can log more and log better

The phone experience is an intimate one, which is why leading software companies invest a tremendous amount of money in product design and user engagement.

A handful of key elements are the magic that make apps enjoyable:

• Well-executed product design
• Quickly responsive to user input
• A streamlined user experience (easy to use)
• An engaging user experience

This is why Boogie created playful jump type illustrations.

They weren’t necessary. In fact, they took several months to create (and there are more to come).

A simple dropdown would have been sufficient, but illustrations add personality and delight.

Boogie is committed to transition logging from mundane and monotonous to engaging and enjoyable.

Skydivers who use Boogie actually enjoy logging and better capture individual stories and the holistic story of their skydiving pursuits.

6. Phone accessibility makes maintaining a logbook much more convenient.

Due to the accessibility of our phones, any dull moment becomes an opportunity to check Facebook, Instagram, or log today’s skydives.

There are far fewer opportunities to log with a physical logbook or desktop software.

Skydivers must consciously make time to sit down with their logbook and digital altimeter to enter a log.

Convenience is king.

Anytime there is a more accessible way to do something, adoption becomes a matter of time.

Skydivers who use Boogie log more frequently and capture more details about each skydive. As a result, they better document their skydiving careers.

7. Apps are convenient to update thanks to the App Store and Playstore

This seems like a silly point, however, some desktop apps are inconvenient to update. Therefore, an automated update is a quiet differentiator.

Updating should be easy. Thanks to the tech giants Apple and Google, it is.

8. Unlimited log entries

One of many digital logbook advantages is the death to that final scribble-infested page that crams three weeks of jumping on one page.

Your logbook can be infinite.

We carry around the world’s information at our fingertips. Certainly, we can log as detailed and as many skydives as our heart desires.

At Boogie, we believe this: a digital logbook’s minimum requirement is to offer unlimited logs and fully replace your USPA-compliant logbook at no cost.

As a result, skydivers who use Boogie are more apt to enter more skydives and more data about each skydive. Better documenting their pursuit of adventure, which is worth documenting.

9. Positioned for advancements with updates

Notebook advancements are non-existent.

You have never woke up in the morning to an “updated” physical logbook, offering more features than the day before.

When deciding where to invest the story of your skydiving career, Boogie sets you up for an increasingly-robust logging experience.

For example: Boogie currently lacks summary features. Data inputted now is an investment that will benefit summary features later.

Anticipating new features encourages skydivers to input accurate data, which continues to benefit them into the future.

Conclusion

Current logbooks are a lifeless reflection of a skydiver’s riveting career. Furthermore, logbooks have a tendency to end up abandoned and lost.

We deserve a better logbook because your pursuit of skydiving is fascinating, rare, and worth documenting.

The time is right to transition to Boogie due to the variety of advantages:

• A USPA-compliant logbook app
• Improve faster by recording skydives and immediately analyzing your performance
• Have peace of mind knowing you have unlimited log entries saved in the cloud
• Rest assured your logbook is positioned for advancements and always accessible.
• Always free.
• Document a more robust story of your skydiving career because you enjoy logging.

Download Boogie - Skydiving Logbook for free on iOS or Android.

Blue Skies, The Boogie Team