Introducing EZ ALTI: Why We're Exploring a Speaking Audible

EZDZ started by making manifest and booking software more accessible to drop zones. EZ ALTI takes that same mindset into a different part of skydiving: the gear in a jumper's helmet. It's a speaking skydiving audible altimeter concept, designed to call out altitude in a voice you choose.

We have put serious work into the board design, firmware and simulation, but have not ordered physical test units. Building hardware is a bigger step than adding another software feature. Here's why we're considering it.

When our founder, Kaden Reese, started skydiving, Brilliant Pebbles was one of the audibles he noticed. He wanted spoken altitude rather than only beep alerts, so he bought a VOG. It did its job, while leaving him wanting more voice choices and a fuller phone logbook than he had at the time. He liked its wireless charging, but sometimes wished he could borrow a USB-C cable at the drop zone instead of bringing a charging pad. Those experiences helped shape what we're exploring with EZ ALTI.

EZDZ has always tried to make skydiving work better without making it more expensive. I didn't set out to build an audible. But the longer I've been in the sport, and the more I've tried to learn about the hardware behind some of the gear, the more I wanted to see what this might take. Through some design work and running through the economics, it seems this might be possible: making a speaking audible that feels premium at a price where more jumpers can buy one. Before I continue further work, I want to see if this is even something people would be interested in.

• Spoken altitude callouts, with a choice of voices and customizable callout lists for climb, freefall and canopy.
• A compact enclosure designed for a helmet's audible pocket, with USB-C charging planned.
• Onboard jump logging designed to retain full jump summaries and altitude/speed profiles. Current storage estimates suggest around 300 jumps alongside one or two voice packs; physical testing will confirm capacity.
• Phone-based callout setup, voice-pack swapping over Bluetooth and an app logbook are planned; the app and device syncing are still in development.
• A handful of concept finishes (including a clear shell that shows the board) so you can tell us which one you'd actually want to jump.

Our preliminary target price is around $279. That only works if there is enough interest to support a healthy production run. Smaller order volumes, tariffs, component costs or testing changes could push the final price higher. This is a target, not a confirmed sale price, and we are not taking orders.

EZ ALTI is a secondary altitude-awareness aid. Always wear and use a primary visual altimeter, follow your training and drop-zone rules, and never rely on any audible as your only source of altitude information. Any altimeter can fail or give an unexpected reading.

Right now you can preview two prototype voice packs and see the concept finishes in an interactive 3D story. If community interest supports a first hardware run, bench and jump testing would follow. EZ ALTI remains in development; features, availability and price may change.