Newbie seeking advice

1: A parachute is not very expensive (relative to the other things you
may buy as you get into soaring)

2: Most ships have seats designed to take a parachute (I assume this
is a result of the fact that chutes are mandatory in contests) so you
usually either need to wear a chute or use some cushions. I have found
that in most gliders a good chute is more comfortable than cushions.

3: These points being taken into account, why would you not wear a
chute? Maybe you will never have the opportunity to use it (I
certainly hope I never do!). Maybe you wouldn't be able to get out if
you nedded to. However maybe you WILL need to bail out and maybe you
WILL be successful in doing so. No matter what happens wearing a chute
gives you another option and has no real drawbacks.

4: Just think how stupid you would feel if you DID need a chute and
didin't have one.

5: If you and your ship end up down in the wilderness and have to wait
a day or longer to get rescued all that nylon could be a useful thing
to have on hand.

If you can try out a number of different types of chutes in your
glider to find out which suits you and your ship best, do it. My club
has nearly a dozen chutes and after trying them out I bought a
National backpack because it fits perfectly into the seat recess of my
ASW15b. It's as comfortable as lying in bed! On the other hand, when
flying my club's Grobs, I used a bigger Security chute because they
raise me up a bit so I can see out better. In the backseat of our L13
and L23 I use these huge ex-military chutes we have because they raise
me up and push me forward so my head isn't as buried in the wing root
as it would be with a backpack chute.