Skydive Las Vegas - Boulder City, Nevada - Skydiving with Views of Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, and the Colorado River

Skydive Las Vegas, located a half-hour from the Strip in Boulder City, NV, might sound like a good deal, from the consistently perfect weather it enjoys and the stunning views its skydivers get of Hoover Dam, the Colorado River, Lake Mead, Vegas - and four states.

After a training session of 30 to 45 minutes the outfit will take you up for a tandem jump - that is, hooked up with an experienced skydiver - at altitudes of 1 and 3 miles. It touts its "state of the art'' equipment, with square chutes and an automatic reserve-parachute opener called Cypres that's operated by a mini-computer. Doubtless without exaggeration it talks up the thrill of free-falling at 120 miles an hour. It's got safety systems and backup safety systems and a 7,000 square foot air-conditioned office and hangar complex. It offers video and still footage of the jump "from exit until landing,'' including recorded audio and the option of dubbing the videos with music, slow-motion, and computer graphics. Its staff, as it says, has "over 100 hours of collective skydiving experience,'' with all instructors having more than 1,000 jumps under their belts.

Indeed, Skydive Las Vegas says that aside from broken leg or two, it's "never had a student fatality or major injury.''

Still, if reviews of the operation are any indication, a gambler would be far better off signing up at Skydive Las Vegas's smaller - and cheaper - competitor, Sin City Skydiving in nearby Jean, NV. Skydive Las Vegas claims that the whole shebang, from pickup to drop-off on the Vegas Strip, will take 2-3 hours. But a lot of its former clients contend that you'll use up the better part of a day jumping from one of its two airplanes - a Cessna Super-Turbine Caravan and a Cessna P206. Skydive Las Vegas claims that the videos and photographs it provides (starting at $69) are in "digital high quality,'' but some of its patrons will tell you that the photos they received were "blurry and out of focus.''

The list of complaints goes on and on. According to some who claim that Skydive Las Vegas offered a full refund to those who didn't jump, the outfit did not make good on its promise. Many people have reported that an offer of a free t-shirt was not honored. People have claimed that the operation is "not organized'' and that it overbooks.

As with anything, though, there are also good reviews of Skydive Las Vegas, including "awesome in every way!'', "an overall excellent experience,'' and "amazing.''

Jumpers must be over 18 years old with a photo I.D., in good physical and mental condition, 100% sober, under 240 pounds, and height/weight proportionate.

To contact Skydive Las Vegas call: 888-492-4264 or 702-508-0522.