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Sabre/Spectre

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HI 80 jumps, , I am buying a new main canopy and cannot decide between a Sabre 2 and Spectre. I haven't got the opportunity to demo jump them.

I just want a fairly safe canopy , i.e with a history of consistent good openings etc, easy to land.
The sabre2 is strongly recomended by people, but I will wear camera when i reach 200 jumps,and it is suggested that the spectre has more suitable openings for this? Or is there not a lot in this?

Any advice gratefully recieved

thx
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Practise the 6 P's!
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This comparison comes up quite alot, have you done a search or read the reviews in the gear section?

I've owned 2 Spectres and a Sabre2. The Spectres had better (more consistent) openings but the Sabre2 was more fun to fly and landed much better. None of them opened hard and I wear a camera on 99% of my jumps. I think you'd be happy with either.

Gus
OutpatientsOnline.com

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I think the general consensus is that Spectres open nicer than Sabre2s... and both are suitable for jumping camera.

I know loads of people that fly cameras with pretty much every type of canopy out there.

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I just want a fairly safe canopy


A canopy is only as safe as the person at the controls wants it to be. ;)
NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

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Any advice gratefully recieved



DEMO.

After reading the flight characteristics documents at PD's website, I was ready to buy a spectre. Decided I better try one before buying, so I ordered a demo. I liked it quite a bit. Found a good deal on a used one from somebody that I knew, and almost went ahead and bought it. But then I just decided to try a Sabre2 in the same size (I had done a couple jumps on a bigger one before) before making my final decision.

Only managed to put a couple jumps on the sabre2 before I had to send it back, but that was enough to convince me that I liked it a lot more than the Spectre.

Sabre2s are very unpopular at my DZ and I get dirty looks from all the spectre owners (half the people on the DZ) whenever I say I didn't like it as much.

There are plenty of other posts that compare the two canopies. But my point is that you might not know what you want until you try them both (and maybe a few others while you're at it). I'll play billvon and suggest trying a Pilot too. :P

Dave

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Why choose between those 2 very different canopies? There are alot of options out there.

Sabre 2 is a nine-cell semi-elliptical.. longer glide than the Spectre.. If that is what you are looking for, also consider the Aerodyne Pilot and the Icarus Safire 2.

The Spectre is a seven cell.. If that is what you want, also consider the Aerodyne Triathlon.

Any of these canopies are great for flying camera. But do consider all the options before plunking down the cash for a new canopy. Personally, I have a few hundred jumps on a Spectre, 150 on a Sabre 2, 600 on Stilettos but am anxiously waiting for my new Pilots to be shipped to me. I fly camera and was very impressed with the demo Pilots. B|
chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

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Why did you prefer the Sabre2 Dave?

What are the main differences between 7-cell and 9-cell, appart form your descent rate is greater with a 7-cell?

Is there no problem with camera on a Sabre2 then? It's just that on PD's website they say the spectre is more suitable for camera?
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Is there no problem with camera on a Sabre2 then? It's just that on PD's website they say the spectre is more suitable for camera?



I have close to 600 jumps on my Sabre2s, and 400+ of those jumps were with a camera (or multiple cameras) and it has been great.

I too looked into the Spectre as my next canopy, but I wanted more performance so decided on a 9 cell instead of another 7 cell (I was jumping a Triathlon before going to a Sabre2)

The reason PD recommends the Spectre as a "camera canopy" is because of the openings and overall characteristics of the canopy. 7 cell is more docile than 9 cell (generally) and docile is good, for many reasons.
If you're under any kind of trouble under a Spectre it might be easier to fix the issue than it would be under a more high performance main.

As Chopchop said as well, demo demo demo, don't just go by advice from people on here, make up your own mind about the canopy you want, specially when you buy brand new.

I've set my mind on a Sabre2 135 now that I've jumped that for 2 weeks, but I am sure as hell going to try the Pilots that Chopchop is getting too.. to make sure I checked out all my options.

Iwan

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Both are popular canopies so there should be someone at your dropzone who can lend you theirs to get a jump on.

Whilst PD don't have a proper demo program in the UK there are some dealers who have them available.

Your dz isn't in your profile, if you add it someone may be able to help you out.

And just to throw it in again, I still haven't heard a bad word said about the pilot yet.

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I didn't like the way the Spectre landed. Openings were so slow they were almost scary to me. They really weren't THAT slow, it's just that I had been jumping an F111 canopy that didn't snivel at all. The Spectre is the opposite end of the spectrum, so I wasn't used to it.

The landings on the spectre were not very different from the landings I was getting on my PD 9-cell, just a whole lot faster. I found it tricky to get the flare timing right, though I only put 17 jumps on it. I just found that I had to time the flare just right to get the vertical and horizontal speed minimized at the same time.

The sabre2 has a very different flare. Much more powerful. I could get the vertical speed stopped first, then just keep flaring slowly to slow down the horizontal speed. I found the flare timing just wasnt' nearly as important. Sometimes I flare a little low, level off dragging my feet, and slow down until my weight settles onto my feet. Sometimes I flare a little higher, and just keep flaring until I basically come to a complete stop a foot off the ground and just kinda plop down softly.

But other people tell me they LOVE how the spectre lands, so that's why ya gotta demo and see what you like.

Dave

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I jump both the Spectre AND the Saber2. At your experience level, I would recommend the Spectre.:)
Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

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I am in the same boat looking at a saber 2 and a spectre. When I go to order demos what sizes compare to each other in wingloading, and handling(in general). Ie a spectre 210-220-230 is equal to the same in a sabre? Or do oyu have to get a bigger saber to equal a spectre of a certain size.

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You can't do CReW on a Sabre2



News to me.

Though, if you want to do hardcore CReW, buy a canopy designed for that. If that's not your focus then demo. PD have a great demo program. They're both good canopies and it just depends what you want from your canopy.

Blues,
Ian
Performance Designs Factory Team

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You can't do CReW on a Sabre2. :)


Errr, a Spectre isn't any safer than a Sabre2 for CRW. You really should be using CRW specific canopies, or at least a reasonable compromise like a Hybrid Triathlon. That said, I have done CRW with a Sabre2 and other 9-cell canopies.

Disclaimer: I am in no way a qualified CRW instructor, I am just relating my experiences. Do not interpret this post as advice one way or another.

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Errr, a Spectre isn't any safer than a Sabre2 for CRW. .



Actually it is a whole lot better. Obviously a true CRW canopy is ideal, but for casual CRW Spectres work wonderfully. 7-cells are just so much more stable than 9-cells. They're so much more stable that you can feel a night and day difference just flying them around...

W

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I am in the same boat looking at a saber 2 and a spectre. When I go to order demos what sizes compare to each other in wingloading, and handling(in general). Ie a spectre 210-220-230 is equal to the same in a sabre? Or do oyu have to get a bigger saber to equal a spectre of a certain size.



Generally when you demo canopies you want to do so using the same sizes (or as close as possible given the different measuring methods employed) so as to not create an apples to oranges comparison. Don't forget to try stuff other than just PD canopies... Precision, Big Air, Icarus, and others all have demo programs and make canopies you might otherwise have never considered.

Personally I am really looking forward to demoing a Lotus when I get ready to try a 170 sometime in the future.
NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

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Errr, a Spectre isn't any safer than a Sabre2 for CRW. .



Actually it is a whole lot better. Obviously a true CRW canopy is ideal, but for casual CRW Spectres work wonderfully. 7-cells are just so much more stable than 9-cells. They're so much more stable that you can feel a night and day difference just flying them around...



I'm sure you're right, I just never noticed. About half of my CRW jumps (only about 20 total, so I'm hardly the voice of experience) were on Spectre 150s and 170s, one on a Lightning, and the rest divided between whatever happened to be in my container and my Hybrid Triathlon. I notice my Hybrid Tri is a lot more stable than anything else I've used, not countning the Lightning.

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IMHO the Spectre is a great canopy that opens really nicely, feels solid in flight and will get you down safely.

When I demo-ed the Pilot I was gob-smacked at how good the openings were - definitely better than my Spectre and how nicely it landed. It didn't feel quite as solid in flight, but that's more to do with the difference between a 7-cell and a 9-cell than anything else. If I won the lottery, a Pilot would be quite high on my shopping list!

But as others have said - DEMO! Find out what you like and then shop accordingly.

Good luck! :)
Vicki

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