Letting someone else test jump a canopy for you

[Orange1 0]

A question... 2 different instructors have recommended that when I buy a first canopy, I get a 170 (which will be just over 0.8 w/l). I'm jumping a 210 at the moment and will be graduating down to a 170 on club gear, which may take a # of weeks given a shoddy weather outlook.
2nd hand gear is in relatively short supply here at the moment but there is a rig available at present with the right canopies, price seems reasonable etc. My CI will check out the rig for me but my concern is this: I can't test-jump the canopy at the moment. Looking for opinions as to whether I should take up my CI's offer to get someone else at the DZ to test jump it for me in the meanwhile. Is it reasonable to buy on that basis? I guess it's kinda like asking someone else to test-drive a car for me, but at the same time with my low jump #s I'm also not sure whether I would really know what to look out for on a test-jump, other than the blatantly obvious. I'd obviously prefer to wait till I can jump it myself as well but that may be a while yet and the rig may not be around any more. Would it be better to let the rig go if necessary and wait longer? (who knows how long, and rental gear is pretty pricey too)

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[dragon2 2]

I always test jumped a canopy not to see if anything was wrong with it but to see if I liked it. No one can do that for you. OTOH, I jumped a spectre 190 a couple times, fell in love with the canopy and ordered a Spectre 150 later on as my first canopy (WL 1). I knew the canopy TYPE I just couldn't demo one smaller than 190 (I did jump other canopies in between of course) so I based my decision on that.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[DancingFlame 0]

Quote

Is it reasonable to buy on that basis?

No.
Never buy anygear just because you can get a good deal.

[riggerrob 643]

Asking a senior jumper to test jump a canopy will answer the big questions about whether the canopy is airworthy, in trim, etc.
Whether the canopy is the correct size and class for you can only be answered by you test-jumping it.