First Rig - Racer/Elite opinions?

[brycew 0]

I've started shopping for a first rig for when I come off student status.

One option I'm looking at is a rig with a Jump Shack Racer Elite (DOM 1990) container. In doing some research it looks like there's some naysaying regarding that container mainly because its not particularly freefly friendly. I'm sure I won't be doing freefly stuff until well after 100+ jumps and probably my next rig, so I'm not sure that in itself is significant.

Any other negative aspects to the Racer/Elite container. Is it a viable container for a first rig? The price is right, but if its not safe and/or I won't be happy with it to get me through my first hundredish jumps then I'll obviously look at other options.

Thanks in advance all...

[hookitt 1]

Quote

I'm sure I won't be doing freefly stuff until well after 100+ jumps

You're probably speaking too soon on that one. If you never do flips, have properly sized canopies, perfectly good velcro, it's an "ok" rig.

Smaller Racers have a much better chance of staying shut in orientations other than belly to earth. larger ones, especially depending on how the reserve is packed in there have issues with flaps coming open.

I've been witness to opening flaps way too many times to even remotely suggest purchasing that rig for any price.

If the rig is free, a good option would be to cut the container off the harness and use it for ground launching 500 jumps from now.

There are much more suitable rigs out there.

Since you're considering it, what parachutes are in it?

Edit: New skydivers are often sold old gear as "beginner gear" If you have the means, I'd suggest continuing your search.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[brycew 0]

Main is a Precision Aerodynamics Falcon 215. Reserve is a Raven II. I weigh ~190, so canopy size is right on what I'm looking for.

I think I will keep looking. Thanks for the insight...

[skybytch 273]

What Timmae said, plus - if it's not Cypres ready (containers didn't come Cypres ready in 1990) and you plan to get a Cypres you'll have to pay a rigger to have it retrofitted.

[faulknerwn 38]

The Cypres issue could be a valid point - but there's a good possibility in the intervening years someone put a Cypres in there so its already Cypres-ready.

I did RW for years with Racer's of that age. They worked fine - in fact my riser covers stayed closed MUCH better than the Vectors or Javelins of that era.

Admittedly - its not the newest rig, it doesn't have some of the fancy stuff that more modern rigs do, but most of the Racers from that era are good functional rigs for RW as long as you keep the velcro in good shape which your rigger can do for you. I've definitely seen rigs where people didn't keep the velcro in good shape and flaps came open, but that was mostly poor user-maintenance rather than the fault of the rig...

W