PA Fusion

[KNewman 0]

Hello all

I am looking for some opinions, I will have a chance to buy new gear this fall (no more renting). I have talked with the rigger (Instructor) at my club about mains. He said you can't go wrong with a Sabre2 or a Fusion. So I have been looking at the reviews. 40 for the Sabre2 and only 2 for the Fusion. Is the Fusion a good canopy for a novice? I am looking at the 230 which will be a wing loading of .95. I am trying to get more comparisons against the Sabre2. Also, how do you go about doing the demo thing if you rent??

Thanks for the help.
Kevin

Blue Skies and Stand-up Landings!!!!!!

[Slurp56 0]

Talk to whomever you rent the gear from about putting a demo main into their container. More than likely they can work something out.

Having only jumped silhoutte's as a student up until I bought my first rig, I ended up going with a Fusion on a buddy's advice. It opens soft and has a nice flare. I cant speak for the sabre2's but you definately wont regret getting a fusion.

________________________________________
I have proof-read this post 500 times, but I guarantee you'll still manage to find a flaw.

[packing_jarrett 0]

for a noobie packer a fusion is easier to pack than a sabre 2. Thats one reason why you might want one.

Na' Cho' Cheese

[justinb138 0]

PM Grue, he jumps a 210.

[justinb138 0]

Quote

for a noobie packer a fusion is easier to pack than a sabre 2. Thats one reason why you might want one.

The last one I saw seemed like it was made from the same slippery ZP as PD's canopies, so I don't see why it'd be any easier. If anything, I think it'd be harder with the non-cascaded hma lines.

[grue 1]

As justin mentioned above, I've got a Fusion 210, loading it at around 1.2± a bit depending on the day. It's a VERY good canopy in my opinion, and my next canopy will most likely be a Fusion 190. I had 44 jumps when I got mine, so I might have chosen the size a little aggressively, but I haven't run into any problems. While it's got enough performance to be brisk, it doesn't put the fear of god into me because it's docile enough to let me stay in control.

The flare is VERY powerful. I tend to stab the toggles a few inches to start my landing, and that's all I need. The first time I landed it, I flared it like a Raven IV and found myself quite a bit higher than I was a moment before . One tip: Collapsing the slider and stowing it behind your head (if you have compatible risers and loosening your chest strap (talk to your instructors about both of these) has a dramatic effect on the flare power.

Openings are very soft. I usually psycho pack it, but when I do propack it, I don't roll the nose at all, just quarter the slider, and it's still a very comfortable opening.

The glide ratio? SICK. I've made it back from some jumps that I had no business making it back from Spread the rear risers just a tiny bit to max it out.

The only downsides I can think of:

1. The HMA lines are ass-ugly because of the colour. If they were black, that'd be pretty sweet.

2. There aren't many out there, it seems, so a lot of people know nothing about them, or haven't even heard of them. This might also have an effect on the resale value, I'll know for sure in a few months

cavete terrae.

[packing_jarrett 0]

yeah 2 brand new canopies: sabre 2 210 and a fusion 190 seemed it was to different types. The fusion was easier to pack by far. but maybe the 20sqft made a big difference.

Na' Cho' Cheese

[kelpdiver 2]

Skydance rented a 230 to me in my rental days. Seemed perfectly safe for a novice.

Much cheaper to buy, but yeah, probably not nearly so easy to sell.

[Peej 0]

I put a few jumps on a 150 Fusion at the WFFC in 2004. I really liked it. Especially as i had the opportunity to jump it as well as the Pilot, the Safire 2 and the Sabre 2. So i got to compare them.

From what i can remember, the canopy was fun to fly and it opened softly and on heading. I wasn't doing much more than 90deg riser turns then but i managed to get a fairly good ride out of it.

I would seriously consider this as well as trying to demo a safire 2 from Icarus on the same size.

Cheers
PJ

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky