Psycho packing anyone?

[Chiquita 14]

I have been psycho packing only for over 9 years. I used to be packer and did all the tandems, student gear and up jumpers rigs that way. Quite a few people told me, including the tandem masters, that my pack jobs were the best most consistant openings they ever had. Seeing that it does slow the openings down I generally don't roll much of the cells. If I pack for someone else and they say they want a slower opening then I would roll the cells and for tandems I always rolled the cells.

I do mine a little different than most though. I kneel on the grommets for the slider and roll it towards me as opposed to being at the top of the canopy and rolling it down or away from me. To me it helps keep everything where it is supposed to be.

For me, I can get any canopy in the bag perfectly (with no worries about it reinflating and popping out of the bag) no matter if it is new or old. And have it look nice and neat.

On a side note, I found out that the late Beezy Shaw was one of the two people that came up with the idea for the pack job. He told me about it one day at the dz several years ago when he saw me packing that way.

"Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity"

[gearless_chris 1]

Do you stay on the grommets the whole time or just while you roll it?

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[Chiquita 14]

Just while I roll it, I kneel on the fabric and grommets to keep them in place as I do the triangle folds and roll it up. When I had tried rolling it the other way (top of canopy down) the bottom, especially the slider always seemed to open up a bit. So i tried the way I do it now and it keeps everything where I want it.

"Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity"

[gearless_chris 1]

Hopefully I'll get to try that. With my Cobalt I have had to roll the crap out of the tail to keep it from breaking me. It has caused some... interesting openings. I really hope Mel fixed it so I don't have to do anything special anymore.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[Chiquita 14]

I would definately try it. I would also make sure the the nose is behind the slider, maybe roll 4 in on each side and pull the center one down & tuck in a little. The ability to make sure the slider is over the nose is another reason I like this pack job. Let me know how it works for you.

"Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity"

[phoenixlpr 0]

Quote

I would also make sure the the nose is behind the slider, maybe roll 4 in on each side and pull the center one down & tuck in a little.

Well, well.... Even with a subterminal opening the wind would blow your hat off and your roll would be intact. Nice try.

[Chiquita 14]

I must be describing it wrong. I am not sure how to describe correctly.

"Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity"

[azureriders 0]

There are several good ways to pack and you will hear good and bad things about them all. Some will say psycho packing is no easier than their pack job, and if you watch them and master their technique, you will probably agree. Most any proven packing technique, if mastered, can give you nice soft openings and can be performed very easily with practice.

I do a normal pro pack, then roll the cocoon over, fold it up, and bag it as a psycho pack. Remember, you are actually trying to fold the canopy, not roll it. Rolling tends to push the tension out of your lines inside the pack job. Someone mentioned kneeling on the slider grommets to eliminate this, interesting technique and I am sure works fine.

I psycho bag not because it is easier to get the canopy in the bag, I have seen too many good packers do it other ways for me to believe that. However, with a normal S fold bagging, your knee placement and pressure applied must be near perfect and held for some time, only seconds if your are really good, but that is still some time. I have lower back trouble and can not always hold my knees in such a position with out my back 'catching'. Once this happens I have to move to relieve my back and have lost whole pack jobs because of it. When I psycho bag, I can control the ready to bag, or half bagged canopy at any time literally with one finger (even a brand new canopy), allowing me to stretch and move my back if needed.

The video posted earlier was quiet impressive. However, I can psycho bag a new canopy as neatly, with everything where it belongs, and more than likely smaller in the bag. By smaller in the bag I mean less likely to require a pull up chord on the line stows, not that there is anything wrong with doing so. As for speed, I would not want to put money on a race with this guy as he has obviously mastered his technique, but I would be competition for him and know that I can bag a canopy my way, faster than I can any other way, for my way is the technique I have decided to try and master.

Moral of the story: your mileage may vary, find what works for you and go with it.