main size, container size

[paulj123 0]

Howdy to all,
I am hoping that some of you will help me understand this. As I see it a container is made for a specific size maybe two sizes at most. so if I bought a new rig for a sabre2 210 it would fit that and maybe a 190. Now I understand why we can't put in a 230, it just wont fit or may not deploy. But why is it not a good thing to put in a 170 or even a 150? I mean with all the effort at packing into the dbag it seems the smaller canopy would still fill it up sufficiently? no? I am a recent A-license still just 20 jumps, been renting spectre 210 mostly, so I thank you for your info
Paul

[lazerq3 0]

I have been told that if you pack to small of a main it can open very hard on you !!!!
jason

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

The problem comes when you put such a small canopy in there that there is no way to properly tension the closing pin. If it is just barely in there, then you will have a greatly increased posibility of premature openings. Once the closing loop is as tight as it will go, if your flaps are loose they will catch air in a sit, stand or any inverted position. Even on a so-called "freefly friendly" rig, if your main is swimming around in there, you are just asking for it.
Chuck
My webpage HERE

[Spy38W 0]

Out of curiosity, wouldn't it be possible to put something like a foam rubber shim in the container to space it out. I know that this wouldn't be possible b/c the FAA etc.. Things that make you go Hmmm.

[PhreeZone 20]

I know more then one person that actaully had that done to their rig. They had a master rigger insert a foam pad and sew it down. Looks ugly as sin, but it works untill they can get a rig that holds their combo of canopies correctly.
Cause I don't wanna come back down from this cloud... ~ Bush

[billvon 3,109]

>Out of curiosity, wouldn't it be possible to put something like a foam rubber shim in the container to space it out.
That's what I did in my first rig. I had a Swift rig sized for a Pursuit 230 (larger than a Manta) and I put in a pad so I could pack a PD190 in there.
-bill von

[riggerrob 643]

The main problem with downsizing mains is keeping enough tension on the main closing loop so it won't pop loose accidentally.
Some rigs (ie. Javelin) are more forgiving of undersized canopies because of their loop configuration. Since the Javelin main loop is anchored to the pack tray and passes through 4 grommets, you can shorten it a lot to adjust for under-sized canopies.
Other containers (ie. Talon 2) have shorter loops and are very sensitive to differences in canopy size. Talon 2 main loops are tied onto the top flap and only pass through 3 grommets.
The fewer grommets a main loop passes through, the more sensitive it is to main size/loop length.
When I say "under-sized", I mean under-sized relative to the chart published by the container manufacturer.