Locking stows

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

I know the "tube stow" debate can be quite opinionated, but what's your though on normal stows for the locking stows? My normal ones for the locking stows broke after about 9 jumps, so I'm stuck with only the smaller ones. Is this ok? The lines are quite tight in the stows (no chance of line dump There's no tomorrow - you ain't gonna live it for me - The Offspring

[Grumpy 9]

I don't use the small tube stows as my locking stows for the reasons you mention. I don't have any facts / experience to back this up but it feels too tight and also inconsistent with the tension on the rest of my stows.
What I've done is bought a bag of large size stows (for Dacron lines) thrown away the black ones and used the remainder as locking stows. They last for ages (though having said that, they will no doubt both break this weekend) I use the small size stows on the rest of the positions on my d-bag (My canopy has vectran lines)
Hope this helps.

[BadDog 0]

I've been using Super Bandz on my rigs. They work fine and last a long, long time.
CorporateLawyerDave aka BadDog

[cloud9 0]

I too use the super bandz which are small for my locking stows and have had no problems with them in over 100 jumps. They do last a long time!

[freeflyfree 0]

Yep super bandz from
http://www.aerodyneusa.com/superbandz.html
last a long time and look cool too...
Felipe
Blue Skies
NO FEAR, NO LIMITS, NO MONEY...
"A Subitánea et Improvísa Morte, Líbera nos, Domine."

[AndyMan 7]

I tried the "Skybandz" this last weekend. They're black, about the same size as small rubber bands, and a bit tighter stretch.
My thoughts? This last weekend, I did 13 jumps, and broke three bands. This came up short by what I was expecting, but maybe my expections were high.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
AIM: andrewdmetcalfe
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

[KellyF 16]

Put some more jumps on the Skybandz, they generally don't break that frequently.

[scottbre 0]

Quote

My thoughts? This last weekend, I did 13 jumps, and broke three bands. This came up short by what I was expecting, but maybe my expections were high.

Wow, that is unusual. I now have 83 jumps, 70 of which are on Skybandz. I have had to replace one locking stow once and just replaced the other one for the second time yesterday. All the other stows (which I use the smaller Skybandz on) have only been replaced once so far and probably still have 5 - 10 jumps left in the oldest ones.
Did you stretch them real good before putting them on the bag? What kind of lines do you have? I guess these things might make a difference in how quick the bands break. Did they break on opening or while packing?
I'd agree with Kelly though, Skybandz should last a bit longer than they did for you.
Turn off the world before you come to bed.

[AndyMan 7]

<--Did you stretch them real good before putting them on the bag?
Yup!
<--What kind of lines do you have?
825 microline.
<--Did they break on opening or while packing?
both.
We'll see how they last this weekend at eloy.
_Am
ICQ: 5578907
MSN Messenger: andrewdmetcalfe at hotmail dot com
AIM: andrewdmetcalfe
Yahoo IM: ametcalf_1999

[scottbre 0]

Quote

825 microline.

This is just conjecture, but this might have a lot to do with it. I would think that microline has the ability to "cut" through bands much more efficiently than the nice thick soft Dacron lines that I have on my rig.
However, that being said, a lot of the people I jump with at my DZ use Skybandz (and really like them) that have Spectra and Microline lines. So who knows. Maybe it was just a fluke, maybe not. Turn off the world before you come to bed.

[TEB6363 0]

I use the same as Grumpy. Large tube stows for the two locking and small for the rest. They seem to last for a long time.
:::OK, Canopy is Open, No Traffic Around, .. Why are these "Extra" Lines Draping Down??, Damn!