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Ferry

upsizing and more weight

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Bigger canopies with extra weight for better distances.. But how about speed? Take even more weight?

Since I have no experience with using weight, how much weight would people take with them and where? Looks to me you can hold more weight in a vest instead of a belt, but what about the risk of deeper water?

Ferry

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Luigi Cani was wearing 50 pounds of weight at Wildwood. He wore it as a combination of a pull-over vest that weighed about 30 pounds and a leadbelly belt that weighed 20 IIRC. His vest was weighted on all sides and was actually pretty thin, though obviously heavy.

Jumping lead over deep water can be incredibly dangerous. You would not want to chow in the middle of the pond at The Ranch with Luigi's setup; I wouldn't anyway. If you are not absolutely confident in your ability to "get out of the pond" on your swoop, you had better made damn sure you have some EP's in place for getting out of your lead. I have seen many methods over the years for attaching weight. Troy Ketsdever used to have bags which hung from his hip rings which he could jettison. Leadbelly belts worn ON TOP of your harness are easy to jettison. I just saw another competitor who had a combo "fag bag" which held both his weights and had a pocket for his RDS. He wore it straight in front on opening, then spun it around behind him after RDS stowage. If you have not done so already, you might want to go to a pool with a proper lifeguard, put your weights and a water-training rig on, and try to stay on the surface while you attempt to get out of your shit. I'm serious. I saw at least one weight-laden competitor at the PSM have a very hard time getting to shore after a chow in an early round. While most purpose-built swoop ponds are only 2.5 feet deep, I can think of more than a couple that are over your head (or quite near that). The Ranch, SkyQuest, and the "downhill" side of the pond at WFFC come to mind.

Be safe in your pursuit of greatness,

Chuck

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Also these canopy's get rather heavy when they fill up with water. So add to the physical load of staying afloat, dragging your canopy out of the middle of the pond. Many ponds have a plastic liner that is rather slippery when trying to walk out of. (Rantoul pond comes to mind).

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I saw Luigi this weekend out in Perris Valley wearing weights around his waist as well as weighs on each foot. I didn't take notice to any cutaway system he may have been using around his waist, but he did have foot cut away cables on his foot weights. And I joked with him that he was going to need to cutaway his feet and then stumble around a bit.

By the way, did you ever get your lunch money back from Jay? :ph34r:


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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