I've finally got my finger out of my ass, so here goes. I've been using Pd's reserve slinks for about a year and a half. A little over 100jumps with a third of those being terminal deployments. I have them installed on two rigs. I too like to adhere to the KISS principle and for that reason I use slinks. When you use metal quick links, you have to use slider bumpers also, to keep from cross loading the link on opening and to protect the lines from the slider. With a slink I don't have those worries. I have seen a slider bumper rip and travel up the lines on a skydiving canopy choking off the slider and resulting in a cut-away. If that happened in a BASEjump. You're are dead. I eliminate that off potential by using slinks. I don't remove my slider for low jumps, I just tie it off. Eliminates the chance for re-rigging worries. On a loaded as in opening canopy, I don't believe the slider will travel down the risers, they are simply too wide to begin with. If you are using type 17 risers well yeah, it would be a problem but not on type 8. I haven't any types of probs with them in a terminal deployment. IMHO They are simpler to use and maintain and are stronger than the #5 links.If you remove your slider often for low jumps they might be a pain, but I go back and forth between set-ups routinely which is the main reason I just tie the slider down. It's a lot quicker and safer because you don't introduce the rigging errors that are possible when you untie links and lines and such. I'm happy so far, but it is a on-going thing.
Mike Bartlett
base515
