Joellercoaster

Hmm. That didn't go so badly. It took a little bit more effort and concentration, but it wasn't the sweating, swearing nightmare I remembered from the last one a couple of hundred jumps back. Apparently, practice actually works. Who knew? [edit: pro-packed it, for whatever that's worth.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I feel your pain... just about to unpack my third brand-new canopy for the first time. The reason everybody isn't doing it is that some pro-pack with about the same amount of effort or maybe a little faster, and also that there's a lot of cargo cult packing and superstition out there. Seriously, consider the psycho-packing thing, at least until you can reliably pro-pack it without crying. The bridle extension is not necessary if you pull the attachment point over to one side before you roll it up (this is on at least one of the PP videos floating around the net). It also has the bonus of getting you some very funny looks at some DZs I pro-pack everything now but for the first two new canopies, psycho packing really helped - at least to take the shine off at first. Get someone to show you how. And pro or psycho or Guatemalan Insanity Pack, the way forward is practise, practise, practise. Both you and the canopy will get better. Keep your chin up! -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Yeah, he did, eventually. He is not a fan of PdF at all, just ask him. By the way the Vector I bought from you has been assembled and packed up, and is now sitting on a chair beside me looking completely awesome. You're right - in the time it took the container to get made, I had time to order one custom main to go in it, change my mind and sell it on to someone else, then order another one, have that built and sent to UPT, still in time to be installed. If I hadn't been so determined to get a Skyhook, my life could have been much easier. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Not precisely the same situation, but we tried putting a Sabre2 150 in my I6 (Aerodyne charts say down to 168), and it felt really wrong - I didn't want to jump it, and the rigger who looked at it agreed with me. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This just turned up today. My shiny new 347 - I've jumped ship from the Icon (great container but I wanted a Skyhook) but the Smart and Vision in there keep one foot in the Aerodyne camp. Only four more days 'til the weekend - please, weather, please... -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

One day I'll see someone selling a container in the size I'm after, with a harness that will fit me. Until then, it'll have to be custom containers, which means I can wait for new canopies (unless it's a Safire2 and the container manufacturer isn't UPT, obviously ). Starting to get down into sizes where second hand canopies get cheaper and more infrequently purchased, so cost becomes more of a factor than wait time in that deprtment. I may have bought my last custom main, but I guess we'll see. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Works fine for me under MacOS and Linux. Not being smug, just saying the site seems OK -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

There have been a few experiments now by UK people with Frexer, and anecdotally, they haven't turned out well. It's fine to say "oh it's cheap, it can afford not to work out" but it feels like there's enough evidence now that it's not really an experiment any more. I'm not saying Everybody Must Pay £400 For Parasport Comp Suits Because Expensive Is Better, just that there is apparently a bottom end to how much it's practical to pay for an OK jumpsuit. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I've owned both, and they were both good. The Havok was the most comfortable helmet I've ever tried on, and the face shield was extremely secure - I could fit glasses under it, though they fogged up anyway. Downside was the face shield too though; it's slightly bulkier than you expect and I found I would be knocking my head a bit in cramped planes. I ended up selling it, and the second owner is still wearing it. The Mamba I also like; it's the only traditional-shaped full-face that matches the shape of my head. It's also very comfortable, though if you have a big chin the plastic part on the front can be a bit pointy (I cut mine off). I would say though that, for a "deluxe" sort of helmet, the Mamba hasn't been super-durable. I don't treat it particularly well, but neither do I beat the hell out of it, and after maybe two hundred and fifty jumps it's starting to get pretty ratty, inside more than out. I am also on my third faceplate. Choosing between the two of them I'd still get a Mamba again, but I'm also convinced there must be something more durable out there. My girlfriend swears by her Oxygn (450-odd jumps old, still holding up) but I can't get my head into one and their faceplates seem to suffer from scratches worse than most. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Out of curiosity... why? I've only bought one secondhand reserve, but I was (possibly irrationally) comforted by knowing it had a ride on it. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

-- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Hey all, I've been told that the cost of getting my rig into the country with duty and VAT is going to be more than a return ticket to Perris to pick it up. if there's anyone coming to the UK in the near future, who is able to bring a container (assembled with main but no reserve) over, I'd be willing to contribute some chunk of your fare, baggage costs etc. Plus also beer and, at your discretion, jumping and a couch to surf in London. Which may be more motivation than a few hundred bucks for some of you, I don't know :) Anyway, drop me a PM if you think you can help. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Not wanting to jump on you particularly, but the only experienced person with an in-depth answer to the question had a different number before the '00' in his post. I know a hundred jumps sounds like a long time away and a lot of experience, but it isn't. Neither is 500, particularly, but it seems to be the point at which a lot of people (finally) realise we still don't actually know anything yet :) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I6, has had Pilots (188 and 168), a demo Smart 175 and a Lightning 176 in there at different times. Smart 175 as a reserve all its life. I really liked my Icon and would buy another one; I think they look great in smaller sizes. It'll be for sale soon, but I probably have a buyer already. And it's sized for the, er, larger gentleman. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Whoah, that is an eerily accurate description of what just happened to me. Could it be that the advice of the more experienced is actually right, and people really do follow pretty similar paths? I'm not special after all! Who knew?! Joel Fuelling the big-lad end of the newbie gear market but no regrets :P -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

When it's time to fly, rely on a proofreader -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I'm amazed people keep buying the bit-of-plastic-with-razor-blade knives. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I have a massive head, and also used to wear a Havok over my glasses. It fit fine and was super comfy, if a little bulky compared to the Mamba I have now (not so good over glasses on me, so I don't). -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Hey, at least he didn't get the cat to help him. Learn from my experience -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

^^^ Never jumped a Firebolt, never even seen one - Jump Shack kit is more than rare this side of the pond. But the Dutch parachute federation put it in their Category IV (with the Stiletto, restricted to people with 400 jumps and over). I'm not commenting on the reasonableness or otherwise of their doing this, but: who's right? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This isn't actually advice - since I stand by my thought that the whole thing is just personal taste, not one being better than the other. More of an afterthought. I hadn't jumped a Sabre2 in over a year. But I got the chance to do a real apples-to-oranges comparison last week, jumping a Sabre2 150 and a Pilot 168 together all weekend. To be honest, I still found the bigger Pilot more enjoyable to fly. The Sabre2 felt, for want of a better word, a little clunky. I was definitely travelling faster forward and down, but the Pilot did what I told it quicker. It also stopped doing it after I stopped inputs quicker - so less oversteer, but also less dive. On landing, this meant letting go of the fronts earlier, but also a longer plane-out, though this was partly 'cause I was going faster I think. The flares are quite different too. The Pilot flare goes all the way to the bottom of the stroke, but if I did that on the Sabre2 it would surge, then run out of power at about nipple height and drop me. It has just as much power, but in a shorter arm movement, and it took some adjustment - I can see why a person used to one would think the other sucks to land. That said, both of them landed beautifully once I worked it out. The moral? There isn't one -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Oh, forgot to mention something important: Bonehead's customer service was superb the only time I needed it. Email responses came back in less than an hour, and with the information I actually needed and everything (I was trying to replace my visor with metric-system hex keys, because I am a dumbass). -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

FLH Brother here, reporting in. I mostly do RW, with very occasional head-up flying, and use the same helmet all the time. I've had a Mamba for the last 200 jumps, having traded in my Havok as just slightly too bulky in cramped planes (though this is another one for the melon people). I have a big chin and a long head, and the Mamba is the only helmet that works - Factory Divers are the wrong shape, Freezrs are big enough but feel weird, etc. I've cut out a small section of the chin plastic and since then it's been good as gold. I'd reiterate what others have said about the visor - my Mamba and my teammate's both got hopelessly scratched after about a year, and we've since bought separate helmet bags to try and make them last a bit better. I've also had one fairly heavy crash in the tunnel wearing it, and was really glad I did - it survived fine, with some marks to the visor and front. My head likewise :) If it ever dies, I will buy another one without a thought. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

First rig (bought new, so I had a choice): Hackey. New rig, after jumping someone else's and being really pleased with how it felt through gloves: Plastic. It doesn't look as nice, but it just felt more positive to me. Other people's mileage will, obviously, vary. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Jedei - old tech, pretty damn variable (according to the only multiple-Jedei owner I know). Lotus - new tech. FWIW I've just ordered my third Pilot and love it. The missus has a love for her Sabre2s that is almost fetishistic in her intensity. She lands straight in, I like a little swoop. The message? Individual taste is everything, conventional wisdom not always so much. Demo (not just 'cause it's fun) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?