SBS

Very good point. :-)

Way to take a perfectly legitimate insult to your manlihood and make it into something clean...you people and your clean minds make me sick. :-p Steve

Don't get your hopes up...you'll get an answer back in 3 1/2 inch incriments. :-) Steve

Who are you, and what did she give you to write that??? :-) Steve

"STFU and get some work done for a change. Asshole." That's uncalled for! I'm going to get the chick that sits behind me to edit your post! You won't get away with this! ...wait a second... :-p

I know that the 106/113 are 220, but the 126 and up are 254 lbs. Can't tell what the ravens are placarded at on their site. Anyone know exactly? Steve

Actually, you can get about a 176 in the same space as a Tempo 210. Are you aware that they use 2 different methods of measuring, so that you are not, in fact, getting an additional 34 square feet? I don't know exactly what the numbers are, but I would say that you are getting maybe half that, so 17 square feet. Again, maybe a little more or a little less. Now, question is, would you rather have a slightly smaller reserve that opens and lands well, or a little bit extra material that may or may not respond to toggle input, open hard, and be as well built? Oh, and could you please tell me why it is that a canopy that is smaller would fit into the same space as a larger one? My answer is that there is more to the canopy, as in reinforcement. There is a reason that the smallest PD reserves made are placarded at well over a couple hundred pounds...they are made tough. I still stick to what I said before...I have yet to hear a horror story about a PD reserve. Steve

yeah, yeah....shut up. Go answer the phone or something, so I don't have to. :-p

As far as I am aware, you are allowed to do that. You would have to hook it up with your d-bag as a freebag, since some don't have a main attachment point, and you would do a hop and pop, but I think it would be well worth it. As far as the value, I consider the knowlege that your last chance to live is of good quality to out-weigh the slight drop in monetary value. Steve

That's reasonable. You have a good point about your hand getting messed up, I just think that if it is that serious an issue to anyone, it would make sense that both handles would be loops/rings. Steve

Not being a smart ass, but do you jump a metal cutaway handle? Steve

This is exactly what would need to be done for a scientific answer to the question. Like you said, though, it's probably not going to happen. So how do we determine what is the best? Go with the data that we have. The facts that I use are: It is a known fact that Ravens have a tennancy to stall on landing, open hard, and have a built in right hand turn. It is a known fact that PISA has a tennancy of building things inconsistantly, and that the Tempos are not as reinforced as other reserves. I have also heard horror stories from some very knowledgable, experienced skydivers. I do not have any negative information regarding PD reserves. That is not to say that it is not out there, so by all means, if anyone has anything negative to say about PD reserves, please share. What I do know is that they have a reputation for opening smoother, flying straight, and flaring better. My point with not being able to use one to judge the next one is that you have to look at the big picture. You have to look at the overall reputation of a canopy, not just your experiences with one or two jumps on one canopy. Just like you can get canopies with flukes that are bad, you can also get canopies that have flukes that are good. Based on my personal experiences, feedback from skydivers (novices to professionals), and feedback from some very knowledgable people in the industry, I have to say that I consider the PD reserves to be the strongest, best flying, safest reserves on the market. That is not to say that you can not get a good Raven, Swift, Tempo, etc., but I won't have anything other than a PD reserve in my container. Blue Ones, Steve

What it comes down to is that you need to do what you are going to feel comfortable with. I like the point that I have seen mentioned a number of times, regarding the pillow cutaway handle. My question is that if the pillow is so dangerous, according to some, why is it that the majority of those same people will jump with a pillow cutaway handle? I have known people to accidently pull a reserve handle, and it can not always be blamed on someone without experience, or "fumbly fingers" or whatever it was called. There are any number of situations that we get into that could pull a metal reserve handle, and that is why I choose to jump with two pillows. As far as the "talking to" that someone mentioned, if his student were to pull his reserve handle, that would be great, assuming that everyone was still alive and unbroken. I think that's an issue that I would prefer preventing, rather than an attitude of "cross that bridge when we come to it". I also like the option of a loop, but would have to say that I consider a pillow to be the safest all around option for freefliers in general. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but that's just my opinion. What I think is a more important consideration, though, like I said originally, is gear fear. The best option for you is what you are comfortable with. jmho, Steve

I'm not trying to change your mind, but just food for thought.... I have had a good ride on a Swift Plus 145, but I'm not going to go out and get me another one. People have had good rides on rounds, on Swift 5 cells, on Tempos, etc... We're gambling with our lives...if someone has a good reserve, by all means, keep it. But, just because you get lucky with one, doesn't change your odds of getting another good one. It's like completely seperate rolls of the dice...hitting a number on the first roll has no effect on the second roll, and so on. People are going to jump what they want to jump, but I will never understand why someone would settle for any less than the best when talking about their last chance to live. Just some more of my 2 cents. Steve

"On the Sq.1 web site I noticed that you only offer one type of reserve. That reserve is a PD. " I'd look harder, if I were you, or at least make statements that can't be proven wrong by an entire population, with a couple of clicks of a mouse. " Now call me crazy but I thought reserves were required to open within around 4 or 5 hundred feet or 2 or 3 seconds. Sounds to me like any camera flier is going to end up with some neck problems." Speed of opening has nothing to do with how hard an opening is. "As for your friends landing bad under Tempos I don't know what to say I have read alot of posts on these boards about Tempos and have not heared you recommend against them once. Mabey they screwed up???" When someone is pulling toggles down to their ankles and getting no reaction from the canopy, when they are injured on landing, I wouldn't think that it could be said that "they screwed up". "I don't know if you have some new deal with your employer and you get a larger commission on PD products but it sounds like it." That's a pretty bold accusation...oh, and completely off base. "If I'm wrong then I need to trade in or give away my reserve before I'm paralized or killed." I would. Ravens have saved many lives. PD's have saved many lives, don't blow up, fly straight, and don't stall on landing. You choose. Steve

HEY!!! Keep the story straight...she wasn't with me!!! I am the one who was scamming for skank-ho's on Yahoo. I agree, good idea about the naked pictures...I just don't think that the prank is worth having to see naked pictures of her. :-) Steve

It's all good...I think this whole thing is pretty freakin funny. :-)

Hey, there's something to be said for skank-ho barely legals....ya know, they need lovin too. :-)

HEY!!! There's nothing wrong with window shopping! :-p Steve

he he he...you rock! :-) I've heard plenty about you...look forward to meeting you this weekend. Steve

A lot of people actually do that. Check on dimensions, etc. It can be done safely, or it can be done dangerously. Talk to SurfFlite, if that is where you are going to get your next board, and see if they will give you any pointers on how to do it right. You will definitely want to look into specs on board: width, length, foot placement, and angles for the foot holds. There is a lot that goes into it, but in answer to your question, it can be done safely. Hope that helps. Steve

SkyDekker (and anyone else) - I don't know exactly how it works, haven't done it myself, but through paypal you can make a payment using a credit card. I would imagine that that means you can charge US dollars to any credit card. Check it out. Again, the paypal account is hkit75@hotmail.com. Thanks Steve

Greetings, I would also like to extend my thanks to Sangiro for his support of this effort, as well as everyone else who has taken the time to read about Taya's trip, send off a note, and/or participate in the raffle. A couple of things: Please, please, tell everyone who you think may be interested in this about the raffle. There is more than one benefit to spreading the word... 1) more financial support 2) more moral support for our fellow skydiver 3) more importantly, more awareness! Since Taya started thinking about leaving, I have heard it many times from many people, "I didn't even know it was an issue" or "I knew there was a problem, but didn't realize just how bad it was". As members of the human race, how can we help one another, when we don't even know that we are in trouble? As Taya said in her post, she doesn't intend on changing the world single handedly, but by making people aware of the problems of the efforts of a few, she won't be working at it alone. There are lots of good people in the world, and there are lots of good people that are asking, "what can I do to help?" This is something that you can do. If nothing else, just don't allow the awareness to stop here...if you think this is an important issue, look into it more, talk about it, forward Taya's story to your friends, etc. etc. etc. Whether or not they will be buying a raffle ticket, we can use our friend's efforts and dedication as an ice breaker to spread awareness of the issue. As far as this is concerned specifically, though, keep making posts, sending e-mails, and especially sending money. :-) Remember, there are countless people who have dedicated their lives to this and other causes, and will continue to do so until the end of time...our support of organizations such as Visions in Action should not stop when Taya leaves. Thanks again to all of you. Blue Skies, Steve

Good answer Mountain Man!!! :-)

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth... They are all fantastic video guys. You look at some of the most recent major projects, though, and Joe is the man... Goose Commercial, Snowboarding commercial (Mountain Dew), Charlie's Angels, pretty much anything on MTV, etc. etc. etc. What's also great, is that he is just an amazing person as well. I'm not saying that the other guys aren't...I know Tom, and he's a great guy, don't know Norm. Although the comparison and discussion is great, I want to remind everyone that the purpose of my original post wasn't to start a debate on who gets better shots, it was to remind everyone to support the good guys, Joe being a prime example, who continually supports skydiving and skydivers in ways that many don't see, and is just releasing his newest project. In answer to the question about the length of the DVD, from what I have heard, it is some behind the scenes stuff, some commercial and movie stuff, and just more mayhem. Sounds like it's gonna be sweet. Anyhoo, I'll shut up now. :-) Steve