hackish

Everyone brings their own personalities to the table. Some are team players some are not. I have always enjoyed discussions with those who choose to share their ideas and knowledge about a subject. -Michael

Sorry Jerry, I was typing it from memory and I suppose it's lucky that I didn't remember it as Jonny Borken! I agree with you as to simple. It's been a lot of years since I saw the prototype you sent to Andre but I had found a way to lock it up. That inspired me to make my own. For no other purpose than to solve the puzzle. There are many ways to solve it and so far Booth has the most successful design because of simplicity and using mechanical leverage was very effective. The pin based systems have their own challenges but I preferred it because of the weight and packing bulk. I like the capture based system least as the failure mode isn't always pleasant. Bad things can also happen if a reserve riser gets pushed back into the rig with a packing paddle. In any event, MARD systems are the norm now so I expect we will see many different revisions in the years to come. -Michael

Interesting, I assumed that dacron melted before spectra but it does not. In fact at 260C it would survive the oven. -Michael

The device is exactly identical to the first prototype MARD system I designed years ago after seeing Jerry Baumchen 's RAX system. The only change I see aside from colours is that they attached the lanyard to the free bag. I abandoned that design mostly because of its complexity and there were some shortcomings. I think if 3 of us can come up with the same design then it's going to fall under the obvious to a practitioner in the field part of intellectual property laws. 22 prototypes later I have a different system but ultimately the question remains if a MARD is worth anything. It's actually quite difficult to get patent protection over something like this because you need to show some novel innovations that set it aside from others. Oh yeah $20-$30k in legal costs. If you got $50 per rig sold with it you'd be further ahead working at a coffee shop. There are many designs that work. They differ mostly in complexity and how reliably they keep the pilot chute captured after a MARD activation. -Michael

I wonder if spectra or vectran would melt in the oven? I'm not willing to stink my place up to find out. I can guess kevlar doesn't but nobody uses kevlar lines anymore. -Michael

That offer of the ZP is still open if you want some ugly pink zp. I have access to an entire roll for only a few hundred dollars. It was military surplus and purchased through paragear. I'd love to see videos of your openings. This whole project has inspired me. Maybe I'll build a canopy this winter... Now if I can get a puller for my double needle... I spent some time at a manufacturer in Deland and it makes a cell replacement a zillion times easier. -Michael

You could contact Nancy @ Parachute Labs for her opinion on it. If as you say you're interested in doing the research they would probably have the most expertise in this area. I asked around about Mirages customer service and became more knowledgeable in that area. Moving beyond your situation there I'm interested in seeing what can be learned about this defect. -Michael

Wow that's a new one. Rubber bands on webbing is always a bad idea. The tape I've seen is called vet wrap. It sticks to itself and is a type of spandex cotton bandage. I'm not a fan of the practice but as long as it isn't damaging the actual risers I don't think it's particularly unsafe. I think I have a pair in the scrap bin I can take photos of. -Michael

That's very disappointing. Maybe Mirage can take notice and work to improve the experience their clients have. Parachute Labs (plabsinc.com) runs a metal shop that makes a lot of assemblies like this. From what I've seen they're doing roll swaging that is a bit different but they probably have more insight. -Michael

I'm quite impressed with the quality of the photos. -Michael

I have seen a few DIY methods as simple as putting some fabric tape (hockey tape) around the bottom of the dive loop. I don't like this but it was cheap and effective. -Michael

I suggest you take it up with them directly. Email with photos perhaps? I stopped by the factory about a week ago and had an excellent reception even though I presented many challenging questions about their new MARD system. I would be surprised if you get blown off. Most companies go far above and beyond to keep even difficult customers happy. -Michael

I packed one in a V3 348. It was really tight. Not impossible but not enjoyable by any stretch. -Michael

I think many of the newer pins from JumpShack are roll swaged so they're not going to have the ground off part. I believe some older ones were brazed. I bought one of their temp pins because I liked it better than the wire ones and it shows the roll swaging which I think is trick. I think with removing or snapping off a few offending strands there is a tiny chance it could weaken the strength of the swage by providing enough space for the other strands to slip inside the compression area. Again, tiny chance but not worth the risk. I'd take the issue up with Mirage directly to see if they can warranty it. In my experience most manufacturers will take great care of items like this. -Michael

Small thing to add, PD has recently said that they no longer feel pull testing to be necessary. I've thumb tested a few things and most notably had a slider fail. The owner was horrified (it had already ripped on opening and she asked if i could sew it back together... My answer, yes I can do a slider sized patch. You have to tell me the colour and it will take a while to arrive from PD. -Michael

If anyone wants the low-down direct from Nancy at JumpShack I can point her at this thread or ask her in person on Monday. I've used the no-sews a few times but I find people are more comfortable with a bartack they can see. It's rare that lines break anyway so I don't think it matters if you use the no-sew method or tack it. As i recall parachute labs tested their method to failure and determined it was quite strong. -Michael

It's pretty hard to evaluate fitment without the legstraps being tight. It's like asking if a formal shirt fits without buttoning it up. The best idea is to get someone experienced to look at it in person. For the stitching you show, you should always get a competent rigger to look the rig over when you buy one. We are trained how to check and repair this stuff. -Michael

Hm. Turns out it's a 7-33. The owner was quite willing to educate me that singer only ever made a #7 machine and a 7-33 is actually a consew and that I was confused about his machine. Number plate clearly shows it's a 7-33, single needle, walking foot and it's got a motor. Anyone think it's worth putting a servo motor on it? -Michael

I always consult the manuals first. Often they do give instructions about this. I frequently find rapide links installed incorrectly on the risers. I'm not terribly concerned about it on a reserve although I often do recommend upgrading to slinks. I've seen mains jumped for years without any bumpers and no significant slider damage. While it's not ideal, I don't feel that it's necessarily a go/no-go item unless the manufacturer lists them. -Michael

I have a chance to buy a singer 7-21 at a reasonable price. I've used a 7-33 and quite like it but it's really tough to understand what the differences are. The parts manual says that the table is cut in a certain way for horse brushes but I can't figure out what they're talking about based on photos. Any ideas? -Michael

I wish I had seen this sooner as I was in the factory today getting a demo of their trap system. As always the manufacturer is the best source of info and I'm sure they'd be happy to make one for you. -Michael

The most difficult part about the keepers is getting the material. Paragear does not carry nylon elastic material. I have spoken to them about it but the feedback I got was "We've never been asked about it". So riggers, ask paragear and if they bring some in buy it up! -Michael

Yep, and some of us got our rigger ticket before having 50 jumps. For those who ask I make a point out of directing a jumper through the process so they are capable of doing it themselves. It isn't uncommon here that low time jumpers buy someone elses beat up gear. In fact I just inspected a rig sold to a low time jumper and determined that in fact the risers were worn beyond their safe usefulness. -Michael

I asked the vigil rep at our symposium last month and he said that the 10 year thing was a hard limit and it had to be done before next repack. So I changed it and the customer is good for another decade. -Michael

Some types of coatings are hard and when they peel or chip off the flakes have razor sharp edges. Other types of coatings do have chemicals that leech out. I wouldn't be that comfortable with such a unit because you don't know if it's going to weaken or damage your MLW. If someone brought such a rig to me I'd be sending photos to the manufacturer and I think I already know what they would say about it. So why expose yourself to such trouble over just an aesthetic item? Having said that I once bought a rig with a reserve handle that had been gold plated. I know it was tested after it was re-swaged but I was never clear on how legal it was. Rig got stolen many years ago. -Michael