likestojump

Rek, did the Argus kill the person, or did it just fail to rescue ? IMHO,a "no pull" cannot be blamed on gear.

You are "unlike some" because you have not sifted through these, very similar in content threads that pop up every now and again. Grieving parents should be comforted. But scumbag lawyers should be chased away with pitchforks. Lastly, riggers are FAA rated. USPA is just a name, they have no legal authority.

Ohio or Illinois ? post or PM the email addresses involved, I deal with a lot of people, I may be able to help.

Only people who aren't "cool". :) I know a guy who downsized from a F111 200ish main (after 20+ years jumping and 2000+ skydives) to a Sabre120, which he still flat packs. I also met a guy who has been jumping for 30+ years and still jumps an F111 and simply didn't care to learn how to propack (his words). Yes, there still are people who flatpack their mains. I flat pro-stack larger reserves and BASE canopies.

It's russian.. bzzz. Belorussian. Russians don't use any latin letters (see the "i" popping up ?)

I don't think old timers hate newbies. I think they hate people with attitude and people without any motivation to be self sufficient and learn.

You are an excellent source of info Rob. What about the very rare Ravens (I have seen two) with Kevlar lines ?

I probably would have been cussing just as much as he was... Did I see a hole in the slider of his reserve? Yikes! PD Reserve sliders (at least the ones I have seen) have a square hole in the center. It's the way they are built. Nothing to worry about.

His phone number is on his site http://www.certificationunlimited.com/ otherwise a call to USPA could probably put you in touch with him. good luck

what measuring method are you using to come up with 1200ft ?

show us the picture of the damage, make sure to show it relative to the seam(s). It could be anywhere from $35/patch to $250 per each piece of top/bottom skin. also, look at the rib, it's quite possible it got cut through as well.

answers, straight from PD: http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/PackVolumeWhatYouShouldKnow.pdf http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/packvol.pdf

I believe it has been replaced with a Radical, which in my limited experience (3 jumps on a 150) is fairly different. There are quite a used 120/135/150 Cobalts in the classifieds http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/search.cgi?d=1&query=cobalt good luck !

First post since registering today ? April Fools was 3 days ago :) Don't do it, but if you do PLEASE GET VIDEO.

I ended my response to you with snicker/tongue icon as well, in case you did not notice. Best rig - whichever one works for you, gets you in the air, and gets on you the ground safely. I always try to point out that what one considers great, others may not be so happy with, that's all. Thanks for sucking (me in) !

http://www.basetroll.com/products.html

That's not data, that's opinion. But don't let that stop anyone from beating up on the newbies. Sorry I disagree. I listed a bunch of different models that were jumped. And as as user I most certainly qualify as a data point. Let's look at it this way - he found brands x/y/z uncomfortable - that's 100% of statistical pool. Now that I have found those same brands x/y/z comfortable, that's only 50% of the sample population that has found them uncomfortable. So yes, it's data, just a single piece, and quite minuscule. But I do think it illustrates the point of a single opinion being quite worthless. As far as beating up on newbies - Riggah Pah-leeze ! No one in this thread has mentioned his experience or lack thereof. The OP comes here pushing his opinion and his engineering background like that makes him omniscient.

Since according to you I have no engineering background, I will just point out a few things for you, without the credibility that engineering background can give me, Reserve deployment - it's not enough to have a clean PC launch. You still have to achieve bridle stretch, freebag extraction, line stretch, canopy extraction from the freebag, bottom skin expansion, inflation.... While a poptop PC does give you a cleaner launch, you are still dealing with : bridle strech - if you read the manual, you will see that the bridle is placed UNDER the sideflaps - just like some other containers. I may as well point out that in a Javelin part the bridle is V-folded right under the reserve PC. Frebag extraction - gues what ? the freebag is still restricted by those blasted flaps, just like on all the other containers (arguably, the Basic SEVEN is cleaner because it has not sideflaps). Albeit, and I am sure your engineering mind has already thought of that, Racer has less flaps, and the top/bottom flaps are significantly smaller. From there on, the mechanics of the extraction, inflation, etc are the same as with any container. So, is this really that different ? Granted, as I said earler, it is claimed I have no engineering background, so my simple mind may just not be able to understand this, so I leave this to the experts.

If I had to choose; I'd get a Micron. I own a Mirage G4, and it's so similar to a Micron, except that the laterals on the G4 are sowed onto the hip rings instead of the MLW. This causes the G4 to lift off the back considerably when in a sit position. Although, I think the G3 does have the laterals sowed onto MLW. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. the lateral to MLW junction has an articulation ring if you choose the Unisyn harness (articulated at at top and bottom). The bottom only articulation places the ring below the lateral/MLW junction (identical to the Vector), and choosing no articulation obviously leaves the lateral sewn in the the MLW as well in a very un-dropzone-like tradition I will back my statement with facts by attaching pictures. Both containers are G4.1 Thanks for clarifying. So anyone looking to get a G4, don't get the lame unisyn harness...hip rings only if you're freeflying. bzzzzzzzzzz... again. I find that hard to believe that all the people that are currently freeflying are hating the unysin harness as much as you do. I certainly felt it was a good fit and safe when I spent 3 seasons jumps a Mirage G4 with unysin. Objectivity anyone ?

I am willing to guess that all those containers were not made specifically for your body type. All the manufacturers out there can make a well fitting harness, but if you are try a rig made for someone who is not your size, it's quite likely you won't find it as comfortable as a harness made for you. 8 flaps ? Get your facts straight. 2 flaps in case of a Javelin/Wings. 4 flaps in case of a Vector. It's just possible that the enclosed/partially enclose PC has a strong spring to compensate for all those flaps that it has to open. Also, where the hell do you get the facts to substantiate the fact of "needing a skyhook system" ????????? You are missing the point of a skyhook - it's not a solution to reserve PC hesitations - it's a solution to an even better/cleaner deployment of the reserve. For whatever reason, before it became available less than 10 years ago we did not have people going in every day because they were jumping those under-developed rigs that are not functional due to the skyhook band-aid solution. Only two fatalities on the Racer ?????? I got a tower in Paris I want to sell you. Get your facts from reliable sources, and stop posting garbage.

that's yet another extremely subjective statement. wouldn't that depend on what one considers valuable ? One may place much more value on having a skyhook, or having a fully articulated harness as opposed to having a two sided RSL and a poptop. I'm just saying, let's not be too myopic when giving advice. Objectivity helps.

I made the ridiculous part of your post bold. Seriously ? So you are a new jumper but you feel that a certain brand/type is the best based on a recommendation from someone ? Can you give some data to back that up ? Can you back up the safety record that you claimed on the containers behalf ? Just to further nitpick - you say it's "Like nothings there!" - have you tried most other widely available containers that were made for a person of your size ? If not, then your statement is (in a very solid dz.com tradition) is absolutely useless. Last three weeks I jumped : Racer Javelin Javelin Odyssey Atom Classic Wings Icon Infinity And I found them all to be a nice fit. More data for you...

If I had to choose; I'd get a Micron. I own a Mirage G4, and it's so similar to a Micron, except that the laterals on the G4 are sowed onto the hip rings instead of the MLW. This causes the G4 to lift off the back considerably when in a sit position. Although, I think the G3 does have the laterals sowed onto MLW. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. the lateral to MLW junction has an articulation ring if you choose the Unisyn harness (articulated at at top and bottom). The bottom only articulation places the ring below the lateral/MLW junction (identical to the Vector), and choosing no articulation obviously leaves the lateral sewn in the the MLW as well in a very un-dropzone-like tradition I will back my statement with facts by attaching pictures. Both containers are G4.1

Is that your opinion, or that of a jury of peers ?

Vector has pop-top?? I thought javelin and wings were pop-top (where reserve pilot chute sits on top only held down by two flaps), vector has its reserve pilot chute hidden under many flaps. I also don't understand how could toggles creep out from vector. Secondary riser covers cover toggles completely and I honestly don't see how they could just creep out (no matter how the airflow is going around the container). Just pick the container you like the most (beauty-wise). They are all good containers, all are safe, freefly friendly, good build. Theoretically the "pop-top" containers are the Reflex and the Racer. The Wings and Javelin are "partially enclosed" poptops. I do agree with you on the riser protection on the Vector. She may be thinking of the Javelin, which does in fact allow for part of the riser to be visible (if packed sloppy :)