likestojump

no, that is not what I said. your container should come with a properly sized dbag. that is the dbag you should use with any canopy that you will be putting into that container.

I am saying that the dbag is specific (more or less) to a container. As the canopy is not a solid shape, but rather fits into the dbag with appropriate volume, the canopy itself will fit into any compatible container. The big BUT is whether the dbag that the demo place sends you will fit your container - and as the asnwer is not always a yes, it's just easier to disconnect your dbag, and connect it to the demo canopy. as far as shapes - your containers' main packtray has a well defined shape, that your containers' dbag fits into. A packed canopy does not have a well defined shape - it will take shape of any bag that you stuff/kick/force it into. does this help ?

Imagine your container has a deep and long bag (more rectangular) and a pullout pilot chute. And imagine PD sends you a demo canopy with a short and deep (more square) dbag and a BOC pilot chute. That won't be much help to you. bags differ in shape greatly from container to container, and people use different deployment systems. Transferring a dbag from canopy yo canopy takes under a minute. PD demos come on risers, that's it. and BTW, the search function works very well here, I use it all the time. Replace user, press any key to continue.

the benefit is that you are able to hook your thumb/fingers through it and have a much better chance of cutting away. Realistically if that's what you are worried about, hard riser housing would probably be a more effective solution. Still, you can get a cloth loop cutaway handle, instead of the bulky metal D-ring.

quite a common question. and here are just a few others who did not want to search. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=first%20rig&sb=score&mh=25

Even I'm confused now. Your overwhelming number of 'no' responses directly contradict the 20+ flights i've made carrying my rig on my back... the question asked was if there's anything that can prevent a rig from being allowed on a commercial flight. the answer was NO, nothing can prevent it from beign allowed, but don't but an asshat about it. double negative=positive

a PCA sounds like a very reasonable idea, mr. bill via PCA has been done in BASE many times.

never seen a Javelin with that kind of a main pin cover flap.

if you are out $11.5K and you are settling for $2K then his attorney is doing a damn fine job of zealously representing his client. a very nice out of court settlement. I would contact a contracts attorney and investigate how (and how much) you are getting fucked. If his counsel is in a rush to get you to sign something, there's a good reason for that.

Mirage : http://www.miragesys.com/products/?loc=detail&id=1&iid=1110 Wings http://www.skydivewings.com/index.php?page=order_info#measurements

diff manufacturers have different sizes. but here's what Bonehead does : http://www.boneheadcomposites.com/sizing.htm

I jumped a Vengeance120 (near new and very slick) that was packed the same way for 4 years in hot Florida. It felt like a solid brick, and I never repacked it. opened just fine. But I must stress it was an experiment, not something I recommend doing.

yes, many of us have. my experience has always been positive his username on this site is bigway

ok, so you like the Vector3. Have you tried all the others ? Is V3 the way to go because it works for you, or because you honestly think it's better than all the others ? Jumped a Jav Odessey and a mirage liked the V3 the best. It was the most comfortable, I like the looks of it, and yes I like having a skyhook. I do not like pop tops but that's just me. I don't think any of them suck but for me the Vector was the way to go! Don't you think that recommending V3 is premature since you have not experienced all the oters on the market ? Plus, perhaps you used rigs with harnesses that weren't fitted for you, and thus found them less comfortable than some others ? As far as poptops - I just spoke to a guy today who prefers the Javelin because he feels more secure with semi-exposed poptop... I have jumped Vectors, Infinities, Racers, Javelins, Wings, VooDoos, Talons, Eclipses, Mirages, Icons, Dolphins. Basd on my experience if I was to get a new one I would get a Javelin or a Mirage or an Icon or a VooDoo in this particular order.

I have always wondered - what if there is a poor college student who desperately needs money, and is selling their rig. Along comes another poor college student who wants a rig, but obviously has no money. What happens ? Who has the monetary preference ? Does the seller discount the rig for the poor buyer, or does the buyer pay full asking price and/or extra to the poor seller ?

he, who has least tolerance for bullshit, looses. I love it ! 2shay : VooDoo sucks, Vector3 is the best DSE : No VooDoo does not suck, in fact it's very nice. please repeat while slowly increasing the volume until one of the people quits arguing.

+1 Vector 3 or Micron is the way to go.... well worth the money! I love mine!! Getting ready to buy another. ok, so you like the Vector3. Have you tried all the others ? Is V3 the way to go because it works for you, or because you honestly think it's better than all the others ?

I did about 100 jumps with a Cobalt loaded at 1.4 with an S3 I just had to make sure to keep my shoulders were level. Had a few line twists and one cutaway. it's doable, but I enjoy my Spectre a lot more :) I also had harder openings after the reline.

expensive international phone calls are a fallacy, it's 2009, unless you are calling Sat phones or Afghanistan, it's quite affordable. but here are the email address : info@argus-aad.com

The amount of R&D that goes into designing parachute gear is enormous. Think of the stress the gear goes through on every jump. Unlike SCUBA, a skydiving gear malfunction is very likely to kill you. Since you are comparing SCUBA gear, think of how pretty much all parts used in SCUBA are cross manufactured for many other industrial uses : Cylinders - gas storage HP hoses - I cannot even name all the uses that come to mind regulators - same as above BC - well, I doubt it's anywhere as complex as a skydiving Harness/Container system Fins/Mask/Snorkel... all pretty basic and fairly easy to produce via machinery. Skydiving gear has a lot of manual labor involved. While machines do cut pieces, all the sewing is still done by hand (well, with sewing machines, but you know what I mean) hope this helps. But like posters above said, if it involves being above the ground, it's damn expensive.

company http://www.argus-aad.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=26 The problem that I had with the Argus is that they drain batteries pretty fast. Expect to change them about once a year depending on how much you jump. Your problem MAY have been a dying battery. Batteries can be bought in any store, they use regular CR123A

Saw him jump this year. Claims to have been jumping since 194x (don't remember), which beats Lew by quite some time. And I believe him.

Recently I have been packing a Heatwave 135 (gelevanor material with 450 HMA lines) into an MT and it fits well.

dear skydiver88 - Serg came here because he had no way of reaching you and alleged you wronged him in a transaction. Now for the sake of not making this sounding like libel - please tell us how did he wrong you ?

it's quite simple, actually. Especially on the ground. it's not 2 cables coming out of the pillow, it's infact a single cable that's looped around an attachment point that sewn into the inside of the pillow. Which means if you were to "cutaway" and end up with a pillow in your hand and the yellow cable still sticking out of the housing channel, you could just put your fingers/hand into the y-junction of the said cable (they are crimped together, as you saw on the x-ray) and yank on that. Trust me, if you cannot yank it out with yoru hand, you had no chance with a pillow. for checking on the ground, just look at the cable coming out of the housing channel on the risers as you lightly tug on the pillow (you can unmate the velcro) - you will easily see movement. After done with you check, make sure to inser the yellow cable back in, and re-mate teh cutaway handle.