faulknerwn

Hmmm. A couple of years ago I jumped a reserve which was older than me :-) Worked like a champ! (Jumped with old-timey gear and a belly-mount reserve and had to use it! At terminal no less!) And I'm 32 :-) W

See that's weird - I've got over 3000 jumps on Racers - all with Velcro - and have never once had the riser covers come open in any sort of freefall. I have had the main flap come open, but that was years ago before I had the walrus teeth put on it. I'd be really curious to examine the rigs where they're coming open. I have seen on numerous occasions rigs with risers like Javelins and Vectors (where the risers are just tucked into the sides, not covered with an extra flap like on some newer rigs) have risers come out a bunch of times just doing RW. W

I know Jumpshack has 2 different size pc's (at least). There are the normal sized ones and then ones which are a much smaller diameter - mainly used on the small rigs like the power racers. W

Yeah. I don't think I've heard a single CRWdog refer to our discipline as CF. But maybe I haven't talked to CFdogs.. Course everyone talks about doing FS - I think they're going to do freestyle! I'd vote for CRW and RW any day. W

That's interesting that people are having hard openings on their Cobalts. I've got about 100 jumps on my regular 75 and haven't had a hard one yet. Must depend on the canopy. W

Remember tho - its not just them breaking. I remember being told somewhere about a guy who was hurt from a hook turn, and one of his injuries was that the closing pin on his necklace became embedded in the soft spot in the neck. I warn everyone against jewelry on jumps. W

Definitely the Racers. You can get them really skinny over the shoulders which is great for us girls with narrow shoulders. They're only 1" wide over the shoulder instead of 2" like most (not all) other containers. The other big thing I like about the Racers is that they flex right in the middle between the main and the reserve containers. This makes them much more comfortable in hard arch than other rigs for me because most rigs that don't bend dig into my bed right where I arch. I'm just too short for most rigs - because even the super-short rigs don't fit me right. The Racers are longer than some other rigs, but they're skinnier and narrower and they're more flexible which is why I love them so much. W

And it doesn't take a lot to have a near collision. I was on an 8-way on Saturday. I was jumping my Cobalt 75. I tend to ride in brakes a lot and let all the people spiral down. On this particular jump, I thought everyone had landed but me. I was probably at 3-4 hundred feet up and I was heading towards the high performance landing area. I have a friend who jumps a green and black Spectre 170. I always have trouble spotting this canopy when I'm checking for open canopies after I deploy. Anyway, he's on his way to the pea pit. He was looking down because he thought everyone was down and he was watching the people below him. I was probably 2-3 hundred feet away from him when I saw him. At our approach paths I probably would have nailed his end cell with my body going head-on. Instead, I just popped my brakes and flew about 10 feet over top of him, resisting the temptation to do a quick turn and do a CRW dock on him :-) But if I hadn't spotted him when I did, we probably would have had a collision because he never saw me. Our mistake was we both were certain that we were the last one in the air. His canopy colors which blend in well with the ground definitely contributed to the problem also. It doesn't take much to get into trouble - but it only takes one person to avoid a collision. Be careful up there.

I can't wear them in freefall for that very reason. Mine fit pretty snug and I scream in pain on the very rare occasions I wear them during freefall. The ride up isn't a problem because I can just take them out and clear my ear whenever they hurt. W

I wear them on every jump. I keep a pair in every pair of pants/jumpsuits I own. I started noticing a small amount of hearing loss around 500 jumps or so and have worn them ever since. Haven't noticed any issues since. W

That's generally true for competion teams. But I would advise strongly against rotation trim unless you have a team that's ready to compete, because most Lightnings out there are sequential and the rotation trim is much steeper and sinkier.

It should come ready to jump. Some of them have better riser setups than others, and some have d-bags while some have tail-pockets, but you should have what you need to jump. W

Both Spectres and Triathalons are good canopies. Triathalons have a bit more of a reputation for the bigger sizes to have occasional hard openings - I never had a problem with mine however. The Triathalon lands well, but the Spectre's a little bit forgiving I'd say. The Spectre will turn slightly faster as well because its tapered. Both work well for CRW. All in all I think the Spectre's a slightly better canopy. I still love my Triathalon though. W

I'm not sure of any modern CRW canopies that aren't all zero-p. I know PD offers that option, but I'd be surprised if anyone other than demo jumpers has bought one in years. W

Racer. Comfortable, extremely well-built. The owners have been making rigs for 30 years and know their stuff. Flaps stay closed in freefall very well.

I've heard 2 reasons for round reserves for doing CRW: 1. 2 people landing under one canopy are more likely to survive if its a round. 2. If you have a mess, a round can't downplane with other mains and you have a better chance of survival. That being said, I'll still take my square. We land off too much and use our reserves too often. I'll take my chances. W

I think mine is a 28" F111 pc but in all honesty, it was just what came with the rig. It works fine.

1. I'd open my main immediately. Its a lot more instinctive and I can get it out a whole lot faster than my reserve. Immediately pump on the risers to get it inflated faster. 2. If its a small load and there's plenty of room, land to the sourth. If its a huge way, suck it up and land to the north and prepare for a bad landing. 3, Give the pull signal and wave off. 4. Normally even 500 feet low would give me time to track and pull by 2 so I would track the same amount. 5. Try to get their attention though I probably can't. 6. Try to get his attention. 7. Land on rear risers - I practice it regularly on all of my canopies. I'm not going to go to a reserve if I've got a landable main. 8. Try to get his attention. It should still be ok even if I can't and he exits anyway. 9. Keep the door closed. 10. Flat turn to the right, prepare to PLF.

[replyAny Florida DZ's have some CRW dogs hanging around willing to jump with an old fart CRW novice? Have a PD lightning at 1.25. two! I know there's a bunch of dogs at Zhills and Sebastian. Perhaps some of the locals can hook you up there. W

Just be sure to check it regularly. I've seen reserve pins on all types of rigs gradually work their way out. Right after a pack job your pin goes in that pouch, but after 120 days of flexing, moving, packing, pins and cable flex during that time and if you're not diligent with checking it, it can quite easily slide considerably closer to the loop than where it started. CRWdogs in general seem to be more careful with and knowledgable about their gear than many skydivers, but if you're not looking for that its easy to miss.

Quote I don't understand the pin snag reference, though. Are we discussing climb out related mals or CRW wraps and entanglements? Your friends climbout could have just as easily snagged the pop top on a Racer - I know people who have done just that. And in-plane reserve deployments happen on all sorts of rigs for all kinds of reasons. ---- True. Most of the ones have been on Javelins and Vectors and the sort (we don't have many Infinities over here, and especially Javelins they seem to be the most popular). Usually whether its in the plane, or gradually over time, or in the door, the pin has been pushed out so there is very little left, and a bump in the door or in freefall, or just flexing has caused them to pop. That is the biggest thing I like about 2 pin rigs - you have to try pretty hard to pop both pins out. I've heard of premature deployments on Reflexes, but I've never heard of one (at least in the past 10 years or so) on a Racer. I expect its probably but I've never heard or seen one. 2 pins seem to make it more secure. ---- The reserve closing (top) flap on my Infinity is closed with two side tabs and it tucks into the bottom flap as well. The reserve pin points down (IIRC, the newer Javelins are similar). How does a line get that far into my rig without ripping my head off too? What would happen to a pop top under the exact same circumstances? --- Generally - its possible the Infinities aren't as prone to this as the Vectors with which I'm more familiar, but I see where those tabs are tucked in at the bottom, always seem to be coming out. And a line sliding in under there could snag a pin - depending on how far the pin gets tucked in. That's how the Javelin pin get bent to a 90 degree angle. It was a Javelin without the place to tuck it into the bottom, and she was on a 182 step, and something on the door during exit snagged her pin and bent it to a 90 degree angle. Scary. The only Infinities I see on a regular basis are student rigs - probably ~5 years old or so. (They might have updated their design since then I'm not sure.) Anyway those bottom tuck tabs seem to never want to stay tucked in. A lot of how well those things stay in seem to be with the reserve size/tightness, how well the reserve is packed, how much abuse the rig sees and such. You're being up in Infinity country, I expect that the riggers up there know those rigs really well. The best reserve repack my Racer ever saw was at a CRW thing up in Michigan where I had a chop and the dz owned 30 student Racers. That rigger made my Racer the most beautiful looking reserve container I've ever seen it. I expect if you order a Javelin and Infinity and others like I order my Racer - with a bigger reserve container size than necessary, those flaps are a lot more likely to stay in place. How well do they hold up over time though? I normally check my reserve pins every single jump - do the flaps get bent out of shapes like a lot of main flaps and riser covers do on a lot (probably most) rigs? If I have to open and close that flap 5 times a day that is a lot of wear. Rigs are getting better every year so I'm sure I've never seen on a regular basis the latest Infinities.. They may have found ways around these issues. It just seems like most of the rigs out there work great brand new, and then after a year or two start having all of these issues. The other big question I'd wonder about is size. All of my rigs are pretty small - I wonder how that affects this kind of issue. The reserve flap would be shorter, so would that make it more or less likely to pop out? I bet it has some effect but I'm not sure which way. Another question would be where the pin goes on small versus larger rigs - I know that the pins on my littlest Power Racer lie very differently than my larger CRW Racer. How does the size of the rig affect pin placement on Infinities? I would think it would somewhat just because of the shorter height of the reserve container as a whole. I don't know enough about packing reserves to know the answer to that one. Lots of interesting questions. Things to think about at night :-) W

Was the orignal Mirage like that? I can't remember. I just have been at a dropzone a bunch of the times over the years and have seen a reserve launch prematurely probably a dozen times (without a ripcord pull). Every single one was on a 1-pin system - none was on a Racer. That's why I'm scared to jump those rigs. I feel like I have a much more secure reserve system. Not everyone does tho. That's why skydiving is so great - everyone can have their own opinions, their own feelings, and there is gear out there for everyone. So if you're out there worried about a poptop, there is awesome gear available. If you're worried about pin protection, there's awesome gear out there. Pick your poison. Skydiving is an inherently dangerous sport unless you choose to save yourself. You can choose from any sort of helmet/rig/canopy/AAD/RSL and more according to your liking. That's a damn good thing. There is all sorts of great equipment out there nowadays. Educate yourself and pick what is best for you. What is bets for you is quite possibly not what is best for me. That is what so great about choices.

Quote Without the flaps OR a less than PERFECT reserve pack job, there is a definite safety issue. I felt I was a crater waiting for a grid reference. YMMV Michael Quote Yeah I always feel like a crater waiting for a grid reference every time I jump a rig for CRW with an exposed pin on my back. Every time I've borrowed a Javelin or something for CRW I think I check those pins 82 times during a trip up and down. I think I'm just ultra-paranoid about that because of all the premature reserve launches I've seen over the years with exposed-pin rigs (tho admittedly all during airplane rides, climbout, or freefall, not CRW). It was at Ballunarfest during the CRW event I last saw a Vector prematurely launch while sitting in the airplane. And after the time I watched a friend land with her Javelin reserve pin bent at a 90 degree angle from catching on the Cessna door during climbout, I'm just way too scared of pin snags to jump rigs with exposed pins more than occasionally. Tis funny eh? Some people are paranoid of snags on a poptop, other people are more paranoid about snags on pins? I'd like to see a rig where the pins were protected on your back and there was no pop-top snag points. That'd be nice.

A lot of people think like that. I've about 1500 CRW jumps on my Racers though and have never had a problem. My reserve container is definitely larger than it needs to be so the poptop seats cleanly. I've seen problems with the Reflexes snagging and popping (and not just in CRW) but the 2nd pin on the Racer seems to hold it considerably snugger. If I ever was concerned I'd just get CRW flaps put on it - Racer's are one of the few rigs that are really comfortable for small people. CRW flaps wouldn't be a bad idea on my Racer to make it more snag proof. It depends on your rigger and your setup whether its a good idea. If you're in an area where no one has Racers and your rigger doesn't know them, you're probably better off with something else for CRW. But they can be perfectly safe as well. I'm just paranoid about jumping a rig where my reserve pin is on my bag and potentially snagged by a line (because I've seen the reserve tuck tabs come open on all sorts of rigs). That's a guaranteed main-reserve entanglement if it opens, and/or a bent reserve pin making for an impossible deployment. I've seen this happen on a ~1996 Javelin on a freefall jump. My pins are more secure. Just choose your paranoia. Mine is potentially-snaggable pins. Other people's biggest one is snag-resistance.

I don't really have an opinion on rings or no rings. I jump Racers with no rings but I don't really care. CRW leg pads are important - they're generally better padded (not necessarily wider). Large riser covers are mandatory as well. It can be hard enough getting all of our riser stuff in larger covers much less regular ones! As for as pin covers, most of the modern rigs are safe. You want to not be able to snag the pin - but all of the rigs currently being built are being built with those. I'd seriously considering getting the reserve container slightly bigger than needed so everything seats well and stays in place. Overfull containers tend to be less comfortable and more prone to flaps coming undone. I actually order even my freefall rigs slightly larger than need be for comfort. Much better having a soft container than a brick on your back, and everything seats and squishes so much easier. I hate hard pack jobs. The reserve flaps are generally only on older rigs and Reflexes. I don't see any need for them on a modern Javelin assuming that the reserve can be packed so that the tuck tab stays put. I put my risers in my side flaps. I can't usually get all the muck tucked in very well over the shoulders, but my side flaps are fine. I personally prefer a pullout for CRW because you get an opening without pilot chute hesitations and stuff like you can with a throwout. But unless you're on a competition team or something, throwouts usually work fine for most CRW. It only becomes an issue when you're exiting extremely close together.