Feb 28, 2005, 9:17 PM
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Stows
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I'm curious to get the views of the general populace on tube stows versus small rubber bands versus the regular size rubber bands double stowed. Should you only use one type for the entire bag, or which go where, etc. I'm trying to see if one or the other may have a pattern of either line dump/twist, and which configuration gives the best reliability. Thanks
whatever you use, just make sure that each one is the same as the one next to it. or at least that's what "they" say. it makes sense to have that balance so the bag doesn't tumble all crazy. personally, i did a little experiment when i was jumping my stiletto 120 a lot. i packed with all different size bands and different configs... i.e. single and double wraps and all that crap... never had a faster or slower opening that i could notice, and never more than 45 off heading.
if you're brave, you'll just try it all out yourself... but personally i think tube stows suck.
i'm also not saying that it's not true, but i have a hard time understanding how tighter stows prevent hard openings... i mean i get the basic idea of it, but i don't have any stows on my BASE rig, and even at terminal with a mesh slider, it doesn't WHACK me like some people claim they get from a velo???
TSO requirements call for the utilization of MilSpec 'Bubbarands' only~
Mains aren't TSOed, though.
Although I don't personally use tube stows on my sport rig, I use them on the tandem rigs I jump due to Bill Booth's presentation on the forces put on the locking stows during deployment of the tandems. Tube stows on the locking stows and bands on the rest of the stows for the tandems.
I also think that tube stows are good for sport mains as well...I'm just cheap and have a large collection of small rubberbands that's I've some how aquired over the years. Not to mention the free rubberbands at the DZ (the DZO didn't realize how big 5lbs bags of rubberbands really are and they're cheap, so he leaves them in a sorted bin for everyone to use).
i'm also not saying that it's not true, but i have a hard time understanding how tighter stows prevent hard openings...
My understanding is that stows can effect the snatch force, but the opening is dependent on canopy design and the slider. There are a good number of people that only use the locking stows so to prevent bagstrip on deployment and they have perfectly normal deployments. They're not slammed on opening. There's even a stowless bag on the market that uses "tabs" to keep bag strip from happening.
I was plagued with hard openings untill I started using small rubber bands on my locking stows, and regular on the rest (instead of regular all around).
the last stuff i see posted on here about the sunpath stowless dbag was like a year and a half ago... what ever happened with that? are they still making them?
I've found that with my ST120s that using standard rubberbands for the locking stows, but "istalling" them using the "tighter" tube stow instructions (basically pulling it through itself a second time) works well.
It keeps good tension, is a bit easier for packers than using small bands, and avoids the need to double stow the locking stows (which some people advise against).
i'm also not saying that it's not true, but i have a hard time understanding how tighter stows prevent hard openings... i mean i get the basic idea of it, but i don't have any stows on my BASE rig, and even at terminal with a mesh slider, it doesn't WHACK me like some people claim they get from a velo???
can someone help explain this to me??
Hey,
The reason for keeping the stows of proper tightness is to make sure that the lines stay where they need to be throughout deployment and come off the bag in an orderly fashion.
What happens when the bag gets pulled out and there are loose line stows is, some of the lines fall out of the stow, maybe not all of them so then you have lines all over.
This might not always be a problem, but it's just not very clean. It does help you have cleaner deployments if you have nice tight stows
