has contributed 46 reviews

(Review ID:2192)

2 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

Spectre 150 (-98)

Rated by: jlevin on 2009-05-31 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: Never had a hard opening, good flair
Cons: Not very responsive to front riser input, occasional off-heading openings

I haven't had a lot of canopies yet so I can really only compare it to larger Silhouettes and to the Sabre2 150.

The openings are really nice. I have never had a hard opening, but the opening aren't as slow as some people say either (except maybe when doing hop-n-pops). The only draw back with the openings is that the canopy sometimes opens off-heading.

It flies a lot better than I had expected after hearing what people at my DZ have to say about 7-cell canopies. The toggle turns are almost as quick as those on the Sabre2, but both the Sabre2 and the Silhouette respond better to front riser input. The Spectre's front riser turns aren't bad except they are fairly slow, but whey you try to do a front riser dive the canopy feels unstable and sometimes wiggles slightly from side to side.

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(Review ID:2135)

5 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Why?!?

Rated by: DoZ3r on 2009-02-07 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: openings, heading.. Just try it!
Cons: The guy who borrewed me his wants it back...

I can honestly say that Spectre is my favorite canopy..! No discussion!

The canopy is awesome, especially considering openings.. The most forgiving thing I've jumped.. Had some *SLAM* openings on my old Sabre2 in Russia...

I started jumping a Spectre 190, the first canopy that was my own, therefore -> Pure love! After that I spend a year and 200 jumps in a Sabre2 before again jumping a Spectre... The one i borrowed from a friend of mine was a Spectre 135, and I still love it, even toe he needs it back.. Only did like 15 jumps in it, but the way a spectre flies.. Wauw! And the openings... My experience is that even the most crappy packing gives a good opening on a spectre... (At least compared to my old Sabre2, which i still like..)

Simply: Try it!

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(Review ID:2068)

20 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

Just Love My Spectre

Rated by: MasterOfMagic on 2008-09-17 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: Soft Onheading Openings / Forgiving Of (Rush) Packing Techniques / Fun To Fly
Cons: Packing A New Spectre

I bought a stock Spectre and it was delivered to me in Europe within 6 days.
Loaded my Spectre 190 on 1.29 wingload.

The Spectre opens very smooth and onheading.
It had to get used to landing with the Spectre because in all my previous jumps I used 9 cell parachutes.

My wingload is a little bit high in my experience (115 jumps at 1.29) but the Spectre is still very forgiving for beginners. (One time i didn't flare at all)

Packing the (new) Spectre is a hell of a job for me, but I know this is due to my lack of experience.
When other (experiend) skydivers are packing my Spectre they have no problems at all, so I guess I just have to practice more.

I was looking for a slow opening parachute because of my high fallrate and I found it.

I just love my Spectre.

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(Review ID:2022)

11 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

Love the flight characteristics, hate packing it....

Rated by: Ragnarok on 2008-07-14 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: openings - especially with a camera helmet, soft and sweet, forgiving of packing techniques
Cons: Packing is a bitch - wich is a huge thing for me

I gave this canopy a 4/5 because it is an amazing canopy in nearly every aspect that is important for me to enjoy my skydive.

Openings: Simply put - SWEET!!! Gentle, on-heading, and surprisingly forgiving of packing method. Even with a camera helmet, I have never been wacked. Twisted, maybe once, but never a "bad" opening. If you fly camera, this is the canopy for you.

Flight: This is a fun canopy to fly, period. Responsive, stable, predictible. Easy to dial in, and once you do, you can touch down light as a feather or you can "turf surf". The canopy planes out nicely and will have you skimming for a bit, especially on a 'downwinder'. Never a worry landing this canopy, even in turbulance it is forgivng and quite stable.

Packing: Let me start by saying that I am picky about how I pack and I like to enjoy packing my chute. My canopy has 300 jumps on it and it is slicker than a greased pig. I flatten it out and it just wants to re-inflate. I have to fight it into the bag more often than I like, and it takes me longer to pack than my triathlon.

All things considered I would not want to fly another canopy, though I am partial to 7-cell canopies. I just hate packing it. I have 50 jumps on this (got it second-hand for a great price) and won't make it to 100 because I am selling it and going back to a triathlon. Why? I actually enjoy packing my triathlon, which makes the whole skydive that much sweeter.

I am looking at learning to flat-packing, it has packing tabs. That may change over the next 2 & 1/2 months. If so, I may end up feeling diferently about this canopy.

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(Review ID:1950)

15 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

Reccomend for any beginner

Rated by: maurice1369 on 2008-03-11 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: Consistent, soft openings
Cons: Nothing Yet

I have had this canopy since February ever since I returned from Afghanistan and I have put roughly 40 jumps on this canopy. I have to admit I simply love it. 9 times out of 10 it will open on heading and 10 out of 10 times it wills open nice and softly. It is very responsive on toggle and riser input. There is fairly light pressure on the rear risers so they are easy enough to pull in case of a long spot and you need to lose as little altitude as possible. There is medium pressure on the front risers but if you have dive loops then you will have no problem pulling on them. As far as flaring goes there is plenty of flare to go around and the landings are very nice with moderate winds. The only thing that takes a little getting used to is when you are jumping on no wind days and you come in for your final for some reason the canopy likes to pop up a foot or two. If you are not used to this at first it can be a little scary. Other than that the Sabre2 2 is very responsive at higher wing loadings as well as moderate loadings. I load mine at about 1.25 and I have absolutely no problems with any aspect of my canopy.

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(Review ID:1936)

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Great all-rounder

Rated by: chutehead on 2008-02-04 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: Soft openings, forgiving to rushed pack jobs
Cons: Less glide than a 9-cell

I�ve got about 130 jumps on a dacron-lined 170 with a 1.18 wing loading. I�ve had great, on-heading openings that take 800-1000 feet to open with a pro-pack and rolled nose. It might open faster with other packing techniques but I don�t want it to (it�s nice and soft). I�ve never had line twists on this canopy.

The first time I jumped it I noticed that it did not have as flat a glide as the Sabre 2 I learned on. The Spectre falls at a steeper angle. At first, I kept landing short but I�ve got it dialed in now and land very accurately. The reduced glide is really not a big deal once you get used to it. I�ve never had problems getting back from a bad spot.

It�s fun to bury a toggle on this canopy - it turns sharp and quick.

No problems with the flare - you can stop on a dime or slide-in on your feet, although the first couple times were kind of freaky as it comes in fast and steep before you flare.

I don�t swoop yet, so I can�t comment but a couple of guys I�ve talked to claim it can be swooped, just not as far as a 9-cell.

Great all-around, forgiving, soft-opening canopy!

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(Review ID:1932)

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

spectre

Rated by: skysloth on 2008-01-30 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: great openings. Awesome landings.
Cons: none

I have nearly 3,000 jumps on spectres. I love the openings. I was brought up on accuracy canopies, but the spectre gives you all of the benefits without the punishing openings and harsh landings. I can shut it down or do a surge to gain landing speed and bring it in a swoop. This is the best canopy I've ever jumped for someone like me. I view a canopy as a tool to get me to the ground where I want to land. I can bring this in to a tight area or make it back from a long spot. I'm 48 now and this canopy is a blessing to me. I love it. Camera guys, BUY this canopy.

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(Review ID:1873)

10 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

Spectre

Rated by: natecoon on 2007-09-24 (user profile) (user reviews)

Review of: Spectre in Unknown Tag: 'cat_linked'

Pros: Openings
Cons: Drive

I've only got 10 jumps on my Spectre 170 loaded at 1.24:1

My wife got a great deal on it with only five jumps on the canopy and I was thinking about going down a size from my Safire2 189 so... she let me have it. Thanks babe!

Five jumps on it - Can you say 'slippery'? Gadzooks man. Good times in the packing tent for someone like me with just over a hundred jumps.

First and most obvious thing I noticed was the openings. AWESOME. Like a pillow and straight on heading every time.
It's a pretty zippy canopy in the air at the loading I have it at. Not high performance or anything but still a lot of fun for someone with my experience.
The landings are so easy on this thing. straight in and it will surf for a little while (with no wind) if you want it to or you can shut it right down with a full flare. Haven't even had so much as a stumble on landing yet with it. (including a little down-winder that made for a little faster landing than usual)
I'm thinking it'll be a great canopy for my next 100-200 jumps but I think I'll probably go back to a 9-cell after that. Great canopy so far (especially with my experience) but I think I'll eventually want something with a little more drive and a little more 'surf' to it on landing. I have heard that you can get a pretty good surf out of it with a little front riser but I've also heard that it's really not made to be a fast landing canopy. It sets you down really soft, like it was designed to.

As I become a better canopy pilot I might start to squeeze more out of it. We'll see. I'll update this after another 50-100 jumps.

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