Havok Carve or Squirrel Funk?

[mccordia 73]

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If you’re in the US and considering a Carve or Funk as a step in your progression, I’d say don’t. 

Advising someone looking for a smaller sized (wing) wingsuit, I'm not sure 'don't do it because others fly a bigger suit' is the best advice. Trends (like fast upsizing) mainly started because 'everyone else is doing it too'. There let your own comfort level and progression dictate what suit size you choose. Not (unintentional) peer pressure.

That said, I've flown with (and in) just about every suit on the market, and if you want to fly together, you can in any suit. But of course the bigger suits will need to always adapt downward to make that possible. 

Mono-chamber is the new magic word, but in general, suits with a lower cell pressure (ease of pushing the air out, so you can close a wing during rolls/transitions easier) have been the norm in acro from the start (most wingsuits pre-2015ish had very low cell pressure standard). There its perhaps a bit re-inventing the wheel, after years of pushing for harder and harder inflation.

With regards to suit choice, a smaller suit doesnt always need to have a flocking purpose. I fly around 3/4 of the skydiving (and base) jumps I do in a big suit, but still grab the small suit often when learning something new, or doing creative 2 ways, as its a much easier and faster learning platform for skills (to then immediately apply to the big suit).

As said, Ive flown and coached people in every suit on the planet over the years, and I don't think there is a single wingsuit that doesnt allow you to do one thing or the other. The differences are minimal, and to most a personal preference they will be loud and agressive over, for no reason.

Fly what you like. I could give a lot of reasons to choose a havok, but someone who prefers intrudair or squirrel could probably do the same for the similar offerings in their line-up. So do take all the 'this brand is best' tooting with a grain of salt, and see its often people earning their sponsorship, discount or just airing their like (or hate) for brand X

There's not too many bad choices on the market at the moment...and there are a lot of choices..
If acro is your thing, Id mainly say pick a smaller suit, and even if big suit acro is your thing, the small suit will come in handy for many years to come as 'old faithfull' to learn and try new things with.

[BMAC615 205]

On 12/9/2021 at 1:44 PM, mccordia said:

Advising someone looking for a smaller sized (wing) wingsuit, I'm not sure 'don't do it because others fly a bigger suit' is the best advice. Trends (like fast upsizing) mainly started because 'everyone else is doing it too'. There let your own comfort level and progression dictate what suit size you choose. Not (unintentional) peer pressure.

Great insight as always! I totally agree and maybe didn’t convey exactly what I was trying to say. I meant, stay in your small suit longer - don’t bother putting 20 jumps on a Swift and then go to a Carve or Funk if all your friends are flying ATCs & Freaks - stay on the Swift for 100 flights and learn to fly it well. Then go to an ATC or similar suit of whatever brand your friends are flying once you have the basics down cold.

[Wjtyrer 1]

As I’m coming off of a ShadowEDGE I think the ATC/Strix/Freak style of suits will be too much, but they will be my next progression.

I actually ended up buying a Funk3 as the fit was perfect and I couldn’t find a used Carve that would fit me.

I can’t compare it to a Carve of course, but I can say that it’s really stable to fly and has great range and flare power. Much more than I was expecting. 
 

I’m yet to fly it with any Carves but I have flown it with a Phantom3, Magister, and a Rafale. I flew with the pilot who took me through my first flight course (he’s got 1600 WS jumps) and he said that he’s never struggled to keep up with Carves as much as he has flying with my Funk3. Mind you we were doing a lot of jumps experimenting with my suits range with him flying various suits.

I know there will be some Carve pilots at the DZ tomorrow so I’m hoping we can get a flock happening so that I can get a better, more accurate comparison, at least from another pilots point of view. 

 

[BMAC615 205]

15 hours ago, Wjtyrer said:

As I’m coming off of a ShadowEDGE I think the ATC/Strix/Freak style of suits will be too much, but they will be my next progression.

I actually ended up buying a Funk3 as the fit was perfect and I couldn’t find a used Carve that would fit me.

I can’t compare it to a Carve of course, but I can say that it’s really stable to fly and has great range and flare power. Much more than I was expecting. 
 

I’m yet to fly it with any Carves but I have flown it with a Phantom3, Magister, and a Rafale. I flew with the pilot who took me through my first flight course (he’s got 1600 WS jumps) and he said that he’s never struggled to keep up with Carves as much as he has flying with my Funk3. Mind you we were doing a lot of jumps experimenting with my suits range with him flying various suits.

I know there will be some Carve pilots at the DZ tomorrow so I’m hoping we can get a flock happening so that I can get a better, more accurate comparison, at least from another pilots point of view. 

 

Cool, congrats on the new suit? How many flights have you put on your ShadowEDGE before transitioning to the Funk?

 

[Wjtyrer 1]

7 hours ago, BMAC615 said:

Cool, congrats on the new suit? How many flights have you put on your ShadowEDGE before transitioning to the Funk?

 

Thanks.

I did just under 100. 

[mccordia 73]

In performance havok and funk are quite similar when looking at glide, with the funk typically a bit slower on the forward speed. The Havok a bit more agile in terms of lateral control. But all marginal. Pilot skill and weight/body type will usually be the main determining factor in comparing one to the other.