Freak vs. Hunter

[nickfrey 0]

Not long ago I would not have considered a PF suit, but now that BASE is no longer a personal priority (immediate riser access on opening and easier gear up of 1 vs. 2 zipper system) and it appears PF can deliver a suit in not only under 6 months but in a comparable time frame to Squirrel I am once again considering them. Tony is still out, to unpredictable as to what i would get and I wouldn't even know what the comparable suit is today.

I had a ghost 3, loved that suit but it was simply not capable of stable, steep flight, it just became a flapping pile of nylon. We have all seen what the Freak is capable of, can the Hunter keep up? Steep dynamic flight? XRW? Who has flown both and has these skills?

[Freeflaw 0]

https://www.facebook.com/JokkeSommerOfficial/videos/1337611742932855/?pnref=story

[mccordia 73]

Misc - http://www.vimeo.com/phoenixfly/hunter
Flare - https://youtu.be/QIIGhIj41lE
Carve (camera) - https://youtu.be/TbfZvcaCOMc
Freefly - https://www.facebook.com/mccordia/videos/1134631133276735/

The ozzy boys did a lot of mad, big group, backfly xrw with the hunter thats about to hit the web as well. Clean lines and smooth profile make the suit easy for flight at any angle or speed.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[nickfrey 0]

Quite literally a Hunter hanging with a Freak, thanks

[nickfrey 0]

Thanks for the vids, something to think about for sure. Looks pretty solid.

[BryanCampau 0]

I've flown them both so I feel like it's fair for me to drop my two cents in. With that said - i've only got 450 WS jumps and 300ish are on Squirrel suits. So still a noob in the long haul but have flown the full spectrum of squirrel suits, good majority of Tony suits, and a small handful of Phoenix Fly suits. I gave PF suits a try after talking extensively with Jarno. Lead times were shorter than Squirrel and quality is top notch. In terms of manufacturing - both are excellent choices.

The Freak is a suit that if you are comfortable in Squirrel suits then you will feel right at home. They all have the same "feel" and are rather easy to fly in a relaxed body position. It's super easy to get a slow fall rate in this suit. Forward speed is decent but noticably slower if you fly with some C2s and Craces which isn't surprising. On it's back it has some inflation issues with the tail. If you aren't dug in on your back, that tail will flutter and not be inflated. It takes a lot of playing with and I honestly have found it to be incredibly disappointing in that aspect. Transitions are fairly easy in this suit. And it's pretty stable in a dive.

The Hunter takes some muscle to fly. It didn't feel natural to me but i have a lack of experience in their suits which may cause this. I felt like i wasn't in shape enough to fly it to its full potential. lol Great forward speed and stable in dives. Tons of fun to fly. I couldn't get the fall rate quite as slow as the Freak but that may be my lack of experience in their suits. Transitions were super smooth and it is solid as heck on its back. Very impressive suit if you can find some friends that want to do large acro suit flight.

My questions is why not a Havoc Carve or Funk 2? Typically you don't meet many people doing large suit acro which leads me to not fly those suits nearly as much. I think this suit size is perfect for fun jumps with some acro.

[mccordia 73]

Scotty P backfkying the hunter into an XRW sunset...

Photo by Jack Rolliston

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[b52 0]

When you say it takes muscle to fly the Hunter. Do you mean your arms are exhausted after ~90+ secs on your belly or back?

[mccordia 73]

Though fir sure it differs per person, I have no issues doing long jumps on belly or back, with little to no armwing fattigue. But coming if different brand/models, for sure flying technique and muscles trained in the process can varry.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?