PD Slinks on slider down jumps

[martin245 0]

Hi all,

I am interested in your opinion about the pros or contras about the use of PD Reserve/ Tandem Softlinks on slider down jumps. According to PD they are stronger than metal quick draws, so why
shouldn´t they be used?

Martin

[havensiangst 0]

I order soft links on my new Trango, soft links are stronger...but not so easy to remove if you gonna remove the canopy...

[martin245 0]

The Trango isn´t recommended for slider down jumps. My question was why Slinks shouldn´t be used on slider down jumps.

[havensiangst 0]

yes i know trango isn`t recommended for slider off/down...but i can`t see why not using s-links for slider off...when their stronger..beside that it will given you a fit removing it if you gonna by some reason remove the canopy...

[Calvin19 0]

theoreticaly in that sit, fabric on fabric gives line burns, spectra melts really low temp. but i use slinks on my dagger now. i seriously doubt any bad things about slider down. just look at it after a few jumps.

[Treejumps 0]

There are people who use slinks for up and down base. If you really trust them, and believe that there is a good reason to use them, you will decide to go ahead and use them. I don't see any performance gain from using slinks over standard links. The only positive is that you can unhook them without any tool. With a wrench in hand the metal link will be much quicker to transfer canopies or to remove the slider. A slink has much more possibilty to be worn when dragged over rocks, etc.

I have a couple thousand skydives on slinks and I love them in that enviroment, but I would never take them into the base enviroment. While failures are rare in skydivng, they have occured, and base is much harder on gear. To my knowledge, there has never been a failure of a full size link, and by design a full size link should not fail even if left open.

Cya

[Calvin19 0]

when maintained and rigged correctly, i seriously doubt a slink has ever failed. i bet the ones spoken of are mis-riggings, or the 1800th jump on the slink.

[HydroGuy 0]

Quote

I am interested in your opinion about the pros or contras about the use of PD Reserve/ Tandem Softlinks on slider down jumps

Cons - Slinks are harder to rig, easier to damage

Pros - Slinks do not show up on metal detectors. This is only really important if you have removed all the rest of the metal from your rig...but if you have, then they are a virtual must.

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[derkaderka 0]

slinks are cool but i just use zip ties they go on fast and u can just cut them off when your done

IM THE COOLEST MOTHER FUCKER IN THE WORLD

[HydroGuy 0]

I've never thought of using zip ties. They wouldn't show up on a metal detector, and they come in a bunch of cool colors as well...

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[Tyrion 0]

Quote

when maintained and rigged correctly, i seriously doubt a slink has ever failed. i bet the ones spoken of are mis-riggings, or the 1800th jump on the slink.

Funny this should come up now. I check my skydiving gear at the start of every jump day (including slinks) and give it a quick once over before every jump, yet I had my left rear slink break on opening only a few days ago on my Stiletto 150 after having a couple of hardish openings. It wasn't mis-rigged and this canopy has only about 800 jumps on it (I'm not 100% sure if the slinks have been replaced before, they looked in good condition though).

I've heard this is really rare, but it still made me think about rapide vs slinks for BASE.

[Calvin19 0]

sorry i didnt specify, but the slinks i was talking about was reserve slinks.
800 jumps is a lot on slinks. how often do they need to be replaced?

-SPACE-

[tr027 0]

I've been using them all along and love them. They are more complicated to rig than metal links though, and you have to be confident in your ability to rig them correctly every time.

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

Hi all,

I am interested in your opinion about the pros or contras about the use of PD Reserve/ Tandem Softlinks on slider down jumps.

According to PD they are stronger than metal quick draws, so why
shouldn´t they be used?

Martin

Abrasion resistance?

[AdamLanes 1]

When I jump slider down I keep my slider down using the french-link bumpers on my front risers. This seems to be the preferred method of keeping the slider from going up the lines on deployment. With slinks I don't think you have that option.

[pope 0]

Quote

slinks are cool but i just use zip ties they go on fast and u can just cut them off when your done

be careful with this kind of post. You never know who you'll kill...but then again, if you're gonna take this as advice, maybe you deserve it.
pope

[HydroGuy 0]

You mean zip ties aren't the hot ticket???

Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

There are people who use slinks for up and down base. If you really trust them, and believe that there is a good reason to use them, you will decide to go ahead and use them. I don't see any performance gain from using slinks over standard links. The only positive is that you can unhook them without any tool. With a wrench in hand the metal link will be much quicker to transfer canopies or to remove the slider. A slink has much more possibilty to be worn when dragged over rocks, etc.

I have a couple thousand skydives on slinks and I love them in that enviroment, but I would never take them into the base enviroment. While failures are rare in skydivng, they have occured, and base is much harder on gear. To my knowledge, there has never been a failure of a full size link, and by design a full size link should not fail even if left open.

Cya

Yep. Some things just don't need improvement.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[NickDG 23]

As far as I know a metal Rapid link has never killed anyone. I'm not sure you can say the same for Slinks.

You can qualify the use of Slinks in BASE by adding, "well maintained," or "properly assembled," and "relatively new," but just remember you are hanging it all on "one" canopy so you can't so easily accept too many conditions. In BASE the word bulletproof also needs to include poor-maintenance-proof, lazy-proof, and ignorant-proof.

When a Rapid link does yield (bend open) for whatever reason, it usually retains the line group. When a Slink fails (like one did on my friend Koji while skydiving at the DZ) it fails big. And yes, that Slink had been on the canopy for a long time, but I know from experience we are really bad in knowing when, "just one more," is one too many.

Then consider why use a Slink? The major reason, I'd assume, is to save weight, but is that such big deal with BASE gear? Also, at the DZ, Slinks make it easier to stow the slider behind your head, but we don’t do that in BASE.

I'm not sure if the below video is indeed a skydiving fatality (so use caution in viewing as it's disturbing) or even for sure if it's a Slink or a Rapid link that failed, but the result is the result.

Maybe I'm over-cautious, but hell, I'd put steel lines on my "only" canopy if it was possible . . .

http://www.nothingtoxic.com/media/1173869887/Fatal_Skydiving_Accident_Caught_on_Tape

NickD BASE 194

[airdog07 0]

from josh28
Fatal Accident at the Pond Swoop Nationals
The Pond Swoop National Championships at the Blue Sky Ranch in Gardiner, NY, was overshadowed by the fatal accident of a competitor during the last round of the event.

On Sunday afternoon, August 26, Lisa Gallagher [41] from Ohio was fatally injured during her final approach for an swoop accuracy landing on a raft in the middle of the pond. She was using a conservative carving approach and then did a left hand turn towards the pond. The left side of her Crossfire 89 (loaded at 1:1.4) collapsed three separate times. It collapsed from the tail forward, collapsing three cells entirely and the fourth about 99%, leaving just the nose of the fourth still inflated.

The trees near her turning point are about 70 feet high and this all took place below tree top level. So she was at about 50 feet when the first collapse occurred, possibly caused by a ferocious rotor coming off the trees. Any forward movement she had was largely momentum from the turn and not real flight anymore. She pretty much fell as opposed to flew and hit the ground at high speed. Lisa was air-lifted to a near trauma center where she was pronounced dead one hour later.
---------------------------------------------------------
not from slink but form crossfire 1

"A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones ..."

[havensiangst 0]

RE:
"Then consider why use a Slink? The major reason, I'd assume, is to save weight, but is that such big deal with BASE gear? Also, at the DZ, Slinks make it easier to stow the slider behind your head, but we don’t do that in BASE. "

Nope..weight does`nt matter if you do mass-jump from ex..the famous potato bridge in TF...but if you hiking for 3-4(for some 4-5) hours twice a day for real bigwalljumping...every saved gram counts...

[NickDG 23]

>>It collapsed from the tail forward, collapsing three cells entirely and the fourth about 99%, leaving just the nose of the fourth still inflated.
Thanks for correcting that . . .

NickD BASE 194

[PhreeZone 15]

Nick, as its already been pointed out, that link has noting to do with Slinks but it instead was due to turblence and the canopy.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[NickDG 23]

I realize that now, thanks . . .

NickD BASE 194

[leroydb 0]

would you consider paraglider lines or would they be to stiff?

pro's/ cons?

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...