Sabre?

[councilman24 36]

The concept of a hard opening is also in the eyes (or thighs?) of the wearer. As an old timer I consider some of the openings on the newer canopies as streamers that clear. We would have cut alot of those away in the old days. (Well, maybe not only because we'd be playing with it trying to get it to open to a 1000'.) The first time I jumped a Viper the owner warned me not to chop it, it'll take 700' to open. I'm glad he warned me. I didn't buy a Spectre because the openings were 700' whether a hop and pop (at 2000', flatline on the audible) or terminal.

Now, these kind of openings are what newer jumpers want these days. And maybe that good, they won't end up an 1" shorter like I am. But I prefer what most new jumpers would call a hard opening. 200-300' Don't get me wrong, there are openings that are too hard.

I currently jump a Sabre 170 and had a 190. The 190 was a lemon replaced by PD so I won't talk about it's openings. The 170 opens like I want a parachute to, brisk to me, hard to people used to Spectres. A couple of times a year it slams me, but nothing that ends a weekend. I haven't tried to slow my Sabre down with a pocket slider, so I defer to others experience. I have thought about it, only because I haven't done any pocket slikers and need to experiment on mine first.

Anyway, opening hard or soft are individual descriptions that will vary from jumper to jumper.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[jejejelle 0]

i jump a sabre 170. first 50 to 80 jumps were no problem , but all of a sudden it started to open very hard. "the pain in my back for a week hard"

lucky for me someone at my DZ taught me a packing thing , and now i sometimes have openings which can take up to 1000 ft

no rolling of the nose... just pushing it in between , push the slider out and fold in the flaked parts the same way as the nose
( cant explain very well :) )

[meltdown 0]

My wife has a Sabre 150 and I've jumped it a few times. It opens a little quicker than my Spectre, but nothing to really complain about. I love the way it flies.

[riggerrob 558]

I have hundreds of jumps on first-generation Sabres (135, 150, and 170) and a half-dozen jumps on a Sabre 2-170.
All good canopies and they only slammed me when I packed sloppily.
Sabres 2 is more tolerant of sloppy packing.
I have sewn pockets onto the sliders of dozens of first generation Sabres. All the owners reported improved openings. One configuration was specifically designed for videographers at a major DZ in Arizona, who only deployed at terminal. It opened so slow that I quit doing hop-and-pops and eventually removed two of the four pockets.
Conclusion, sew on a pocket and get some coaching on the finer points of packing.

[petetheladd 0]

I am with cc24 on this one.

I too prefer a brisk opening and did about 500 jumps on an unmodified sabre 170 with mostly smart openings.

These days, it seems anything other than a mild jolt over about 700 - 1000 feet is seen as a slammer and most canopies seem to have designed in snivels for the more refined jumper these days.

Most of the time, my sabre let me know quickly and emphatically that I had an open canopy above my head.

Of course, I had a few hard openings that felt like a hammer fist to the midpoint of my shoulder blades driving the air out of me but very few and not something that broke me for a weekend.

No, Not without incident

[BoostedXT 0]

yeah that is also what I was thinking about the hard openings and it being all in the eyes of the flier. I have just heard of some that are a real kick in the junk. Those are what I want to avoid. However being new to the sport I also want something that will tell me when its open.

I guess the only way to know is to jump it heh?

Joe

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[skybytch 259]

Quote

I have just heard of some that are a real kick in the junk.

I had one of those on a Sabre 150, but I also had one of those on a Spectre 170. My ex put a few hundred jumps on a Sabre 135 with never a hard opening.

FWIW I've heard more stories of Sabre 150's opening "briskly" than I have any other size Sabre, but that could be because 150 sq ft is one of the most popular sizes for mains.

[BoostedXT 0]

thats what I am seeming to notice. A good portion of the brisk openings are from 150 sized canopies.

hrmm....very interesting....

Joe
PS-Kicks in the junk are bad.

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[rickfri59 0]

Anyone got a picture or drawing of what a slider pocket looks like?

[BoostedXT 0]

Ok...first off....thanks again for the replies. Very helpful. I have found out more about the canopy..so here is the info.

Sabre 210..like you didnt know.
700 jumps total
relined at 525...175 jumps on new line set.
Includes PC, and Dbag.

$520.....

Good find? or move on? This is also being purchased from a very reputable DZ.

Thanks
Joe

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[hookitt 0]

Quote

Good find? or move on?

Good find

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[JumpRu 14]

I jumped sabre170 with mod slider and sabre150 (i think it has an original slider). I made about 500 jumps on both. 150 was harder then 170.
Most of my openings were ok (roll the nose 4+4).

[BlueEyedMonster 0]

Quote

Anyone got a picture or drawing of what a slider pocket looks like?

Lucky for you I just happened to have an unpacked Sabre 170 with the slider mod laying on my livingroom floor. I love the slider mod. It makes for nice slow openings. And I like my Sabre--Its a good canopy.

**The white around the edges are the pockets. They inflate and hold the slider up longer.**

[BoostedXT 0]

I was just contacted by the seller and I asked if his price was firm. I told I would buy right now for $500. He said ok thats fine. So I bought it. I am having the DZ's rigger check it out and make his personal notes on it, and then I will have my rigger check it out and see how they corrispond.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Joe

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[Unstable 8]

Congratulations on your new Canopy!!!!!! I'm sure you'll be happy with it! Make sure to post some pics when you get your hands on it!!

=========Shaun ==========

[scottjaco 0]

I have 150 jumps on Original Sabres. 134 of those are on my current Sabre 150. Yes, the openings were brisk at first but not painfully so.

Rolling the nose only prolonged the snivel which took the edge off the opening however I still got that "POP" at the end of the snivel.

A guy in Taft showed me a trick with the slider. Instead of quartering the slider, pull it out towards the nose so that it hangs out over the nose.

If you go to the PD website it tells you to do just the same!!

Download the .PDF on "How to prevent hard openings" On the first page, it talks about pulling out the slider.

http://performancedesigns.com/education.asp

I pull the slider out almost all the way now and I never get that "POP" at the end. I've done this for the last 50 or so jumps and it works great.

Whenever I tell someone this trick, it makes them nervous so that is why I posted the PD link.

The nose is where you are trying to restrict the airflow to slow the opening. Having the slider towards the center and tail doesn't do anything.

[BoostedXT 0]

OK the rigger checked it out and he said everything is OK with the canopy. The only thing that hasme concerned is that there is a 4x6 patch on the top skin of the canopy.

Is this reason for concern?

Joe

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[Kris 0]

It was probably just snagged at some point and repaired. As long as it was properly patched you've got nothing to worry about.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[BoostedXT 0]

I am kind of weary about the patch....I know it was done professionally, but it still concerns me.

I have come across a Hornet 210 for a touch more $. I have heard nothing but rave things about them.

It has 200 jumps on it and is very local.

Thoughts?

Joe

For long as you live and high you fly and smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry and all that you touch and all that you see is all your life will ever be.
Pedro Offers you his Protection.

[Kris 0]

Again, if the patch was done properly, not an issue.

The Hornets are solid canopies, and I have jumped one a few times in the 190 size. If you have a choice between the two, personally I'd go for the Hornet. More consistant openings (as far as speed) and it flies and flares a lot like a Sabre2.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[masterrig 1]

I've got to agree with you about the slider being 'scooped' more forward, on a Sabre. I have an 'original' Sabre-190 and get the slider more in front of the leading edge of the canopy. I fold the 4-outer cells in and next to the center cell. I bring the trailing edge around and roll it three - four times and... pack it. Getting more of the slider in front, really seems to slow-down the flow of air to the leading edge. I've shown other Sabre owners this method and they have liked the openings.

Chuck