Cutaway pillow color

[BigSky 2]

I am getting ready to order my new container this weekend. It is going to be black blue and gray. I want my cutaway pillow to be gray but I've heard people say it should be red so as not to get confused. Is this a valid concern? I am going to order a D-ring for reserve so I really dont see myself getting confused. Of course I am going to talk to my instructors about it first but any suggestions or experience you have would help.

As a side note, I can not remember the last time I was this exited to buy something, not even my first car.

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th

[headoverheels 291]

Red, unless you are red-green colorblind. Or yellow if you prefer.

Yes, it is a valid concern.

[Guest]

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I am getting ready to order my new container this weekend. It is going to be black blue and gray. I want my cutaway pillow to be gray but I've heard

[newb]

There are many and recent no-pull fatal incidents where upon ground inspection, all handles work. I don't believe all of these people were all just waiting to die. I believe at least some if not all were pulling things they thought to be handles, but weren't, like parts of the harness, or couldn't see and/or reach their handles. The LAST thing I want is a color-matching handle. ME? I am going to have a neon-green cutaway handle - green for "go" because I want to speed the hell up when that bad chute goes away if esthetics overiride your safety concerns, well, I guess that means welcome to skydiving, but good luck.

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

[tdog 0]

If it was me... Bright color contracting of your rig/what you are likely to wear (jumpsuit).

My rig is red and black, so my cutaway is yellow.

[matt91078 0]

same with me. rig black and red, suit blue and black. handles yellow

[Amazon 7]

Mine is bright green...but then again my whole rig is red.. I wanted contrast

Green is good Silver is sweet

[Andy9o8 0]

You're a new jumper; what color is the cutaway pillow on the student gear you've been using? Red? If so, and you're in a cutaway situation soon, your first muscle-memory instinct might be to look for the red handle. It's no accident that a lot of rigs have red cutaway handles; it's sort of a generic "emergency" color. That being said, a contrasting color that stands out from all of the others is very important. You have grey in your rig, so I wouldn't use grey for the cutaway handle. Also consider the color of your jumpsuit.. Think "stands out brightly" and "contrast".

[billbooth 10]

Your cutaway pillow is "soft". It feels a lot like your harness or your jumpsuit. With gloves on, you literally can't tell the difference. So you can't really depend upon your sense of feel to find it quickly, can you?" It is also rather unlikely that you will be able to identify it using your senses of smell, taste, or hearing. Let's see...what do we have left? Ah, Yes... your sense of sight...and you say that you want to handicap even that, by making your breakaway pillow blend into its surroundings? Please think again.

[BigSky 2]

Ok red it is! After some thought I think I care more about my life than a color matching pillow. Now the only thing left to decide it mini risers and rings or standard. I have read all the resent posts and still think this is a very hard decision. I want an RSL, but I would also prefer if my risers broke before my harness or myself. So mini and no RSL, or big with an RSL. I guess that is the decision. Thanks for all the advice!

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th

[darrenspooner 0]

I bought a new rig last year and was told that my red handle and red jump suit were a problem. No colour discrimination. So I stitched a yellow square on my jumpsuit where the handle is. But then I had a mal and cutaway, and didn't look. Your hands will know where they need to go, and if they don't you haven't done enough safety drills.

[katzurki 0]

Mine has red AND yellow on it. :) The one time I thought I was having a mal and got ready to cutaway, I located the handle and the silver no problem without looking (it was a pilot chute that got into a big burble, so it eventually cleared).

[kelpdiver 2]

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Now the only thing left to decide it mini risers and rings or standard. I have read all the resent posts and still think this is a very hard decision. I want an RSL, but I would also prefer if my risers broke before my harness or myself. So mini and no RSL, or big with an RSL. I guess that is the decision. Thanks for all the advice![/reply

I don't agree with those who bypassed the RSL because of a fear of riser breakage. Seems like managing a tiny problem while writing off a bigger one. It could happen, but we have a much greater history of people failing to get out their reserve. Many have suggested keeping the RSL until you've successfully experienced a cutaway and I'm sticking with that.

What's wrong with fat risers?

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[packerboy 3]

You can't bring your slider down over them, if you are not concerned about that then there is nothing wrong with big risers.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson

[jceman 1]

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You can't bring your slider down over them, if you are not concerned about that then there is nothing wrong with big risers.

Why do people keep perpetuating this myth?

I have big risers and have absolutely no problem bringing my slider (Safire in a Mirage) down and stowing it behind my head. All you need are the proper size grommets on the slider and then riser size makes no difference.

Edited to add:

Come to think of it, I had no problem doing it with either my Spectre or my Triathlon in my Dolphin before either.

Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money.

Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?

[itllclear 1]

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Your hands will know where they need to go, and if they don't you haven't done enough safety drills.

The handle will be in the same place unless
1) Your leg straps aren't exactly as tight as they were last time
2) Your opening wasn't the same as it always has been, and your harness shifted or the leg straps loosend.
3) You don't have exactly the same amount of clothing on under your jumpsuit, causing the harness to fit differently
4) etc., etc., add your own.

When the you know what is hitting the fan, you want EVERYTHING possible in your favor, including being able to find the handle.

Why not just get a rig that's tan, gray, and dark red. Make the cutaway handle any of those colors.
The name of that color scheme is "Bounce and Blend."

"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there."

"Your statement answered your question."

[mysky 1]

I have to say in my opinion I have never once thought about the color of my handles. I always just pay attention to the order of things. As in right side chop, left side save your life. I push my handles into my body and mentally go over every outcome in my head. For myself it has always been a feeling on my body and the knowledge of which side does what more then what color does what, but then again it's been many years since I was a student so perhaps the color does matter if it's what you've gotten used to. Just do whatever makes you comfortable.

There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that know how to count, and those who don't.

[Frenchy68 0]

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Your hands will know where they need to go, and if they don't you haven't done enough safety drills.

...and that could also mean you're dead. Hence using a color you can actually easily pick out from your jumpsuit/rig just in case you "haven't done enough safety drills"!

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[GravityGirl 0]

First of all, the red will not clash with your color choices. It will look nice. Not sure why you would want that particular handle to blend in to the rest of your rig.

Second. Where your emergency proceedures drilled to "Look Red"? If so. I think red is an excellent color choice.

In a high stress situation, jumpers will tend to revert to their initial training. So if you were trained to look red, please consider that in your color choice.

Fashion points should not be a factor. As I said. Red looks great with Blue, Black and Grey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[riggerrob 558]

Your hands will know where they need to go, and if they don't you haven't done enough safety drills.

[outlawphx 1]

I went with silver. Just something to think about is if you're in hard line twists (or other senarios), your harness may shift. I think having your cutaway and reserve ripcord in different colors would be an advantage in a situation like that.

[Orange1 0]

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Mine has red AND yellow on it. :) The one time I thought I was having a mal and got ready to cutaway, I located the handle and the silver no problem without looking (it was a pilot chute that got into a big burble, so it eventually cleared).

Just a newbie and I know EPs differ, but in ours we are taught to look first to locate the handles for the reasons mentioned above by other posters i.e. shifting harnesses etc.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Reginald 0]

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I have read all the resent posts and still think this is a very hard decision. I want an RSL, but I would also prefer if my risers broke before my harness or myself. So mini and no RSL, or big with an RSL. I guess that is the decision.

I would highly suggest you get with an experienced rigger and discuss all of this stuff because your posts make it clear you don’t understand the tradeoffs, pro's and con's of the various gear options available. It is your life at stake so take the time to get good advice. In any case please get competent help.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[bmcd308 0]

>>I went with silver<<

From the picture, it appears you went with red.

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www.jumpelvis.com

[chopchop 0]

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Your hands will know where they need to go, and if they don't you haven't done enough safety drills.

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Wrong!
Harnesses shift.
The worse the malfunction, the farther the harness shifts.
Far wiser to reinforce your sense of touch by watching your fingers wrap around handles.

[outlawphx 1]

Umm... Reading is not my strong suit, as I was thinking "reserve" pillow