To begginers who wants to buy new canopy!!

[stayhigh 2]

If you suck at packing my word of advise "Don't"
New canopy sucks!!! I spent 3 hour trying to get it in the D-bag in my living room and even when I put it in half way, it pops back out
Psycho packing looks easy "Fold the ears and Roll" sure~~~~. I'm actually afraid that my canopy will pop out in my dream and suffocate me. I was actually tempted to go down to sandy area and rub the s*** out of slipperly coating. So right now my canopy is inside of big plastic bag instead of d-bag, and I think it is laughing at me. AHHHHHHHHH!!!

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[phoenixlpr 0]

Really? Every new jumper keeps on telling that.

You might have misssed the first advice: buy a used canopy with 150-200+ jumps in it.

Or search this forum. There is a thread about new canopy packing every 2nd month.

Or you might look around my posts, been there, done that and posted my experience with pictures...

Call me smug, I was packing slippery canopies of new jumper last weekend to for fun and for my practice.

Packing is fun. Have fun !

[bofh 0]

Isn't that half the fun of a new canopy?

The "rolling" part of psycho-packing isn't so much rolling as folding. Keep an arm/hand where you intend to fold, do the fold while switching to the other arm/hand at the next fold. By always having an arm/hand on the canopy, it shouldn't move around for you.

That said, I never managed to get my old canopy in the bag when psychopacking it. A regular pro pack got smaller and since the bag was too small for the canopy, I needed it to be as small as it could be. The new canopy has only been pro-packed once or twice. It was much easier to psychopack it and I do not have to lie on it, transfering sweat (my old canopy got yellow in the middle cell because of it).

If you try a regular pro-pack, have you tried to just do the last S-fold, put that in the bag and then do the first S-fold into the partly bagged canopy?

Also try to put less preassure on the canopy. The more you press on it, the more it wants to move around. Using the legs around it and lightly hold it in place with the hands tends to control it better.

Try to find a different place to pack on too. I tend to find a dry, clean lawn to be the easiest.

Good luck!

[sparkie 0]

I feel your pain. Cant get it into the bag under 3 hours.

LOL @ the plastic bag pack job ;P

[rasmack 0]

Think of it as a way of learning to pack.

It is a nice feeling when you are able to get a brand new canopy securely in the bag on the forst attempt.

HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.”
- Not quite Oscar Wilde...

[Joellercoaster 6]

Haha, I do feel your pain dude, but keep at it. Once you have learned to pack your shiny bundle of snot new ZP canopy, everything else will be a doddle.

Until yesterday I had only ever packed mine, and it was definitely a struggle (though I have it under control now). I packed a friend's ZP.EXE with many hundred jumps on, and I was shocked at how easy it was to bag.

Learning to pack on your own brand-new canopy breeds character

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[xlh883 0]

I got my own rig with new canopy at 55 jumps with little packing experience. I got a lot of help and have switched from packing with a hook to shoulder packing. This weekend I have finally been able to get the canopy in the first bag each time, albeit a little sloppy looking.

This sucker only has 20 jumps on it and is still pretty slippery plus it is a 210 and a little big.

The packing techniques will come. The biggest problem I have now is the time it takes, about 45 minutes right now and how tired I get from it by the end of the day.
'
If you can, get a packer to do it for you for awhile and have fun jumping. Then get back to packing and learning for yourself.

David

[phoenixlpr 0]

Quote

If you can, get a packer to do it for you for awhile and have fun jumping. Then get back to packing and learning for yourself.

Or learn to pack in 10-20 jumps/packjobs.

If you can control the material you win....
Watching others paching won't make you a better packer.

[michalm21 0]

Never give up and never let the pressure off of that canopy.
I learnt to pack a few weeks ago, and a used rig I bought has a Sabre2 190 with only about 20 jumps on it...
It was impossible the first 5 times. Now, I packed it in about 15-20 minutes yesterday and opened fine
It is hard to stuff it in the bag, but I'm finally getting more comfortable with it. Just don't give up, and keep trying.

[lekstrom10k 0]

Is this is a new jumper with a brand new canopy dont. you can as already stated buy a low jump chute from someone else that is down sizing, not because its a lemon they are dumoing. As with new cars once the ignition key is turned its used and you lost $3000 .Dont get outrageous colors that only you could like,if you must buy new. . As far as packing always remember you have to be smarter than your equipmant. kneel and tuck one side then stuff the other etc etc . IT will only get easier the more jumps on it. Get some one who does pack for their opinion (the bag is way to small ) etc etc

[sparkie 0]

beer beer woo woo

had the same problem ...3 hrs of trying in the living room, same result.

This weekend i passed my packing test (on f111 canopy) and after some tips from experienced packers (and them boycotting my rig from packing until i did it myself) i finally managed to get it in. (zero p)

Jumped it..opened fine and the packed it again. Only took 40 mins and one t shirt full of sweat.

Main thing is, as some other posters said, is to keep trying and use your knee to hold it down and one foot aside it so it cant go anywhere, then pit the other corner in the bag. For me it helped a lot just to relax, not get frustrated and take my time.

Feels good the be self supporting now.

good luck, bring a towel for the sweat ;P

[Joellercoaster 6]

Quote

This weekend i passed my packing test (on f111 canopy) and after some tips from experienced packers (and them boycotting my rig from packing until i did it myself) i finally managed to get it in. (zero p)

Nice for some.

Here (in the UK) you have to get signed off on the canopy/container you will be packing :(

In theory this also means that when you downsize, you have to get signed off again even if it's the same kind of canopy. If you want to pack the same mains into a different container, you need to get signed off on that container first. And so on.

Not many places seem to actually check your packing certificate against your container/main combo, but I've been to at least one DZ where they did.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[sparkie 0]

[replyHere (in the UK) you have to get signed off on the canopy/container you will be packing :(

[pincheck 0]

Quote

[replyHere (in the UK) you have to get signed off on the canopy/container you will be packing :(

wow, that sounds like bureaucratic overkill indeed.

[stayhigh 2]

Hey everyone, thanks for the reply!!! After hours of packing, bruises on my both knee, I got it down to about 30 min packing time..
I have to correct myself, if you(begginers) wanna buy brand new canopy go ahead, it just takes about couple hours for the first try, and after 10 jumps and packing after it gets simple... you just have to practice and practice..

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[rigger_john 0]

Quote

In theory this also means that when you downsize, you have to get signed off again even if it's the same kind of canopy.

Not true the packing certficate says canopy type, not canopy type and size.

_________________________________________

Nullius in Verba

[Joellercoaster 6]

I had it explained to be that "canopy type" meant things like "Pilot 188" :(

If it's not, that's definitely better - but still mighty bureaucratic. Anyone tell me the packing differences between a Spectre and an Omega? Triathlon? Omni?

Right.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[phoenixlpr 0]

You just simply don't know the basics of bureaucracy.

There are countries where every size of a type of a canopy should be type approved.

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

...and them boycotting my rig from packing until i did it myself...

Call me a hard-ass but I simply love this idea. I like your packers!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[dbattman 0]

Quote

This weekend i passed my packing test (on f111 canopy) and after some tips from experienced packers (and them boycotting my rig from packing until i did it myself) i finally managed to get it in. (zero p)

Heh-heh. I've seen more than one 'professional' packer refuse new gear. The $/sweat ratio decreases rapidly with the inverse of the number of jumps on the rig.

Yeah, new gear packing sucks. But it's NEW and it's YOURS! Keep at it- you'll get better at it. It's all about controling the canopy and not muscling it.

[Julio727 0]

I am 17 years old and have one tandem and my level 1 AFF done as of sunday. I think pro packing is way easier and the biggest thing is to control the canopy and not put soo much pressure on it so that it pushes the canopy out.