Sabre I 170

[mnskydiver688 0]

I was lucky enough to get a Sabre1 DOM '01 with well under a 100 jumps. I am more than willing to deal with the occasional hard opening, note I say occasional because I am very conscious as to how to pack, because of their great lift potential during landing. Another jumper borrowed my rig with my 150 in it and after he landed he told me he was amazed by the lift of the canopy. He normally jumps a Fusion 150. I also know that many of the older jumpers, the ones who normally prefer a soft opening jump various sabre's. With the awesome resale price of these I wouldn't suggest any other canopy for someone who is looking to get a first rig on a budget.

If there are those that feel that I know nothing or close too it, choose not to listen.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

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Another jumper borrowed my rig with my 150 in it and after he landed he told me he was amazed by the lift of the canopy. He normally jumps a Fusion 150.

Now that's a bit surprising, and to me that is more of a bad review of the Fusion vs. a good review of the Sabre... although if the Fusion was very worn, out of trim, or if the brakelines were set too short or too long it could cause a perfectly good canopy to perform poorly.

The old Sabre1's do have plenty of lift regardless of what others may say... if someone feels otherwise they likely jumped one with one of the above problems or have skewed opinions because they are accustomed to the even greater lift of more modern airfoils. Those people should try jumping a cruiselite.

That said, if you think the Sabre has a lot of lift, wait till ya jump a Sabre2... the amount of lift generated by that canopy continually blows my mind, even after 500 jumps on it. I could EASILY out-float my Sabre1 135 flying my Sabre2 120, regardless of the higher W/L.

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

[pchapman 263]

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The old Sabre1's do have plenty of lift regardless of what others may say...

Yes! I know someone with 400 jumps who has a Sabre 107 loaded at 1.9, and loves it. He's not a wild guy or swooper, but seems to do fine on the landings, despite it being loaded a lot higher than most people did on non crossbraced canopies in the 90s.

As for hard openings, to some degree you can be protected when jumping a Sabre because you expect hard openings and prepare for it.

You don't crane your neck back at some vulnerable angle as you might on a canopy you expect to open softly. (However, that still can't protect against any extremely hard, out of the ordinary openings.)

When I flew a Sabre 135 I sometimes used to brace my head with my arms crossed under my chin for the opening. A little odd, and not what one expects of a canopy nowadays, but at the time it was no big deal.

[mnskydiver688 0]

I jumped a Sabre2 170 and I wasn't "blown" away, but I am willing to accept the fact that my limited experience is probably to blame if my reaction was not the usual. One thing with this Sabre1 that is frustrating me is the fact that when I try to use front risers, sometimes it will buck to the point of partially collapsing one side other times it will fly smoothly with the same amount of front riser input. I have asked around the DZ and no one can come up with a decent reason why. I watched to make sure the steering lines are not too short. It has about 100 jumps on it and so I would assume it is not out of trim. So that is my only beef with a Sabre but knowing that it is a specific case I still love em. I just need to figure out what is going on with mine before I have it collapse completely when I do a front riser approach.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[flipper 0]

Too true ... pack em right and they are tip top canopies ... any canopy will slam you at some point ...

[TomSpoon 2]

Hey guys. Remember this thread?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=911753;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

[packerboy 3]

My Sabre is great... never have hard openings. Another Sabre I know sucks, one in 3 is a nutcracker.

I think it comes down to that.. some are good, some suck.

I'd be curious about which one I was getting if the price was too cheap to believe.

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

[blackout 0]

Just got it today it looks good still pretty slick for being "OLD" as some people say. Time to jump it on monday hope all goes well!

Ill report back if it cracks my nuts

It was 500 bucks but only has a few 100 jumps on it

Maybe cause someone was tired of getting their balls busted

[mnskydiver688 0]

No they probably think if they get a newer canopy they will be cooler!

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[virgin-burner 1]

i have a sabre 150. like you i was very anxious. i tell you one thing: the way i pack is a malfunction waiting to happen. i roll EVERYTHING, from nose to stabilizers, push both of 'em as far as possible. flake it really good, and yes, slider needs to be quartered nicely and kept in position all the way during your packjob.

i get snivels for quite long, sometimes i think its 900ft or so. havent had a hard opening so far. neat packjob is essential. the guy that sold it to me, made me pack it about twenty times to get it right.

our student-canopies were balances 210's and 230's. those slammed me more than once, so much i took pills for the pain to continue aff..
i know, not a good thing, i was told off by my instructor at the time..

i love my sabre!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Travman 6]

A sabre 170 was my first canopy. After hearing about hard openings I was worried for the first 50 jumps about getting smacked. But the only time in 250 jumps I got slammed was on a wingsuit jump with my legs still open.

But I was always sure to treat it well in packing. Always made sure the slider was BIG!

[blackout 0]

First jump on the Sabre!!! it definitely opens quick without almost no snivel but it didnt slam me by any means. I guess this means I owe beer now? First jump on a new rig

[virgin-burner 1]

see, it works!

i think the longest snivel i've had so far was about 1000ft. i only get nice and soft openings from it!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Andy9o8 0]

I, too, jumped a Sabre-I 170 for about 100 jumps, when I got recurrent after about a 15-year hiatus. Fast openings, reminiscent of my ParaCommander days, but harder on my middle-aged spine. A few too-hard-for-comfort openings, and one really hard slammer, all probably because I was sloppy with slider control. Roll everything, and keep that slider under control at all times! It's a perfectly fine-flying canopy, as long as your lines are in trim.

[blackout 0]

I definitely like how it flies, still having trouble with constantly landing short. guess im just afraid of landing long. anyway it was giving me a little more ground rush than i was used to under 200+ SF wings so i flared it a little high but still managed to recover it with a stand up landing with little running haha

[virgin-burner 1]

sounds like you're having fun with your canopy! thats cool..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[RMURRAY 1]

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To the Original Poster:
Ask your local rigger to sew a pocket on the slider. That should give you some reassurance that you'll have nice snively openings.

While sewing a pocket usued to be the thing to do years ago, installing a domed slider is a better solution.

Sewing a pocket on it requires a master rigger to do it (alteration) and the pocket if made improperly can lead to a cutaway.

We first made pocket sliders around 1992, but again I no longer recommend them to anyone.

The domed slider has a more consistent opening than the pocket slider.


Cheers,
MEL

I would get one of MELs dome sliders. I have seen a sabre1 170 go from unjumpable (at terminal) to soft consistant slow openings. PD should have fixed this long ago....

rm

[dragon2 0]

Can a dome slider be collapsible? Where can i get a dome slider for a sabre 120?

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[chuckakers 372]

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I just bought a sabre I 170 since it was such a great deal I couldnt pass it up. However, I keep hearing this business about hard openings.

Is this really cause for concern or just irritating and occasionally painful?

I would never tell anyone else to do this, but it worked for me and others that jumped early ZP's - many of which were notorious for real whacker openings (Monarchs, Sabres, Novas, etc).

We used to take the 4 cells on each side of center cell and roll them tightly inward and then stuff the roll as deep into the center cell as possible.

Now you know why I say I wouldn't tell others to do - but it did work. Made the pack jop easier too, cuz it kept the nylon in a nice, tight wad before bagging it.

Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

[masterrigger1 2]

Saskia,
We have them.

WE have a couple of "loaners" if you want to try one.

BS,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[blackout 0]

My slider appears larger than most and it is collapse able, First jump with a slider like that, definitely alot more peaceful when you dont have the slider flapping in the wind. also wanted to note that my sabre did not slam me, it seemed to go from the bag to fully open almost instantly. I usually grab the risers as the canopy is sniveling but i grabbed and nothing there, then all of a sudden im in the saddle with one end cell partially closed, which was quickly corrected. I like the swift opened it seemed smooth but much faster than my navigator and silhouette opened.

[Glandu 0]

The Sabre1 170 was my first canopy (bought it new after about 50 jumps) . I'd had exactly 1,000 jumps on it when I got rid of it. Any questions? I might be able to answer most of them.