NEXT: to buy or not to buy

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

My gear was stolen a week ago and a German rigger said he would make me "an offer I can't refuse" on a NEXT container and new Paratec Main.

What do you all think about NEXT? And can you recommend a Paratec canopy? I am a beginning skydiver who has 300 jumps on a Silhouette 190.
http://www.paratec.de/

[piisfish 135]

I don't know the Next canopies, but the rig is nice. A couple of friends from www.paraclub.ch have Next rigs, and are very happy with them

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[virgin-burner 1]

i jump at the club in question and had all student life on next-rigs.. loved them! the parachute itself was a balance, cant say too much about it but that it was pretty big..

i'd buy a NEXT anyday!

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

[Squeak 17]

i know a couple of people who jump NEXT rigs, and they have no issues with them at all.
if it is a good deal, Take it

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[chri 0]

Next are really nice rigs, well build and looking really awesome!
Their reserves are pretty common in our club, heard nothing but good about them!
Balance are also fine student canopies, if you a looking for a canopy in that category.
Cant say much about their other canopies, jumped a faqtor once. All i know, it has a huge slider to slow down their brisk openings.

[MasterOfMagic 0]

The rig is very good, the quadra v tec is a very nice main canopy with 2 lineet options, beginner set and intermediate line set.
Folds very small for a main, the sizes they have are 150 - 170 and 190.

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Well, I'll see what price he actually offers. Sounds like the rig would be fine. Paratec offers 4 canopies. I would like a semi-elliptical again, but can't quite figure out from the website which one would be right. I am guessing the V-Tec. It sounds like the balance is simply a rectangle and the other two,Faqtor and Rage, are elliptical. Not sure here.
RB

[dragon2 0]

I only have one jump on a super7 (sorta like a triathlon/spectre), don't know much about the other canopies they make but this is our national classification of them, how many jumps you need to be alowed to jump one:
Balance 0 jumps (student type canopy)
Super7, Quadra v-tec >25 jumps
Faqtor >100 jumps
Rage >400 jumps

So based on that and your previous canopy I'm thinking the faqtor might be the best option for you, being an intermediate type canopy: our 100 jump category has canopies like sabre2, safire, lotus, hornet. The rage falls in our "stiletto-type" category so may not be what you're after.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

I jumped a Spectre in Perris while on AFF and later when getting my license and loved it. But a Spectre is 7-celled, isn't it? Well, maybe Faqtor would be the best. I don't want an elliptical swoop canopy.

[chri 0]

Seems like they release a new canopy soon, but there are no further details on their website.

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

I did some googling under "Paratec neue Hauptschirm" and found nothing. Are you sure they are releasing a new canopy?

Either way, the NEXT Rigger/Salesman still hasn't written back with a price.

But I've gotten an offer on a cheap old ATOM. Man are they ugly rigs!

[chri 0]

On their homepage is an ad called "alternative energie", looks like an new (elliptical?) canopy to me.

[dragon2 0]

Quote

But I've gotten an offer on a cheap old ATOM. Man are they ugly rigs!

Mwah, atoms are real comfy though and well made, even the old ones are freefly proof. I love mine, anyway
If you want a 7cell, the Super7 is ok, would be a nice intermediate canopy too. But I don't think they make that one anymore

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Sorry, Saskia, I didn't mean to offend you and your rig. I bought my Teardrop because I liked it's look the best and I had jumped on Teardrops as a student. Here is the info on the Atom

Atom 34-1 DOM: 09/96, 460 jumps
Sabre-1 170, DOM: 07/96, 310 jumps
Reserve: PD-160R, DOM: 01/96, 0 jumps
AAD: CYPRES-1 Expert, DOM: 08/96

He wants just under 2000 Euros.

[elduderino 0]

Hi Rebecca,....

try the new NRG from Paratec,....Speed reserve and a Next...perfect rig...

greetings,...

Harry

[dragon2 0]

no way is that worth 2000 euros... Cypres is almost dead, atom eur 400 sabre eur 400 reserve eur 500, max, cypres 150 euros provided it doesnt need 8yr or batteries anymore. 1400 euros - 1500 max.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Hi Saskia,
Assuming you speak German here is what the Atom-owner says:
Du musst halt bedenken, dass das Cypres Ende November nicht mehr lufttüchtig ist, dann also nur noch einen Restwert von 100,- EUR hat
(gg ein neues Cypres).
RB

[dragon2 0]

Still wouldn't pay more than 1500 eur

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Hi Saskia,
Thanks for the advice, I'm going to tell the Atom-guy I'm not interested.

Harry - is the new Paratec Energy (NRG) main canopy elliptical? Would it be the right one for my niveau?
RB

[elduderino 0]

Nope,...its slightly eliptical,...compareble with Sabre and Safire2...

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Ohhhh, sounds nice!

[damion75 0]

Quote

I jumped a Spectre in Perris while on AFF and later when getting my license and loved it. But a Spectre is 7-celled, isn't it? Well, maybe Faqtor would be the best. I don't want an elliptical swoop canopy.

Perhaps I have misunderstood but I thought that the Faqtor was a fully elliptical equivalent to the stilletto - it certainly looked that way when I tried one. The RAGE is more aimed at the Katana market and is only AFAIK made up as big as 107sqft.

I know nothing about the NRG but I put a few jumps on a Quadra three or so years ago (while on about 280 jumps) and found it a bit tame but very reliable.

HTH.

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

@saskia: The Atom-guy wrote me back saying he sold the rig and got the price he wanted for it!

[Flying_Squirrel 0]

I have jumped a demo NRG 160 a few weeks ago as i was looking for a new main for me. Was not a good day, so i was only able to do one jump on it, but i found it nice to fly - a bit more "groundhungry" compared to a chayenne or spark.

Landing was nice for my first jump on this canopy, opening a bit "strange" (but i assume that was maybe the pack job of the guy who jumped it before) flyes at a good speed for me. Didn´t had enougt time to do some frontriser turns because i was far out at the DZ, so i had to go straight back to the LZ.

So at the moment im looking forward to order one, then i can do a better review on the NRG.

[Speed2000 0]

Rebecca,
The Faqtor is an all z-p, semi-elliptical, nine-cell canopy targeted for intermediate to advanced jumpers. The leading edge is square, but the trailing edge is tapered. It is built for fun-jumpers who want a solid, fun canopy, not for the professional swoop circuit. It has one quirk in that the slider is larger than many other mains, but the flight characteristics are very impressive. There are several reviews in the gear section of this website.

The NRG is a brand new canopy being released on the market this year and might be another option for you.

You should be able to contact Stefan or Eva at Paratec through your rigger, or directly, and get a demo of either canopy to try before leaping in headfirst.

Hope this helps.

Blue Skies,
Johnny

PS - A Speed 2000 reserve would be infinitely preferrable to the Tempo in your old rig.

You can have a lot of fun skydiving without ever making a hook turn, swooping, or flying a tiny highly loaded canopy. - 377
No, no; without good grammar, skydiving is meaningless - Andy908