0
Megatron

Racer

Recommended Posts

I recently bought an '05 Racer to practice packing with until my custom voodoo comes in. I have all my other gear, however, and wondered why not just jump the damn thing? It fits me very well and my sabre2 170 is a decent fit for the container..everything seems ok. I've heard on the other hand, that the racer is one of the worst rigs out there and "friends don't let friends jump a racer". The gear reviews all seem to give it a thumbs up but nearly every item is like that I've noticed..it seems that people all like their own gear so I feel the reviews are bias. What are some of you thoughts on the racer? Have there been any incidents due to poor design or gear failure alone (excluding common malfunctions due to packing error & such)? Should I jump it?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If it's any consolation, I bought my custom Voodoo and had a friend immediately tell me that it has a high potential to malfunction....:D:D:D

If the Racer were a problematic container, they wouldn't still be on the market because no one would buy them.

I don't worry one second about my Voodoo, and you likely don't need to worry about your Racer, either.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

well obviously I'm biased but will tell you there is not an incident on a racer that is due to its design.

That is not true. You need to do research on their RSL. That being said, other than the two sided RSL (the single sided RSL is fine) the Racer is a great rig. I have worked for several container manufactures including Jump Shack and even when I worked at RWS I still jumped my Racer. It is light, very comfortable and small. Hell, even their tandem rigs only weigh about 38 lbs. Like DSE said, you don’t make rigs for over 35 years and make a bad rig and stay in business.
Time and pressure will always show you who a person really is!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Don't do it! There's nothing wrong with Racers themselves, but Racer jumpers are a cult! If you start jumping a Racer, you'll get sucked in and you'll never get out. You'll be posting positive gear reviews within days. And then you'll cancel your voodoo order and you'll order a brand new racer (which can be at your door 3 minutes after you order). And every time someone comes on dropzone.com to ask if they should buy a Javelin or a Mirage, you'll pipe up and suggest a Racer out of the blue as if anybody wanted that opinion. It's a sickness! Don't you see that it's happening already? Just by touching the thing, you want to jump it. It only gets worse. BURN THE RACER!

Or just jump it.

Dave

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

but Racer jumpers are a cult!

Actually it's more of a religous war.


Everybody else out there don't jump Racers, because they enjoy rigs that look like bricks, are uncomfortable and are hard to pack.

Their motto is "It's not how good you skydive, it's how good you look getting on the plane." :)
"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
How tall are you? Does the Racer fit? Since you're afraid of it, I'll make you a killer deal. I'll trade you a spiffy RI Talon 1 for it even and even pay for the shipping.
"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

ROTFLMAO, that was some funny shit Dave:P;)B|



I agree, I almost snorted the Kool Aid out of my nose........ :P
Pete Draper,

Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

And then you'll cancel your voodoo order and you'll order a brand new racer (which can be at your door 3 minutes after you order).

Dave



actually it's 3 minutes before you order it (we know what you're thinking)
Pete Draper,

Just because my life plan is written on the back of a Hooter's Napkin, it's still a life plan.... right?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It seriously is a CULT.>:(

Kind of like Apple computers. Either you love them and think they are better than anything else or you think they are crap and would never jump one.

I'm in the latter catagory. The original ones weren't called Struggle, Struggle, Thump for nothing. Yes there have been incidents that can't happen with other designs. And there are incidents with other rigs that are more difficult to happen on a Racer.

But, there isn't probably a good reason for you not to jump it. If your main and reserve fits and the rig is airworthy. I suggest finding a rigger that is current and familiar with them.

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

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

It seriously is a CULT.>:(

Kind of like Apple computers. Either you love them and think they are better than anything else or you think they are crap and would never jump one.



I'm in neither category, I think. I feel they're ugly, they aren't comfortable, and even if it was free I would not consider owning one.
But i have several jumps with a Racer on my back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My backup rig is a Racer, I have about 450 jumps on it, maybe more. My husband's first rig was a Racer, he had about 500 jumps on it. They are good rigs, we both had 1 sided RSLs on it. The only thing I don't like about newer Racers are the gazillions of rubber bands on the reserve freebag, so if I ever lose my free bag, I'm selling the rig.

I'm a rigger, and find Racers easier to pack than most reserves (with a few tricks). Jump Shack's customer service has always been very very good, even with my older model of Racer.

There's no reason not to jump the rig. Though I do think you have far more money than brains if you bought a good rig like that just to 'practice packing' :P


Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
A Racer is a solid rig. I've got 1000's of jumps on them, and know a couple of other guys with similar numbers of jumps on them without any problems.

The two sided RSL is different. It MUST be disconnected in a two out situation if you intend to cut away the main.

Aside from that, get it assembled, and just jump it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

>>I've heard on the other hand, that the racer is one of the worst rigs out there
I've had four of them over the years starting with the original SST version. In my opinion (biased because I'm definitely in the cult, LOL) is it's the best rig out there.

There are Racers and there is everything else. Most other rigs are just clones of the same old and tired trap the pilot chute in the reserve container idea. And the rest, like the Javelin, and similar containers, are just semi-Racer copies with an extra reserve flap and the reserve ripcord pin(s) on the wrong side of the rig. In fact the very definition of a Javelin should be, "How to screw up a Racer."

John Sherman (Mr. Racer) has been building these rigs since before I started jumping. Buy anything else, except for maybe a Booth rig, and you're buying a rig from a relative newbie . . .

Some things I like:

The rig is "hinged" in the middle between the main and reserve container. This makes it way more comfortable than other rigs. It pulls the main container into the small of your back and keeps the rig from sliding around from side to side.

The main container pack tray almost disappears once the main pin comes out. Get one without the bucket corners (or have your Rigger remove the stitching in this area) and when your packer forgets to cock your pilot chute you'll still probably get a main as the pack tray doesn't trap the deployment bag inside it like other rigs.

The reserve ripcord pins are on the correct side of the rig, the front. After the Racer anytime I jumped a rig with exposed ripcord pins, and that's all other rigs, except for the Reflex, I felt like I was walking (and flying) around with my penis hanging out . . .

Racer rigs have the same amount of flaps per container since the very first one was produced. That's because they got it right from the beginning. Almost every other rig has added flaps over the years to "fix" their initial poor designs.

Racers are Rigger regulators. If you bring your Racer to a rigger who says they won't pack them because they don't like them, or some other likewise BS, it's really code for I don't pack them because I can't. And that's a good thing as now you can do yourself a favor and go find a real rigger . . .

On the con side, for years Racers always had issues with their riser covers. Yours is pretty recent so maybe they are sorted now but I never had one where they stayed closed. But I jumped for many years before any rig had riser covers so I never got all freaked out by it.

And a final word on the Pop Top. I'm not all that convinced that the reserve deployment is any faster with a Racer compared to other rigs, but having nothing (no flaps) between the reserve pilot chute and clean air is a big plus in my book. However, and to repeat, I really feel the protected reserve ripcord pins are the main advantage to Pop Tops.

On the other hand I bailed out of crashing Cessna going through 600-feet with a Pop Top once (after getting all my students out) and here I still am . . .

Now watch all the Racer haters raise a shit storm! ;)

NickD :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

between the reserve pilot chute and clean air is a big plus in my book. However, and to repeat, I really feel the protected reserve ripcord pins are the main advantage to Pop Tops.



Then my wife went through 1500' yanking on the reserve D-ring with both hands! She eventually got both of those pins pulled. We ordered a Wings that week for her! That POS Racer is in a box in a closet doing what it should do...collect dust.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

can she pull 22lbs worth of D-ring? probably...
did the rigger pack it right? probably...not...



Sure, but 2-pins with a system that lends its self for a rigger to over tighten the reserve loops to keep the pop-top down compared to a single pin system...its easy to see how a system would be more prone to a severely hard pull/no pull.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Sure, but 2-pins with a system that lends its self for a rigger to over tighten the reserve loops to keep the pop-top down compared to a single pin system...its easy to see how a system would be more prone to a severely hard pull/no pull.

Guess again. I guess you don't know about the girl that went in on a name brand one pin system that when they tested it had over 50lbs of pull force! I also guess you haven't seen riggers use the fulcrum tools to get reserves closed.

I use a pull gauge on every reserve pack that I do and NONE leave with over 22lbs. pull force. So the issue was not the rig.
Time and pressure will always show you who a person really is!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

I guess you don't know about the girl that went in on a name brand one pin system that when they tested it had over 50lbs of pull force!




Hadn't seen it.

Mike, would you say that a typical rigger using typical tools that its easier to significantly over tighten a Racer compared to Brand X single pin rig?
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Thanks for you replies! Just to clarify, I didn't buy a new racer just to pack it. I bought it used ('05) and got a pretty good deal to where just having it for packing was worth the price.
Im gonna jump it though, just gotta have my cypress cutter swapped out for a 2 pin & the reserve packed. So far the only argument Ive heard against it were hard pulls which Im hoping I can avoid through careful packing & gear maintenance.

Got another question though: It seems while my main fits pretty well inside the d-bag (which came with the rig) the top corners of it can be seem peeking out between the top closing flap and the side flaps. Is this normal? Should the d-bag be covered completely? Keep in mind that I dont have a reserve in it right now so maybe that warps the container but it doesnt seem like the addition of a reserve would remedy the situation. For the record, the rest of the d-bag is held is fully encased and its just the very top corners that peek out.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Mike, would you say that a typical rigger using typical tools that it’s easier to significantly over tighten a Racer compared to Brand X single pin rig?

I guess you would have to define "typical". I haven't found a rig yet that can't be over tightened. I have seen one pin systems where the rigger repacking it did not distribute the reserve in the free bag correctly and bent the pin. When I asked them about it they said that it fit the last time it should have fit this time.

If a rigger is not familiar with a Racer then yes they could over tighten it. Using the example above the same could be done with any one pin system.

In the end it is a rigger issue. If a rigger is unfamiliar with the equipment they are better off not packing it.
Time and pressure will always show you who a person really is!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The canopy and/or bag may be too big for the container or the loop may be too long. It’s not uncommon to see Racers packed as you described. What is main container size? For a 9 cell 170sqft I think you should have 400-475cubic inches. The Racer is one of the rigs that can accept the largest canopy size variations but won’t look as good in all of them.
It’s a very comfortable, lightweight and safe rig, especially if has tuck tabs instead of Velcro. Give it a chance to surprise you.
Have fun!
Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0