square reserve tension device

[Deep_Evil 0]

Hi

I would like to ask if someone has an experience with using square reserve tension device for packing reserves ? Did you found it useful? Can you please post some picture how to use it ?

Thanks

[councilman24 36]

If you mean paragear #S7025 I wouldn't bother. On rounds on the table with French links I put a loop of line through each pair of links and put them over my other tension plate. Too lazy to change to "square" plate and it tips forward anyway. My way works better.

For a ram air? Have NEVER used it. Tie the links together, put it on a packing mat and put a weight on the mat.

It just has never seemed useful. Buy something else.

I'm sure other will say must have. YMMV.

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

[riggerpaul 1]

Terry mentions ParaGear S7025 and says don't bother for a number of good reasons.

One the other hand, I use it, slightly modified to be more useful to me.

When I first got it, I found that there were so many rigs with slider bumpers over the links that made it less than helpful, since iy wasn't easy to put the links over those vertical wings depending on how the slider bumpers were secured.

I almost stopped using it altogether, but I hate wasting the money so I thought of a way to modify it to be more useful.

Through each of those vertical wings, I drilled two holes. The holes are vertically stacked, and sized so that my T-bodkins will go through the holes. The holes match on either of the wings, so that a pair of T-bodkins can slide through them, perpendicular to the way the lines and risers will go past the tool.

The way I use the T-bodkins is to put them through the flat portions of the loops at the tops of the reserve risers, just above where the stitching is. At that location, the risers are still flat, not bunched up for the links. One T-bodkin goes through the left and right front risers, and the second T-bodkin goes through the rears. The result is the risers are positively held nice and even.

The webbing strap attaches to a cup hook hidden under the face of the cabinet that sits at one end of my rigging area.

It may sound like overkill, and for many, it would be. But my rigging area has a hardwood floor that is so slippery that even weights don't keep the rig secure when I put tension on it.

Then again, some say I am a tool geek, and that might go a long way to explain why I have done what I have done.

If you choose to do something like this, I'll give one caution. Be sure that the vertical spacing on the pair of holes in each vertical wings allows enough room that you can put the risers on the T-bodkins. The distance between the holes needs to accommodate one layer of the front riser webbing, and one layer of the rear riser webbing. If you size it for a rig that has thick webbing on the front reserve risers, but thinner webbing on the rears, it might be too tight for rigs that have heavier webbing on both front and rear reserve risers.

[riggerrob 558]

I just tie the 3-Rings together - through the slots - and lay a 40 pound (20 kilogram) sandbag on the harness.

[floormonkey 0]

I quit tying links together when my buddy jumped his BASE rig with the links tied togather. Someone could leave his head in his ass and pack a rig with the links tied together. If I have to tie the risers together, I tie them at the 3ring. On squares where I dont' need tension, I just line up the risers and put a weight on them.

If I need tension and there are rapide links or bumpers, I just run a dowel through the top of the risers and put that on my current tension board. Works like a charm, plus the dowel is useful to beat whiny-ass skydivers until they leave. I prefer to have tools with multiple uses.

[likestojump 3]

I usually use a large spring clamp to hold the risers together/level. No way I can forget it.

[PhreeZone 15]

I do the spring clamp on the links if they are soft links or a large spring though the 3 rings. Makes it easy to remember.

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