HELP on gear purchase

[kojak001 0]

Hello,
I just finished my AFF and was looking for my first rig and found this deal, what do you guys think for $800? Going to have it checked out tomorrow but everything looks in great condition and has fewer than 100 jumps. Is this a great deal or subpar equipment? I have read the reviews on the gear and it seems good for beginners but the price just seems too cheap.


Dolphin Container- DOM for container is 7/1998
Performance Designs PD-190 Main Canopy--- Date of Manufacture is 10/2000
Raven 150 Reserve Chute DOM for reserve is 7/1998

Thank you for any help
Brian

[davelepka 4]

What is your exit weight? That's you, wearing a rig and all your skydiving gear. If it's more than 150 lbs, the reserve is too small. If it's more than 180 lbs, the main is too small.

The PD-190 is F-111. Even with just 100 jumps, it's not what you want. Look for a more modern canopy, something made of zero porosity fabirc.

A Raven reserve is just fine, as long as the wing loading is 1 to 1 or lower. What that means is that your exit weight should be equal to, or smaller, than the sq footage of your reserve. So if you weigh 175 lbs, your rig is 20 lbs, and your clothes/helmet/etc are 5 lbs, your exit weight is 200 lbs, so your reserve should be 200 sq ft or larger.

The Dolphin is a 'bargain' container, but it 'can' be a good rig. If it has the freefly updates, then it's OK. If it hasn't been updated, stay away. It's still a 'good' rig, but you won't want to freefly with it, not even one or two jumps. Look for an updated one, or a different container.

The deal you posted is cheap for a reason. It's an odd assortment of gear, most of which has little value.

[kojak001 0]

Thanks for the information, I thought it was to good to be true!

[davelepka 4]

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I thought it was to good to be true!

It's true, the rig costs $800, but it's just not that good. It might be airworthy, but that doesn't mean it's going to meet your needs as a sport skydiver.

I've made this comparison before, but if you were into amateur auto racing or drifting, a Pinto is not going to be the car for you. A mint Pinto with 3000 miles might be a good car, and it might do the basic job of a car, but it's not going to work for the 'sports' driving you're intending to do.

Step one - ask everyone your DZ about gear for sale, see what's around and then see step 2.

Step two - hook up with a local rigger. If you want a rig, you need a rigger to pack and maintain it, so you might as well meet one now. Ask their opinion of anything you're thinking about buying. If they approve, make a deal with the seller to buy pending your riggers inspection. Make sure you can return anything that doesn't fit or doesn't pass your riggers inspection. This does not include jumping the gear, and you should not hang on to anything for more than a week if you're not going to keep it, just make sure that your rigger has a chance to do an inspection before a sale is 'final'.

[degeneration 5]

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The PD-190 is F-111. Even with just 100 jumps, it's not what you want.

My own personal experience with first kit in 2007 I think, was with a rig similar to this - a 1996 dolphin container, a PD190 main, a Raven-I reserve, and I bought my own AAD. The main has more than 100 jumps on it too.

The kit (exc. reserve) cost me £400 (approx. $650). Now it wasn't sexy, but it was airworthy, it worked, it got me down safely and it allowed me to skydive within my limited budget. It meant I didn't have to pay for kit hire, which allowed me to save for a brand new rig when I was ready.

So while the PD190 is an older style canopy, it isn't as good as the modern ZP canopies, it can still get you to the ground safely.

I downsized to a PD170 also with more than 100 jumps on it, then got my own brand new kit after that.

To address the car analogy. What if the OP isn't wanting to do the flash "sporty" stuff that the modern canopies can do? What if he is happy to jump, then have a Pinto style canopy ride for now, then move up to the sporty stuff in the future when he feels ready for it?

So from my own personal experience, the PD190 and dolphin container I had were very cheap, not at all flash and sexy, but they worked fine for the intended purpose which was to skydive and land safely.

Of course the condition of the particular kit in question will determine whether it is airworthy etc.

Now I'm not recommending this rig to the OP as the reserve/main sizing doesn't seem suitable, but I'm just saying that for people on a budget dolphins and PD190s can be ok cheap deals.

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[davelepka 4]

The guy didn't mention anything about his weight or his budget. With that in mind, I suggested that he might want a canopy that is at least on-par with an average student canopy, not a generation behind.

Read my post, I admitted that it would deliver him to the ground and provide a survivable landing. Some people (most people) are jumping for reasons other than utility, and want more from their canopy than that.

It's not about 'sporty', it's about a consistant and reliable flare, and the type of glide and forward drive you can expect from newer canopies. Seeing as there are Sabres out there for $300-$400, it's hard to justify a canopy that costs less than a weekend of jumping.

No matter what you say on this forum, someone has a reason or example why it's not right. So you jumped a cheap peice of crap rig and canopy when you couldn't afford anything better. Guess what, I did the same thing, also with a PD190, and it sucked. That was a different time when better gear was more expensive. Now you can get a much more 'functional' rig for not much more money than the OP was thinking about paying for the overpriced rig with the undersized reserve. Excuse me for giving him some good advice about not buying outdated, undersized gear.