rig age and malfunctions

[dontlikemustard 0]

are older rigs more likely to have mals?

im probably going to buy my first rig used, as far as date of manufacturing is concerned, how old is too old?

[ctrph8 0]

There are a lot of variables there. Assuming the rig is well maintained and is in good shape, I'd say that it should work as well as a newer rig and the malfunction rate should be the same. I'm not addressing older main canopies at all here. Each one has it's own temperament.

There is a limit to this though. Really old rigs obviously are not as safe as the newer ones. Belly band pilot chutes, capewells and 5 cell reserves all worked... most of the time, but I'm grateful that technology has moved past these.

The newer rigs probably have some technologies built in that the older ones don't have that will significantly improve your chances. RSLs, MARD systems, modern AADs and some tweaks in the reserve pilot chutes have all pushed things in the right direction. YMMV. Of course none of those things will prevent malfunctions but if you do have one, your odds go up. The newer rigs are built for higher speeds and present less opportunity for a premature deployment.

I'd say that if you are looking for a rig, try for the newest rig you can afford but don't discount an older one without talking with a rigger about it. Pretty much anything (that is well maintained and in serviceable condition) within the last decade would be a good bet but again, you really need to be doing this with the help of a rigger. There is a lot of cheap gear that is cheap for a reason or just not right for you.

[skybytch 259]

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as far as date of manufacturing is concerned, how old is too old?

If you are hoping to find used gear that will allow you to skydive like you bought new, look for date of manufactures no older than the mid-90's.

Containers built prior to 1993 may not be AAD ready. Containers built prior to about 1996 are generally not freefly safe. Both can be perfectly airworthy but jumping them can mean spending a bit more to make it AAD ready and not freeflying with it.

Main canopies built prior to about 1990 are not made of zero porosity fabric and are older designs - they're safe to jump but you don't want to load them over 1.0. Most reserve canopies built prior to the mid-90's are also of older design; again, they are safe to jump but shouldn't be loaded over 1.0.

And you definitely don't want any AAD built prior to about 2000 - a Cypres built prior to 2000 is a door stop, and the only modern AAD design available in the 1990's that you'd want to jump today was the Cypres.

[likestojump 3]

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are older rigs more likely to have mals?

im probably going to buy my first rig used, as far as date of manufacturing is concerned, how old is too old?

so far you got good answers, but let's be a little picky about wording.

You are looking at older DESIGNS, not older rigs.

Vector3 build in 1996 is much less likely to give you a mal when freeflying than a Dolphin built in 2002.