Have a Speed reserve, but no links... what to use?

[skydiverek 55]

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The amount I would save was going to be about 60-70% on the price quoted by the rigging shop

Which would be how many dollars?

[sundevil777 93]

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So, if I avoid the soft link issue and go for rapide links, are there specific rapide links that must be used with reserves?

What thickness should the metal be?

I've found varying prices for different 5mm rapide links when looking around - some £4+ each, others £1.50 each.

Or, to put it a different way - which, if any, of the links on this page would be suitable for a reserve?

http://www.hitchnhike.co.uk/acatalog/standard_patern_galvanised_steel_maillon_rapide_links.html

I would think that the objection to what you showed in your link would be that they were normal/ferrous steel instead of corrosion resistant/stainless steel.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[piisfish 135]

concerning the use of Slinks with Paratec gear, from the manufacturer :

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They are not tested with the NEXT H/C.

Installation could cause legal problems.

Therefore we do not recommend it.

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

[ChrisClark 0]

I am sure your Advanced Packer / Rigger will be able to sort it out for you. However the best source of information is the manufacturer:

Paratec GmbH
Flugplatz Saarlouis-Düren
66798 Wallerfangen
Germany
Email : [email protected]
Phone: +49 (0) 6837-7375
Fax: +49 (0) 6837-74373

[pchapman 261]

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Installation could cause legal problems.

Therefore we do not recommend it.

Which can be taken as a roundabout way of saying that soft links are OK to use.

a) They list no safety or compatibility issues, thus leaving their use up to a rigger to determine reasonable compatibility (in jurisdictions where that is allowed). It is JUST a legal thing, of worry only to the company, not you.

b) They don't recommend, but they don't prohibit. Maybe that's taking advantage of ambiguities in the English language.

Opinions will certainly vary, whether this interpretation is acceptable, or total crap!

I'll email PD and see if they'll release what force their Slinks were certified to. If C23d canopies have forces listed to assist in determining compatibility, it would make sense for numbers to be available for C23d Slinks. That would assist a rigger in determining compatibility. But it isn't entirely clear what to do with matching the force from one canopy and 4 links.

(Mind you, we riggers don't really know much about rapide link strengths either, other than that the breaking load should be somewhere above 5 times the Safe Working Load listed, but without understanding the details of the definitions.)

It is also interesting that Speeds apparently ship with #5 stainless, as mentioned earlier, as that's larger than the #4 stainless that are generally considered acceptable on reserves.

[degeneration 5]

Well in the end, I emailed and ordered them from Paratec directly. That was the best and cheapest option.

As for the amount in dollars I would have saved question a few posts back - it was going to be something like $22 based on current exchange rates.

Anyway, all sorted now.

Knowledge learnt:
1) Go direct to manufacturer. In the end that is the simplest way to do things.
2) Not all rapide links are equal.
3) For skydiving purposes, it is probably best to use gear from skydiving suppliers.

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