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matt3sa

What's next after the Stiletto?

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We have a guy at our DZ who is looking for something a bit different and possibly more high performance than a Stiletto. He's loading a 150 at about 1.4 to 1.6. I personally loved my time on my Cobalt 135 so I encouraged him to try a Cobalt 150 that another local jumper owns. As I expected, he fell in love. The problem is that Atair is out of business. The chances of finding a decent used Cobalt are pretty slim. I'm having a difficult time giving him advice on other products that might give him a little more kick. This guy will never be a Katana or Xbrace person. What's out there that you folks would compare to a Cobalt? My personal opinion is that the cobalt absolutely destroys xfires in every way and I honestly can't think of anything in PD's lineup that might be a bit more exciting for him without stepping into the Katana world. Thoughts?

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Did he try a Stiletto 135 as well?

I don't have a huge number Crossfire2 jumps but I think they're a lovely, lovely canopy while not being the dive monster that the Katana is.
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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My personal opinion is that the cobalt absolutely destroys xfires in every way and I honestly can't think of anything in PD's lineup that might be a bit more exciting for him without stepping into the Katana world. Thoughts?



Cobalt is not in the same category with Crossfire2. Cobalt is an open cell elleptical, Crossfire2 is a semi closed cell elliptical. CompetitionCobalt is somewhat comparable to Crossfire2.

I did own a CompetitionCobalt, I do have a Cobalt and jumping Crossfire2 these days.

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The Cobalt, once opened, was one of the nicest canopies I've jumped.
I put 5 jumps on a Cobalt 170. But... no wonder they went out of business. Had one "normal" a bit slow, opening. Two so-called openings- (seemed I went thousands and thousands of feet vertical without the outer cells opening. Yes I'm exaggerating), although I did have had my hands on the handles on one of them; and two 'out and out' hard slammers. The Cobalt I jumped just wouldn't open normally. Streamer or slammer.

I'm a Stilletto guy and compare the two canopies as about the same once open. I might even prefer the Cobalt. But not the openings.
Has anyone tried to add crossports into a Cobalt to see if it would open like a normal canopy?

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3mpire

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Has anyone tried to add crossports into a Cobalt to see if it would open like a normal canopy?



The pope himself couldn't get the demon out of a cobalt




Just open in a track and use a 24 inch pilot chute.







My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

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dpreguy

The Cobalt, once opened, was one of the nicest canopies I've jumped.
I put 5 jumps on a Cobalt 170. But... no wonder they went out of business. Had one "normal" a bit slow, opening. Two so-called openings- (seemed I went thousands and thousands of feet vertical without the outer cells opening. Yes I'm exaggerating), although I did have had my hands on the handles on one of them; and two 'out and out' hard slammers. The Cobalt I jumped just wouldn't open normally. Streamer or slammer.

I'm a Stilletto guy and compare the two canopies as about the same once open. I might even prefer the Cobalt. But not the openings.
Has anyone tried to add crossports into a Cobalt to see if it would open like a normal canopy?



I'm really surprised you compare the Stiletto so closely to the Cobalt. I've been on small Comp Velo's for a while but I spent a lot of time on a Cobalt 135 when I was learning. I'm waiting for a Valkyrie so I've been jumping bigger canopies for the last couple weekends. I've done the Sabre2 150, Stiletto 150 and Cobalt 150. I have to say man, the Cobalt is pretty much what I remember and not much like a stiletto. The front and rear riser pressure is so light and I feel like it dives better. The openings are hit or miss. I remember some wierd ones on my 135. The 150 I jumped this weekend opened GREAT. It does have a wierd thing built in where the left side sometimes folds under but it comes out of it with a deep flare.

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monkycndo

Take a look at the Skylark Odyssey.



Actually I had forgotten about the Odyssey. I demoed one a while back and really liked it. Very Crossfire-y but with its own character for sure.

Definitely add it to the list of things to try.
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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I'll second (third?) the Skylark Odyssey.

I've jumped this in a 100, 105 and 120 sizes and love it. So far it is my favourite canopy that I've jumped. I demoed the Odyssey 120, ordered a 105 almost straight away, sold my xfire2, and don't regret it for a second.

And like has been said about the price. Can't beat it. Not only do I think it is better than an xfire2 (for my personal tastes), it's not that far off half the price...
Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic).

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