Any ideas how to protect reserve riser from more damage?

[parachutist 1]

I have a Vector V3 in the shop for a repack, and it's showing wear on the reserve risers in one small area: next to the Skyhook RSL shackle. The rest of the harness is in great shape.

Does anyone know any tricks to protect these risers from more damage in this area?

[inline v3aa.jpg]

[inline v3bb.jpg]

[gowlerk 1,903]

Is the shackle/RSL causing the damage? Or is it that AMP fitting with the worn heat shrink rubbing it?

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[betzilla 56]

I totally agree with gowlerk: There has to be a sharp edge somewhere. Maybe the heat shrink, but you should also look at the confluence wrap on the main riser - the hot knifed edge might be a little prickly and making contact. Find the pointy bit and take care of that, and your shouldn't see any further damage, I'd reckon.

[JeffCa 0]

Not a comment on the OP itself, but another question. Is the amount of damage seen in the photos a big deal? Do they need replacement at this time?

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[RiggerLee 61]

It's getting there. If that shit gets any worse your going to wind up replacing half of a perfectly good harness.

Lee

Lee
[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com

[RedundantRigger 0]

Well the trick is to find the cause.

Often there seems to be something small that digs into it over time.It could be a sharp end on the snapshacle keyring or it could be the velcro from the rsl lanyard. I've seen both.
But it could equally be the examples previously mentioned from others.

This is why a jumper should periodically inspect the rig. It is a shame when a rig is destroyed because of something sharp digging into something like the reserve risers over a period of time. I see it on rigs every season.

Take this case I had not so long ago. Rig came in for a repack. Noticed fraying on riser loop. Owner says it has been like that for a long time, it was only just a superficial small amount of wear brought on by packing on rough surfaces.
[inline 1.JPG]
After disassembling the 3-ring it is apparent that the problem has gotten very much worse than what he thought.
The stamp on the little ring has a sharp corner and has dug almost straight through the loop.
[inline 2.JPG]
Problem here was that the root cause was not found in the beginning and the loop was not periodically inspected for further degradation.

Don't like to be the guy who writes large novels on here, but I also don't like to be the bearer of bad news when a rig needs repair at the start of a season. Never ignore fraying on such places, keep an eye on it and ask your rigger.

[gowlerk 1,903]

Nice. You would think Wichard could skip the logo on hardware that needs to be smooth.

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[parachutist 1]

betzilla

I totally agree with gowlerk: There has to be a sharp edge somewhere. Maybe the heat shrink, but you should also look at the confluence wrap on the main riser - the hot knifed edge might be a little prickly and making contact. Find the pointy bit and take care of that, and your shouldn't see any further damage, I'd reckon.

There were so many possibilities in this area:
The outside edge of the loop velcro under the risers is sharp
The outside of the hook velcro for the RSL lanyard is sharp
A hot-knifed edge of the yellow tab for the RSL shackle is poking out, and sharp

Then you mentioned the main riser.. I hadn't even thought of that, so thanks! Here's what that looks like... yes that edge is as sharp as it looks.

[inline mainris2.jpg]

I think it's either this confluence wrap, or the yellow RSL tab, or a combination of both. I'll fix both of those and tell the customer to keep an eye on it.

[parachutist 1]

gowlerk

Is the shackle/RSL causing the damage? Or is it that AMP fitting with the worn heat shrink rubbing it?

I think the shackle is part of it.

The slit in that heat shrink is the only damaged area of the tubing. It faces the main risers with no sharp edges protruding, so I don't think that's it, but good eye!

[parachutist 1]

JeffCa

Not a comment on the OP itself, but another question. Is the amount of damage seen in the photos a big deal? Do they need replacement at this time?

Good question. I agree with Lee. It's right on the edge of being too far gone, but not just yet. I wish I could just bind the edge of that riser to make it bombproof

[parachutist 1]

I'm glad to be reading that in this forum instead of Incidents =]

[hackish 8]

parachutist

There were so many possibilities in this area:
The outside edge of the loop velcro under the risers is sharp
The outside of the hook velcro for the RSL lanyard is sharp
A hot-knifed edge of the yellow tab for the RSL shackle is poking out, and sharp

Then you mentioned the main riser.. I hadn't even thought of that, so thanks! Here's what that looks like... yes that edge is as sharp as it looks.

I think it's either this confluence wrap, or the yellow RSL tab, or a combination of both. I'll fix both of those and tell the customer to keep an eye on it.

Just an off the top of my head comment but for some reason I'm thinking:
a) not a factory UPT mini riser
b) not really a confluence wrap per say but just a piece of webbing used for "backing"

For the original photos it is beyond my own comfort level of maximum amount of damage permitted.

-Michael

[parachutist 1]

hackish

Just an off the top of my head comment but for some reason I'm thinking:
a) not a factory UPT mini riser
b) not really a confluence wrap per say but just a piece of webbing used for "backing"

For the original photos it is beyond my own comfort level of maximum amount of damage permitted.

-Michael

Thanks for your input! The construction of the main riser looks like the ones in UPT's Parts Catalog
http://unitedparachutetechnologies.com/PDF/Parts-Catalog.pdf
It may be a knock-off, but I think it's from UPT.

I sent an e-mail to UPT with these photos before posting here, still waiting on a response. There's no rush on this rig, so I'll call them Monday to get their take on it.

[pchapman 261]

hackish

I'm thinking:
a) not a factory UPT mini riser

A fair enough guess but it actually looks exactly like the right side RSL riser on a 2013 Vector III I just packed.

Complete with sharp hot knifed edge on the confluence wrap. Hard to see on the photo in the thread, but it does wrap the confluence of the two risers.

Still, it doesn't seem like the wrap would hit the edge of the wider reserve riser much, given that the cutaway cable housing pushes them apart. As has been listed, possible culprits still include the AMP fitting and the RSL velcro.

It is annoying to see nearly exposed RSL velcro on a rig these days, when other companies have gone to velcro hidden under a flap so that if any gets exposed, it isn't chewing the shit out of anything important.

(Or there are nice no-velcro designs, but I see how UPT keeps Velcro to prevent the Collins lanyard from being easily back-driven by the Skyhook in case of rare emergencies like that which prompted the staging loop and split RSL lanyard.)

The bottom end of RSLs don't always stay in the right spot in use so velcro gets exposed. I remember some student Vector III's where I sewed a light webbing flap on, between the RSL stuff and the reserve risers, to keep exposed RSL velcro from fluffing up the reserve risers any more than they had in just a couple years.

[Hellis 0]

parachutist

***Not a comment on the OP itself, but another question. Is the amount of damage seen in the photos a big deal? Do they need replacement at this time?

Good question. I agree with Lee. It's right on the edge of being too far gone, but not just yet. I wish I could just bind the edge of that riser to make it bombproof

That's a good idea.
Why isn't that done at the factory, binding the edge 4-5 inches by the rings where sharp egdes could be might save the gear.
I understand that why a rigger in field can't do it, but if it's factory made you know the riser is undamaged under the binding.

[hackish 8]

Looks like I stand corrected. I checked one of my Vector risers and indeed they are like that. Sorry for any confusion.

-Michael