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AZskies

SABRE 120 for wingsuiting

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Hello, for my past 400 wingsuit jumps I have used a triathlon 135 and I really like it although its a bit tight in my v308 and the landings are lack luster... I am thinking of purchasing a saber 1 120. I have heard only good things about saber 1's from friends and trusted sources but I can't find anyone jumping smaller than a 135.... Is there anyone out there with some info on wing suiting a saber 1 120 pros--- cons?

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I was beginning to wonder about a modest downsize or a move towards something a little sportier until I recently started wingsuiting. Now I'm very happy I'm jumping a Pilot 150, hadn't had line twists in 150 jumps and have had them three times in the first nine WS flights. I think two rigs is the way to go for HP landings and wingsuiting, 90% of the chops I witness seem to be wingsuiters jumping pocket handkerchiefs. It's probably less expensive to just shell out for another rig!
"Now, why do witches burn?"
"...because they're made of... wood?"
"Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood?"
"Build a bridge out of her."

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I have a Sabre 120 that I wingsuit with using an intermediate sized suit and I love it.

Pros: It is a great canopy that is appropriate for wingsuiting. Usually cheap to come by. And still capable of swooping if you are into that.

Cons: Not many really, score a domed slider if possible.

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Lethal1ty17

I have a Sabre 120 that I wingsuit with using an intermediate sized suit and I love it.

Pros: It is a great canopy that is appropriate for wingsuiting. Usually cheap to come by. And still capable of swooping if you are into that.

Cons: Not many really, score a domed slider if possible.



I agree. I have jumped a Sabre 120 for all of my 30 WS jumps so while I can't compare with other canopies, I agree its cheap and appropriate as long as it's at a sensible wing loading. The only con I can think of is they have a reputation for spanking open, mine never has (in a total of 150 jumps), but be aware of it.
Rich M

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That's why I said get a domed slider if possible. If not then learn to pack it for a slower opening and learn to stall your suit before deployment for lower airspeed at pull time. I've wingsuitted with a Sabre 135, Triathlon 120, Nitron 120, and now my Sabre 120. Both Sabres worked just fine. The Triathlon was a good canopy just kind of boring. And the Nitron worked fine as well but I did get a pretty bad slammer once in a suit due to bottom skin inflation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoB3s5lSDkI

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Lethal1ty17

I have a Sabre 120 ... score a domed slider if possible.



Do you have any details about the dimensions of such a slider?

Larger sliders and pocket sliders have been proven to slow down Sabre openings, but I have never seen any details about a domed slider that does.

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@OP: the smaller Sabres, from what I recall, don't open that hard. I put maybe 25 jumps on a Sabre 135 that opened fine (briskly, but not hard). I'd jump it before spending money on a tweaked slider, because I suspect you won't need one for the 120. For that matter, if you're worried a 120 will be too small, You should be able to put a Sabre 135 into your V308 with little problem (as long as you have microline, not dacron), especially since it won't be brand-new ZP...

Just my 2 cents :)

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Here's how the Sabre 1 problem was explained to me (by a rigger, but I am not any kind of rigger):

The problem was the slider. It had the requisite surface area, but it was too long/narrow. As a result, infrequently (and I think it had something to do with wingloading and parachute size) the slider would "flag" into the wind. Instead of presenting a large surface area to the relative wind slowing down the opening, it would show its side and open like there was no slider (or its effect is greatly reduce), or packed with the slider down or collapsed. That type of opening is, of course, violently hard.

This has caused broken necks and other injuries.

Packing tricks that help slow an opening aren't going to do any good if the slider doesn't do its job, so the idea of "packing it right" doesn't sit well with me.

The fix (as explained to me) is to fix the slider (consult your rigger of course). I jumped a borrowed Sabre 1 150 that the rigger put a slider from a Pilot 210 and it opened beautifully.

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I love my sabres with wingsuits. I jump a 97 with my funk and haven't had a problem yet (knock on wood). You can also just add a small pocket on the front of the slider instead of replacing the slider or passing up a sabre you want because it's not domed. Any time I had one added it was like 30 bucks but I preferred the stock slider anyway.

I've always had less hard openings the smaller I've went with sabres. The 120's shouldn't be a problem. I prefer faster openings on my wingsuit anyway.

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^ Agreed. I jump a Sabre2 107 now (loaded @ 1.75) with a Funk, and like the ability to WS and perform HP landings with the same canopy. The most important factors to consider (IMO) and be aware of when WS with any canopy:

--Your level of comfort with the canopy you fly when sh$t goes wrong, i.e. line twist, hard openings, etc.
--Pull altitude that gives you adequate time to deal with above issues.
--Having the appopriate size PC / bridle
--Awareness that smaller canopies = shorter lines, and the affect that can have on deployment. As such, your technique at deployment may need to change.


~$0.02

***Also, you may want to have a Mod move this to the WS forum to gain more insights :). ***

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