VORTEX V-4 Container Overview 2016! PHOTOS INSIDE!

[yariksychov 0]

Hey everyone,

So after long online research done before ordering the new container I made a decision to go with Vortex made by Parachute Systems. As many of you out there I faced the problem finding any proper pictures of the container along with any sort of feedbacks or technical information. All the threads on this forum are so outdated that it's not even funny.

The brand is not really presented in the US market so I had some fears regarding the quality but chatting with the rigger in Impuria made me feel much better. Anyway, making the long story short, I just wanted to provide some fresh info on the brand, good pictures and some information I hope you'd find useful.

Personal opinion: I couldn't be happier! The quality is amazing, it's really well-made, looks and feels awesome, better than certain popular brands (not gonna tell the names to avoid the hate-talks in the topic). And it's a few hundred bucks cheaper than the local ones!

n.b. So this particular one holds Safire 2 149 and PDR 160 inside.
Total wait time: 14 weeks.
Order information on the bottom of the page.
Pictures taken by Yarik Sychov.


General view:







Stainless steel hardware, wichard:



RSL + Skyhook:



Two soft handles: pillow cutaway and reserve, spacer foam back pad:



Plastic windows for the AAD:



Slider holders, included by default. Type 7 webbing, front and back risers:





Chest strap, stainless steel hardware, wichard:



Standard cutaway soft handle:



Type 7 leg straps + stainless steel hardware. Hip articulation:





Freefly bungee:



Reserve soft handle, spectra cord:



RW-8S, stainless steel wichard hardware:



Stiff freefly friendly reserve flap:



Complete riser coverage, tuck tab or magnetic:



Spectra reserve ripcord and skyhook:



TSO C23d:



Main pin:



Freefly handle:



Spacer foam lateral:




The container was ordered through:

Flying Flynn's
Skydive Sebastian's gear store
400 Airport Drive West
Sebastian, Florida 32958
772-202-6962
[email protected]

Thank you for your attention. Questions are welcome

[Kiwiskydiving 0]

Great looking rig and photos!!! I pm'ed you with some questions.

My skydiving blog: www.kiwiskydiving.com /// youtube channel: kiwiskydiving

[yariksychov 0]

Thank you for your feedback =)

[hackish 8]

I'm quite impressed with the quality of the photos.

-Michael

[yariksychov 0]

Thanks Michael, tried my best Glad you liked them.

[ehlacroix 0]

What type of riser cover do you have on your container? What do you think of them? I'm actually looking into buying a Vortex. I'm glad you're making this post, the pictures are awesome!

[Kiwiskydiving 0]

I have magnetic riser covers for my new vortex. Regardless if you choose magnetic or tuck tabs, they both act like tuck tabs. The magnetic option just means that additionally to tucking it, there're magnets underneath the flaps to further secure it in place. I was worried at first because the magnets plus tuck tabs just seem to make the riser covers too tight, but so far 20+ deployments I haven't experienced any hesitations yet. It's a solidly built container.

My skydiving blog: www.kiwiskydiving.com /// youtube channel: kiwiskydiving

[yariksychov 0]

Thank you.

Mine just has regular ruck tabs. Great openings, no problem at all ;)

[mbohu 77]

I am a newbie (50 jumps) and am considering this as my first rig. A couple things I'm wondering about when looking at your pictures (and the packing manual on their site):
1: In my packing course, and when watching anyone pack at my DZ, I always notice how the closing loop has to be pulled all the way tight, so that all 4 grommets of the flaps completely align (and aren't offset from each other as in the 3rd picture from bottom here) That always seems to require a lot of power when pulling it through and I struggled a bit with that in the course--but it made sense to me as that seemed to be the only way to ensure that it's really tight. So with this container that seems not to be the case. The side flap's grommets are apart from each other, so that the closing loop doesn't go straight through, but goes through the right flap, then turns 180 deg towards the left until it goes through the left flap's grommet. Is that normal?
2: One thing we were always taught on gear check is that the pin has to face upward (smiley face) in order to be considered properly inserted. Here (and in the "safety addition link on their site) it seems to be the opposite--possibly because the bridle is not routed from the top? Just wondering about that one.

Any wisdom from more experienced jumpers appreciated.

My main concern is having a rig that packs so different from others that more experienced people at my DZ won't know how it's supposed to be properly packed and me just doing based on the manual on my own...

Thanks.

Also: right now they have an awesome special on a complete system, but my exit weight is 250lbs and the largest of their current mains is 210sqft, so they suggested I order it with a PD.exe 235. I've seen reviews going from awesome to awful, so not sure about that one. Any input appreciated.

[gowlerk 1,903]

Not all rigs are designed to close the same. The Vortex closes similar to the Vector. The grommets are designed to be offset. If you were to close them so tightly that they touched, the flaps would interfere with the cover flap going into it's slot.

Smiley face is a myth. Several people will post disagreeing with me. But I defy anyone to show me a manual that says the pin must smile.

I've never heard of a PD exe.

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

[DHemer 0]

As was send on the previous reply

1 - the grommets most definitely do not need to line up. Maybe on some rigs but most likely on a system with an undersize main.
2- the pin orientation is not a fixed thing. As I mostly wingsuit i like the pin positioned so it slides downwards easily, the "smiley face" to the left because extraction forces are towards the bottom of the container

have a chat to your packing "instructor" about this. it seems they were teaching very specifically to one rig and how they like to pack. Watch some other people at your DZ pack their sport rigs

[gb1 2]

Look's like pretty much a copy of everything else on the market. What is new?

[gowlerk 1,903]

gb1

Look's like pretty much a copy of everything else on the market. What is new?

Nothing new except the lower price.

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

[riggerrob 558]

1. Perfectly aligning grommets varies from one container to the next. Some rigs can overlap grommets if:
A - they were designed to overlap.
B - they contain smaller canopies than original.

If grommets don't overlap, they require longer loops with "serpentine" routing. In the worst-case, grommet edges pinch down on the loop, delaying openings. This is only a problem with spring-loaded pilot-chutes. Fortunately main spring-loaded pilot-chutes have disappearred from modern skydiving schools. But loop-pinching can still create problems - in reserves - if reserve containers are over-stuffed.

2. Smily-face curved pins [email]versus frowny-faced .... is superstition. Pin orientation only made a difference back when pin covers depended upon Velcro to hold them closed (1980s).

[mathrick 2]

Actually, it's not overstuffing but the loop being too long, and only in AAD fire scenarios when the pin is still through the loop, although overstuffing might make the difference between "right length" and "too long" smaller. Also, reserve flap grommets are not designed to have the loop snake around, so it's only if the excess loop length allows them to get offset that it can happen. That said, I like my Vortex (and semi-exposed RPC designs in general) because they're much less susceptible to that very problem while not being constant snag hazards the way pop-tops are. Also they look better :)

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[mathrick 2]

gb1

Look's like pretty much a copy of everything else on the market. What is new?

By your logic, everything is a copy of everything else on the market because you can always find another rig that shares the given design element. It's a stupid jab useful only when you have no actual arguments.

Vortexes have been around for over 20 years and work very well.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[riggerrob 558]

mathrick

***Look's like pretty much a copy of everything else on the market. What is new?

By your logic, everything is a copy of everything else on the market because you can always find another rig that shares the given design element. It's a stupid jab useful only when you have no actual arguments. .....

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Plagiarism is rampant in the parachute industry.

For example, Charlie Broadwick used soft connector links circa 1910. Does that mean that everyone else copied Broadwick's use of suspension lines to make soft connector links?????

[gb1 2]

It is smart to use proven ideas of previous inventors or those who applied ideas meant for another purpose to skydiving. After taking 35 years off and looking at the present equipment, the harnesses and containers are just about the same as what we designed in the mid 70's. The canopies have gone through about 5 generations of development and are still on a fast roll. There are other accessories that are far from fool proof, like RSL, MARD, AAD, etc. That is good. That is how new stuff gets developed and becomes accepted. If it wasn't for the thinkers of the 70's, we would still be jumping with reserves on our chests. My point is: That "new" rig like the others on the market is not much different in design than the 70's rigs except for a few corners trimmed down and better colors and graphics. Is that it? Is this the final design of harness and containers forever. Manufacturers, riggers, and jumpers with no background in design and development should pool their ideas towards making rigs even better than this proven configuration and push the equipment forward. I have a few ides but it is too much for one person. The people who have been around for longer than a few years may understand the big picture. Rigging is more than packing and maintaining and following what is already documented. For those who have the foresight, thinking outside the box would lead to new designs that would become the norm. I know there are people on this forum who fit the bill. Not just the knowledgeable long time riggers. Perhaps my comments went over the head of the jumper with the shiny "new" rig. I am sure he will like it. Come on people, how about some new harness and container ideas no matter how dumb you may think they are? This is how it will move forward. Those are some of my "actual arguments". Just remember, It doesn't take much to work and it doesn't take much to not work. I don't consider this mindset a stupid jab.

[mbohu 77]

Thanks everyone.
Yes, my mistake: It's a zp.exe from parachute systems (not "PD")

[mathrick 2]

Nobody was implying that progress is over or undesirable. However, this kind of comment is way out of place in a thread dedicated to the simple idea of presenting Vortex containers as they exist right now, in the market of today, especially since they're relatively unknown in many circles. I don't think you'd feel obligated to say anything about being a copy of anything else if someone asked for pictures of a Vector, and I don't see why a Vortex should warrant it any more. Again, it's not a "new" design. It's been around for over 20 years, with constant tweaks and adjustments. Much like a Vector 3, or Javelins, and most other containers on the market today.

"Skydivers are highly emotional people. They get all excited about their magical black box full of mysterious life saving forces."

[Maddingo 21]

Just got my brand new Vortex today. More pictures when it gets assembled. It's a V-6. You can already see it has some tweaks compared to the 2016 model.

[HPC 7]

Great pics and captions - you did a better job promoting the Vortex via pics than Parachute Systems does. I've been researching rigs by visiting their websites and a common problem is that when you visit their gallery pages they are loaded with pics of skydivers wearing the rig but it seems the jumpers and sport in general are being promoted more than the rig. No close-ups of the rig, or very few anyway.
I was going to suggest submitting your pics to Parachute Systems but I just noticed that they're already posted on their gallery page. They seem to be the only ones that highlight the rig. The others are nice pics but don't highlight the rig.
It would also be nice if rig websites had pics of all the options available, along with a brief description. UPT does this the best but even their site doesn't explain all of the options available.
Just my personal observation, anyway.

What's right isn't always popular and what's popular isn't always right.

[skydiverek 54]

HPC

It would also be nice if rig websites had pics of all the options available, along with a brief description. UPT does this the best but even their site doesn't explain all of the options available.

This website does it great! Check the links on the left side of the screen:

http://sws.aero/en/products/fire/

[HPC 7]

Their Fire rig looks just like a Mirage but with a semi-exposed reserve PC. Even their logo looks very similar to Mirage's.

What's right isn't always popular and what's popular isn't always right.