Freefly bungee knot

[Monosa 0]

Hi,

I have a simple question: What knot should I use to connect the freefly bungee on my Vector 3 container? I tried to use a overhand knot but then the bungee flips trough the webbing channel on the leg straps.

So instead I tried a bowline knot on both sides. It seems to work fine but I am unsure whether this knot is safe / recommended?

[mbohu 77]

Same happened to me yesterday on my Vortex container. The bungee they provided is extremely short, so it needs to be held in place by just a knot on each side, so it doesn't slip through. I've seen where they instead used a much longer bungee, so it forms a complete loop. That seems more secure to me, but I don't know either what's recommended.

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

I tie the end of the bungee around the holder.

The knot holds the end of the bungee to itself. I don't tie a knot that "plugs" it and keeps it from going through the holders.

I would avoid a long loop, where you run the bungee through both holders and then tie the ends together.

Doing that makes a potential trap for the pilot chute handle.

It's possible (although unlikely) for the handle to end up through the loop formed by the bungee. That would be a booger of a mal.

And it's reportedly happened. I did a quick search and came up empty.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[mbohu 77]

Quote

It's possible (although unlikely) for the handle to end up through the loop formed by the bungee. That would be a booger of a mal.

Yikes. Thanks for that warning!

[linestretch 0]

Try a double or triple overhand knot (or figure 8)...something that's much bigger. I've always just tied it back to itself but if the bungee is too short....get a longer piece. If you have a pair of old goggles, use the bungee off those.

my pics & stuff!

[mathrick 2]

I initially got a length of regular bungee cord from a home improvement store for my Vortex to deal with the short one they supply, but then I gave it up entirely, since I tried and I just can't make myself slip through the legstraps on my custom-sized V4. I don't do really freefly, so that's of course another reason not to bother with the bungee, but even when I attempted a bit of sit-fly in the sky, it was fine. The bungee OTOH prevents me from being able to sit in the harness, which is a detriment to canopy piloting.

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

[Blis 1]

mathrick

I initially got a length of regular bungee cord from a home improvement store for my Vortex to deal with the short one they supply, but then I gave it up entirely, since I tried and I just can't make myself slip through the legstraps on my custom-sized V4. I don't do really freefly, so that's of course another reason not to bother with the bungee, but even when I attempted a bit of sit-fly in the sky, it was fine. The bungee OTOH prevents me from being able to sit in the harness, which is a detriment to canopy piloting.

It doesnt as long as the lenght is ok...

[mathrick 2]

If it allows you to sit up in the harness, it will also allow it to ride up in sit-fly, which defeats the point of having a bungee in the first place.

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

[KBUDA 18]

Eh, in my experience I've been able to adjust the shock cord length to a point where the leg straps won't ride down my thighs in freefall, but I can still move them down under canopy. Under canopy, the shock cord is under a fair bit of tension, but my body weight and friction keeps the leg straps from sliding back into position between the cheeks. In my opinion that's kind of the whole reason for using shock cord rather than something inelastic.

[mbohu 77]

The more I think about it, the less I understand how the bungee would prevent falling out of the rig.
When you watch any of the videos of how you could theoretically slip out (such as this one: https://vimeo.com/96037725), the hole that you can fall through is between the 2 leg straps and the bottom of the container. During the entire video the 2 leg straps (and the attachment points of the bungee) never seem move very far apart from each other--and all the bungee does is prevent the 2 leg straps to move far apart.

It seems to me that the only safe connection would be a connection from the left leg strap to the bottom of the right side of the main lift web and from the right leg strap to the bottom of the left side of the main lift web. That cross-connection would close the hole you can slip through--but the connection couldn't be too tight, otherwise it would prevent the necessary free movement of your legs--and if it was that loose it would probably create all kinds of other problems similar to the one indicated earlier in the thread (catching the pilot chute on deploy, etc)

Do we really know the bungee helps? Has anyone tried to slip out of their rig with the bungee in place and has that really prevented it?

[pchapman 261]

mbohu

how you could theoretically slip out (such as this one: https://vimeo.com/96037725),

Your wording wasn't quite clear, so to clarify: In that video, no bungee seems to have been used.
A freefly bungee isn't really meant to stop someone falling out if they try, or if they deploy in a piked body position.
It can help keep leg straps from sliding up towards the knees, which would create a less secure configuration in case of deployment in a sit etc.

[mbohu 77]

Quote

A freefly bungee isn't really meant to stop someone falling out if they try, or if they deploy in a piked body position.

I see. I heard it was supposed to help with that. I know, he didn't have one in the video. I just meant: It does not look like it would have stopped him from slipping out, if he DID have one, since the 2 attachment points for the bungee (which are visible in the video) never really move further apart than the likely length of a stretched out bungee.

So the bungee only really helps in the sit position with the straps moving up because in that position your knees are spread apart--versus the position where you could potentially slip out, where your knees would be together. So sounds like this kind of flipwould never be a good idea to try out as an exit or in freefall:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving#/media/File:Salto_ornamental_-_UnB.jpg