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Sabrekakkonen

How fast did you learn to pack parachute?

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Hi,
I'm struggling with parachute packing. Most difficult is folding canopy and PUTTING CANOPY TO D-BAG.
I have now 83 jumps and about 35 of them with full zp canopy. I am still very very slow an bad packer, is this normal?
How many jump did you have when packing become semi easy job?

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Yes you're normal. Keep at it.

Asking questions is good (be careful who you ask though, instructors and riggers first), just remember that if you keep learning new ways to pack and changing the process, you're slowing down your learning. Just keep jumping and practicing.

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I was shown once, walked through it once and then thrown to the wolves. I guess there was a couple people watching from the background after that to which I was unaware of.

First pack jobs were 45-50 minutes a piece. Over time I've gotten tandems down to 12 if I'm in a hurry but I don't like to hurry.

But time and practice, grasshopper.

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There are a couple things that I could tell you.

The suggestion to pull the bag around the canopy rather than putting the canopy into the bag is one.

Moving as quickly as possible from laying on the cocooned canopy to bagging it is another (the slower you go, the more the canopy will puff up).

Learning to control the S-folded canopy is key. Hands, knees, elbows, your face, whatever works. That's one of those things where you have to find what works best for you.

Watching good packers is helpful, but only to a point.

Most of it is time & practice. Keep at it, you will get it.

On the bright side - once you learn to pack properly, getting sleeping bags, tents, car covers, ect. into their storage bags will become very easy.
"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

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I took my first packing class when I had around 10 jumps (maybe less). But 8 or 9 year later, I'm still the slowest packer I know. Some people just like to do things quickly. Doesn't mean you have to pack fast. You know I've seen really nice pack jobs done quickly, and I've also seen some really shitty pack jobs done quickly. Just do your best, it's not a race or a competition.

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The first time I packed my Paracommander on my own, as I was packing I watched a jumper go in towing a streamer! He wasn't killed but got busted up pretty good. I think that was the longest and best pack job I ever did. Later when I got pretty good, I was always the guy trying to be done first. When you have the routine down smoothly, then you'll get faster and neater.

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Nearly every new jumper struggles with packing. And just like you they have the most trouble bagging it. Especially when they buy a new rig with the largest ZP canopy that will fit. And usually so they can have "room to downsize". I hate that term.

Everyone learns a slightly different way to control the canopy and pull the bag around it. I can't tell you what will work for you. You should watch what others do. People with larger hands use them more. People with smaller hands use their knees and legs more. The key is to control the bundle. It just takes practice. It will get better, especially as your canopy ages. You will slowly develop your own technique.
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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In my area, you start learning to pack after jump 1, and if you want to jump, you need to pack.... So if you really want to jump, you learn how to pack efficiently, and faster and better every time. You are always under supervision until you pass your "packing test" which is at around 30-40 jumps (or before if you feel confident) after which you can pack self-supervised.

The best for packing fast is to hum on a team, and be the only smoker on the team. You will pack fast enough to smoke a cigarette without having the rest of the team waiting for you.

P.S: Smoking is bad for you, costs a lot and makes your breath stink.
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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wolfriverjoe

On the bright side - once you learn to pack properly, getting sleeping bags, tents, car covers, ect. into their storage bags will become very easy.


Truth. I'm still a somewhat sloppy packer, but putting my kid's beach tent back in it's bag is a piece of cake now!

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I hated packing until I got my own rig. The weekend I brought it home, I packed it maybe twice, specifically so I could take my sweet time without the peanut gallery coming over and giving me "helpful" advice (this was after I took and passed a packing course, mind you--I knew how to pack but was very slow). The following weekend was a different story. Just having the peace and being left alone to pack slowly and carefully without commentary from people I barely knew made a huge difference in my mindset. After that, things moved much more quickly and I actually grew to enjoy packing.
I'm not a lady, I'm a skydiver.

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Sabrekakkonen

I am still very very slow an bad packer, is this normal?



Yes.

I am still a very slow and bad packer... better maybe than when I had 100 jumps, but I still suck. Actually I think I'm getting worse.
--
"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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fifteen years and still pack like a rookie. No mals in 1000+ jumps. I think packing is over rated. (I still wish I could pack better, though.)
"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy

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Sabrekakkonen

Hi,
I'm struggling with parachute packing. Most difficult is folding canopy and PUTTING CANOPY TO D-BAG.
I have now 83 jumps and about 35 of them with full zp canopy. I am still very very slow an bad packer, is this normal?
How many jump did you have when packing become semi easy job?



This helped me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhEHdKemr1M

She's fun to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVyAfDEAeU

This guy is pretty ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya03HjlL3YE

Practice...

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Did my A license packing class on a cloudy day so I never jumped it that time. First time I jumped my own pack job was jump 75 last week. It takes me anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour to pack. I tried on my own a few weeks ago and it took an hour and a half and I still wasnt confident enough to jump it.

I had packing classes from two different people so I took what I liked from both of them, and also other things people at the friendly DZ here in San Diego...told me.

I just waited so long I had a fear of jumping my own work. I'm a little obsessive sometimes but like that Brian Germain packing video you just have to DO IT!!! The parachute wants to open.
No farting on the plane!

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Trafficdiver

Have you tried sweating on it and swearing at it? Helped me out. Just kidding I pay a packer to do that shit.:P



That seems to be part of my technique. I sweat profusely while packing for reasons I don't actually understand - so much so that people wonder what's wrong with me.

Keeping the top of the roll tight to keep it from wanting to reinflate seems to have what's made the difference in making it easier for me, but I generally just pay for packing, but I plan to spend a lot of time practicing spending weekends at the DZ this summer.

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I jumped on and off form36 jumps and never had the hang of it. Came back last year after 9 years off and did 50 jumps. I struggle a lot with the same part. My canopy only has 100 jumps on it so it's still pretty slippery. I'm going to pull my rig apart every day this week until I have it down. I'm usually still packing when the next load is down lol. It used to bother me. Now if I'm struggling I'll pay a packer.

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The first few packs I just opened them on the ground. I paid attention to every step of the deployment: how my line stows came out when pulling, how the parachute dropped out, did the lines get tense evenly, was there any fabric on the left when it should be on the right and vice versa, was slider up when I shaked the canopy out etc. When I saw that my shit packs look good on the ground I figured they can't be much different in the air. :D

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Don't sweat it. Practice at home. At the DZ I was flustered at first because you don't want to be struggling around others packing as well. This is normal in humans in situations of all types where experience through repetition is required and you may being watched. If you have questions ask a rigger or packer or jumpmaster. The DZ is there for you. They want you to jump there and they want safety to be the number one concern. Blue Skies
Blue Skies & Light Wind

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Lawndarter

***Have you tried sweating on it and swearing at it? Helped me out. Just kidding I pay a packer to do that shit.:P



That seems to be part of my technique. I sweat profusely while packing for reasons I don't actually understand - so much so that people wonder what's wrong with me.

Keeping the top of the roll tight to keep it from wanting to reinflate seems to have what's made the difference in making it easier for me, but I generally just pay for packing, but I plan to spend a lot of time practicing spending weekends at the DZ this summer.

I've only packed a few hundred of my own BUT still manage to sweat a lot too. Which by the way ISN'T good for the fabric. But what are you going to do...
It really is all about technique and controlling the fabric. It helped me by going from a 190 9 cell to a 170 7 cell...

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