Have any of you guys jumped the Squirrel Omicron yet?

[alfonso904 4]

I'm debating whether to buy this, the Epicene Pro, Pilot 7 or an old Spectre. I've never flown either but the Omicron description sounds exactly like what I'm looking for (good flare, reliable openings and low pack volume). Any of you guys have anything to say about the Omicron? 

Edited August 22, 2022 by alfonso904

[kleggo 138]

Yes, will know more once mine is delivered in 6 weeks.

[sedsquare 14]

Have you thought about a WinX? I think it meets those criteria. I have a full zp WinX 135 and it fits nicely in my Vector 307, and they have lpv/hybrid versions too.

[alfonso904 4]

5 hours ago, sedsquare said:

Have you thought about a WinX? I think it meets those criteria. I have a full zp WinX 135 and it fits nicely in my Vector 307, and they have lpv/hybrid versions too.

I am considering it. What other canopy can you yourself compare to?

[sedsquare 14]

10 hours ago, alfonso904 said:

I am considering it. What other canopy can you yourself compare to?

I've put a bunch of wingsuit jumps on a Pilot 9 cell, demoed a Horizon, and ultimately ended up demoing and buying a WinX. I've never had a bad opening on my WinX, whether I'm wingsuiting or freeflying. It's more fun to fly than the Horizon I demoed, and has a very good flare. I stand up on no wind days without trouble. It might be worth trying one out. Best of luck in your canopy search!

[skydave89 19]

On 8/22/2022 at 5:22 AM, alfonso904 said:

I'm debating whether to buy this, the Epicene Pro, Pilot 7 or an old Spectre. I've never flown either but the Omicron description sounds exactly like what I'm looking for (good flare, reliable openings and low pack volume). Any of you guys have anything to say about the Omicron? 

I have the WinX and really like it. Demoed the Pilot 7 and thought it was good but the WinX did the same thing just smoother with it. The P7 has a sorta hard transition during the opening sequence compared to the WinX. Also had a Pilot 9 cell for a long time that I loved but obviously being a 9 cell it’s more aggressive if you spin it up and it starts diving. My Spectre I thought was great but the snivel is a bit longer than I think you want in a WS canopy. Never jumped the Epicene/Omicron/Horizon.  

[RolandForbes 41]

I've flown the Epicene Pro quite a bit but no Omicron. Another vote for the Winx though, has better openings than the Epicene and wayyyyy more flare power. 

[kleggo 138]

i prefer to support my friends = squirrel / asylum / javelin.

Others are good, they just don't get my cash.

Just like I buy Campagnolo and not SRAM.

support who you choose.

[birdynamnam 28]

On 8/25/2022 at 4:23 AM, skydave89 said:

I have the WinX and really like it. Demoed the Pilot 7 and thought it was good but the WinX did the same thing just smoother with it. The P7 has a sorta hard transition during the opening sequence compared to the WinX. Also had a Pilot 9 cell for a long time that I loved but obviously being a 9 cell it’s more aggressive if you spin it up and it starts diving. My Spectre I thought was great but the snivel is a bit longer than I think you want in a WS canopy. Never jumped the Epicene/Omicron/Horizon.  

ditto that. I am a very happy user of the Winx ZP 150. It is flawless basically and does everything very good. I was in Norway when a fellow wingsuiter was demoing a Winx 150 and a Kraken 150 comparing them back to back. He found them very similar and mentioned that the bigger difference was that the Winx felt more "sporty/lively"

[RolandForbes 41]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:06 PM, kleggo said:

 

Just like I buy Campagnolo and not SRAM.

But Atair is literally the Campagnolo of skydiving...

Skilled European craftsmanship > cheap Asian labor

Edited August 27, 2022 by RolandForbes

[anirudh 0]

Considering an omicron as well. I might be an outlier but I've had 4 cutaways with my winx 135 zp loaded 1.4 on my funk (1 cutaway), ATC(2 cutaways), and freak (1cutaway) in about a 120 jumps, all except one diving line twists. I don't mind line twists, i just don't expect them to drive on a canopy specific for wingsuiting. My packing is also neat/meticulous in my opinion. All this to say, i reckon your body position at deployment has to be near perfect with winx zp. 

I don't have any cutaways on those wingsuits with my trusty sabre2-150 in spite of may be 5 line twists, all non diving in about 300 jumps with the sabre-2, which I'm back to flying until i figure out which canopy i want to put on my wingsuit rig. 

 

[BMAC615 205]

Mine ships in two weeks. Most of the guys with any substantial number of flights on one are the sponsored guys and they will be a bit biased. I have an Epicene Pro and love it. I expect the Omicron to be pretty much the same but with longer recovery arc and more flare power.

Edited August 29, 2022 by BMAC615

[kleggo 138]

On 8/27/2022 at 5:58 AM, RolandForbes said:

But Atair is literally the Campagnolo of skydiving...

Skilled European craftsmanship > cheap Asian labor

Thanks, you made me laugh

Edited August 29, 2022 by kleggo

[Mike_wth 0]

Here is my experience:

WinX: Great openings, great performance (glide, flare, easy on fronts), very low pack volume in full ZP. My personal choice.
OM7: Great openings (somehow gives you a super safe feeling). Little slower in openings compared to the WinX. Pack volume probably a little higher. Good over all performance. Is an easy recommendation.
Kraken: Quick openings, solid canopy. By far the most responsive on any inputs amongst all WS-canopies I tested. If you want something that feels "sporty", this is definetly your choice. It is heavier on the fronts compared to the other canopies. And the design choice to go for short lines is a little weird for a WS canopy.
Pilot7: Solid canopy. I had to get used to the fact that it requires basically no force to flare it. That felt a little weird, but the flare is solid. Openings as well. Some Pilot7s however do not fly straight (inaccurate production).
Horizon: Solid openings. But that is it. It is non-ZP but it does not even pack very small. Glide ratio is shit. It does not bring you home. It does not flare well compared to any of the ZP canopies.
Epicine: Solid openings. Packs small. Performance is shit like the Horizon (Glide/Flare).
Dakker: The opening is OKisch. It is incredibly affected by any kind of crosswind. Needs to be controlled to fly straight.

Omicron is missing on my list. The only one I did not have the opportunity to try out myself.
I have heard that is is an Epi with a little more performance. The basic design seems to be quite similar. I would therefore expect it to still be a less performance oriented design than the other ZP WS canopies (Glide/Flare). But this is a very rough assumption. Maybe it will surprise me. So make up your mind yourself. I would love to hear more opinions on this canopy.

As a personal opinion:
I see no reason to go for a canopy that is not ZP. If you do, just expect bad perforance in anything other but the opening. And we do have ZP canopies that open great and even pack small.
Beeing able to make it back to the DZ, and having a proper flare if you need to land in some shitty spot is saftey relevant in my opinion.
Also the durability of a non-ZP canopy suffers in comparison to a ZP.
Your personal priorities might be different, that is just how I see it.

My recommendation would be to choose amongst the first three of the list.
I personally go WinX, which in my opionion is the best overall package.
If having maximum fun under the canopy is a high priority, go Kraken.

9-Cells by the way are not "out of the race".
Sabre3 opens wunderfully. I just didn't like its flying characteristics a lot.
Safire2 is a solid choice often seen amongst Wingsuiters. I presonally just do not like the very slow openings compared to any wingsuit canopy.
Some people love this however. Personal preferences are just a big point.

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by Mike_wth
Added 9-cell chapter

[alfonso904 4]

7 hours ago, Mike_wth said:

Here is my experience:

WinX: Great openings, great performance (glide, flare, easy on fronts), very low pack volume in full ZP. My personal choice.
OM7: Great openings (somehow gives you a super safe feeling). Little slower in openings compared to the WinX. Pack volume probably a little higher. Good over all performance. Is an easy recommendation.
Kraken: Quick openings, solid canopy. By far the most responsive on any inputs amongst all WS-canopies I tested. If you want something that feels "sporty", this is definetly your choice. It is heavier on the fronts compared to the other canopies. And the design choice to go for short lines is a little weird for a WS canopy.
Pilot7: Solid canopy. I had to get used to the fact that it requires basically no force to flare it. That felt a little weird, but the flare is solid. Openings as well. Some Pilot7s however do not fly straight (inaccurate production).
Horizon: Solid openings. But that is it. It is non-ZP but it does not even pack very small. Glide ratio is shit. It does not bring you home. It does not flare well compared to any of the ZP canopies.
Epicine: Solid openings. Packs small. Performance is shit like the Horizon (Glide/Flare).
Dakker: The opening is OKisch. It is incredibly affected by any kind of crosswind. Needs to be controlled to fly straight.

Omicron is missing on my list. The only one I did not have the opportunity to try out myself.
I have heard that is is an Epi with a little more performance. The basic design seems to be quite similar. I would therefore expect it to still be a less performance oriented design than the other ZP WS canopies (Glide/Flare). But this is a very rough assumption. Maybe it will surprise me. So make up your mind yourself. I would love to hear more opinions on this canopy.

As a personal opinion:
I see no reason to go for a canopy that is not ZP. If you do, just expect bad perforance in anything other but the opening. And we do have ZP canopies that open great and even pack small.
Beeing able to make it back to the DZ, and having a proper flare if you need to land in some shitty spot is saftey relevant in my opinion.
Also the durability of a non-ZP canopy suffers in comparison to a ZP.
Your personal priorities might be different, that is just how I see it.

My recommendation would be to choose amongst the first three of the list.
I personally go WinX, which in my opionion is the best overall package.
If having maximum fun under the canopy is a high priority, go Kraken.

9-Cells by the way are not "out of the race".
Sabre3 opens wunderfully. I just didn't like its flying characteristics a lot.
Safire2 is a solid choice often seen amongst Wingsuiters. I presonally just do not like the very slow openings compared to any wingsuit canopy.
Some people love this however. Personal preferences are just a big point.

 

 

I ended up ordering a WinX. I've yet to hear a single person say anything negative about it locally or online and like the full ZP durability as well as the flight characteristics stated by everyone.

It helped a bit that it was the cheapest option at $2180 shipped right now since the Euro is 1:1 with the USD. The Kraken, OM7 and Horizon are all over $2600!! Squirrel and Aerodyne are still reasonably priced though. I heard Aerodyne is going through extreme production issues taking upwards of a year for production. All of these canopies are hard to find in the second hand market as well - at least in the ideal configuration desired. 

 

Will report back in 18 weeks when I get my WinX

Edited September 10, 2022 by alfonso904