Pilot vs Sabre2: which one opens slower/softer?

[GD64 1]

Just a comment and not a criticism.

It would be helpful to me, and maybe others when describing canopy opening characteristics if "soft/slow/fast/etc" openings could also be described in altitude used in deployment.

Thanks

[BeceJIbIu 0]

Do you choose between PD Sabre-2 and Aerodyne Pilot only?
Icarus Safire-2 is canopy with very smooth openings.

[theplummeter 14]

BeceJIbIu

Do you choose between PD Sabre-2 and Aerodyne Pilot only?
Icarus Safire-2 is canopy with very smooth openings.

I agree. I have jumped roughly a dozen different canopies and the softest openings have been on a Safire2. Precision's Fusion takes second place in this category. I had one hardish opening on my Safire in 150 or so jumps, I have yet to have anything other than pillow soft openings in over 250 jumps on the Fusion, but they eat some altitude and occasionally hunt for a heading.

Soft openings are a major deal to me also, I had an opening on a Stiletto that put me into an ER with a hemothorax and cracked ribs.

[Di0 1]

I like my openings on Safire2.

Out of 250 jumps, I've had only 2 hard openings. One was a fairly hard opening, got tunnel vision for a couple of seconds, hurt a bit but no bruises, so it wasn't even that bad. That was probably from packing.
Another one was more like a weird-ish opening, quite hard to start with but seemed on heading for an instant, then 720 degrees while sniveling, tossed me into multiple line twists. Probably body position, though, as I was moving away from a student about to dump his reserve, so I pulled when it was safe to do so, rather than waiting to be in a nice attitude. And even so, it wasn't really that bad.
The other 248 openings have been quite smooth, generally around 8-900ft snivels, with a 1200 ft snivel, the longest I've had.

I like it a lot, overall.

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[skydiverek 54]

No Dacron, no canopy for me. Safire2 does not offer Dacron, hence it is out of question. To bad for them! ;)

[michalm21 0]

uhmmm a friend bought a Safire2 with dacron lines. It was a used canopy but with only 10 jumps on it (still very, very crisp). It was originally made for some demo/or was sponsored as it came with a logo.
So they definitely make them with Dacron... Did you email/call them?
(I guess it's possible they say no to you anyway which would be rather puzzling)

[Joellercoaster 6]

I have a lot of jumps on a Pilot 132, and some jumps on a Sabre2 135, loaded around 1.7 (I also have some comparison jumps on a 168 vs a 170, and a few on 150s but they were a long time ago and I don't remember them so clearly).

Overall the Sabre2 opens more firmly (and I prefer it, though you are obviously after something different). The Pilot opens in about 800ft for me with a long snivel step.

I feel like Sabre2s open less reliably on heading in big sizes (compared to Pilots) but that it goes away with load.

--
"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?