6 holed slider

[jakebaustin 9]

whats the deal with these? 
Anyone know the history behind it? How well they work? Any experience with them? Is this a brand new concept? 
 

 

https://squirrel.ws/equipment/base-jumping/accessories/hayduke-6g-slider

[kleggo 138]

Listen to the recent Exit Point podcast where Matt Gerdes and Will Kitto from Squirrel discuss this in detail.

Their website also has an excellent "white paper" on utilizing this design to separate the control lines from suspension lines.

maybe this linky will work??

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13FS-69F2ExGxwBw_nes_M1B5A9ENia8k-RQxgknw32U/edit?pli=1#bookmark=id.wmnzi6y4tp4j

No, Squirrel did not invent 6 grommet sliders, but they are smart to bring them into fixed object jumping canopies.

 

Craig

[BMAC615 205]

I’ve got one and trust my life with it.

[riggerrob 558]

6 grommet sliders were briefly standard on tandem canopies sold by United Parachute Technologies.

[GoneCodFishing 23]

Do you know why they stopped being standad? Wrong balance of pros and coms against 4 grommets or some other reason?

Ease of manufacture, cost and things interchangbiliy often weigh the balance but curious if that was the case

[kleggo 138]

ps, these sliders have MANY more holes than 6, they do have 6 grommet sized holes filled with grommets :-)

[A-73988 4]

22 hours ago, GoneCodFishing said:

Do you know why they stopped being standad? Wrong balance of pros and coms against 4 grommets or some other reason?

Ease of manufacture, cost and things interchangbiliy often weigh the balance but curious if that was the case

There was a post on facebook where there was a discussion about this. One concern was, that in a case of a tension knot, a 6G slider could result in a hung slider in addition to a tension knot. Squirrel briefly addressed this in their white paper saying that a hung slider doesn't increase the severity of a tension knot, or the consequences of a tension knot in a significant way. They say , in their white paper

Quote

 Q: Does a line entanglement below the grommets on a 6 grommet slider result in a worse outcome than a severe tension knot?

15 

A: We tested this by creating unsolvable knots below the grommets on a 6G slider at the near-center, and also the outer span. The canopy rotation speed and sink rate was similar to a severe tension knot: if the knot is closer to center span, it can be manageable. If the knot is closer to the wingtip, the turn is rapid and disorienting just like a tension knot at that location.

 

 

Would be nice to get some unbiased opinions here for sure.  Ive been wondering about the 6G slider myself. Given that squirrel say its "one of the most compelling advancements in BASE parachute designs" and that its not a new invention,  there must be a reason why other manufacturers haven't adopted this because usually when there is an invention that works great, others are happy to use it. Examples include, SLATS(first used by Atair, then used by squirrel and I believe adrenalin now as well) and float flaps(first used by Squirrel in the Outlaw, now used by Atair as well).

Having read the white paper, squirrel clearly think that the slider is a big factor in tension knots. About the use of 5 control lines on the canopies, they say there are many other more important factors, while acknowledging that its logical to think that 1 control line extra means 1 line more that could potentially entangle. If the Outlaw didnt have a worse than average record when it comes to tension knots, that argument makes sense as the Outlaw I believe also has an extra control line. Would love to hear peoples opinions on that as well. 

[jakebaustin 9]

On 6/28/2023 at 10:06 AM, kleggo said:

Listen to the recent Exit Point podcast where Matt Gerdes and Will Kitto from Squirrel discuss this in detail.

Their website also has an excellent "white paper" on utilizing this design to separate the control lines from suspension lines.

maybe this linky will work??

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13FS-69F2ExGxwBw_nes_M1B5A9ENia8k-RQxgknw32U/edit?pli=1#bookmark=id.wmnzi6y4tp4j

No, Squirrel did not invent 6 grommet sliders, but they are smart to bring them into fixed object jumping canopies.

 

Craig

I couldnt find this white paper that you speak of but i read a lot of other interesting things.  Do you have a link to the whitepaper? 

[A-73988 4]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13FS-69F2ExGxwBw_nes_M1B5A9ENia8k-RQxgknw32U/edit

Also, if you go to squirrels website, click on Learn.  Its in there as well. 

[riggerrob 558]

6-holed sliders were more valuable back when bulky Dacron suspension lines were fashionable on tandems. Those bulky Dacron lines got even more bulky as they absorbed desert dust and became increasingly fuzzy as they aged. Only the best of packers could minimize tension knots in Dacron suspension lines. They had to walk the lines up at least 3 times to even tension.

[A-73988 4]

58 minutes ago, riggerrob said:

6-holed sliders were more valuable back when bulky Dacron suspension lines were fashionable on tandems. Those bulky Dacron lines got even more bulky as they absorbed desert dust and became increasingly fuzzy as they aged. Only the best of packers could minimize tension knots in Dacron suspension lines. They had to walk the lines up at least 3 times to even tension.

With respect to BASE canopies, what are the potential cons, if any,  of 6G sliders in your opinion? 

[riggerrob 558]

On 7/5/2023 at 11:25 AM, A-73988 said:

With respect to BASE canopies, what are the potential cons, if any,  of 6G sliders in your opinion? 

I am not a good source - of advice about BASE gear - since my last BASE jump was in 1986. I wore stock skydiving equipment. The only change was a larger pilot-chute and spider slider. The larger pilot-chute helped at low airspeeds. I believed that the 4-grommet spider slider helped keep line groups separate and neat.

Multiple generations of BASE gear have been built since then.