Shit!! How do I get the damn thing in the bag!?!?

[Jeth 0]

Ok, I just spent the last 2 and a half hours trying to pack. The operative word is "trying". I think I packed a line-over, the bag barely closed and theres fabric hanging out. And I think I mis-routed the bridle and closed the flaps in the wrong order. AAAAAARRRRGGGGGG!!!!!!

I really hope its true that it gets easier. This is only my 3rd attempt. But I have all these lofty aspirations of packing for myself this season. At this rate, thats never gonna happen!!

Is the bag supposed to close completely, so the flap is touching the ends on the sides of the bag? In my pack job the bands are stretched way tight and theres canopy coming out between each of them. Definitely not pretty! But I can't imagine getting that bundle small enough to completely fit in the bag. I was freakin tired on this one so I just had to get the damn thing closed for now.

Well, guess I'll give it another try tomorrow.

p.s. Ok, AJ, I get it. Now I know why you didn't pack your rig last season! (But we'll get it eventually, right!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[BlueSBDeath 2]

You will get it some day, weed hopper!!!

I see from your profile you are a software person, so use some compression to control the buffer overflow from the bag

Never give up!! Keep at it and you will learn to control the evil nylon!!

Arvel

BSBD...........Its all about Respect,

USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499

[skybill 18]

Hi Jeth,
Get an old C-9 in a sleeve!!!!! Just kidding!! Getting the canopy in the bag is a bitch especially ZP!! Get with your rigger and other experienced jumpers for tips and Practise, practise, practise!!! Eventually it will all come together.

You can cheat and use a slightly larger bag.

SCR-2034, SCS-680

III%,
Deli-out

[vskydiver 0]

Well. this is a good time of year to practice packing. Are you flat packing or pro packing? Flat is a little easier to learn at first and control the canopy, pro packing is fast and easy once you master it. I would recommend flat packing and getting a little more instruction. A good packer can show you all the little tricks of using elbows, knees, and kung fu leverage to win the battle. Little things can make a huge difference. Good luck.

[OzoneJunkie 0]

Votes for Thread Subject Text of the week. Made me laugh, thanks. And yeah, been there before - years ago. It'll happen...

[Jeth 0]

Thanks, guys!
Yup, thats why I wanted my own gear now, so I could use the winter to practice!
At this point I can't imagine having a pack job I'd feel comfortable jumping! But hopefully soon...

Thanks.

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[Superfletch 1]

I remember those days... hahahaha... I can pack one in 4 minutes now.

Anyway the rubber bands stretched to max won't hurt it. There are plenty of tips and tricks you can use. Next time you are at the DZ have the local packer show you some stuff. He/She'll save you tons of time with just a few tricks. The whole key to packing is controling the canopy and realizing that no matter what you do, the damn thing is going to open. When you've packed as many as I have you'll just end up stuffing the damn things in as best you can and getting on with the jumping.

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[Frenchy68 0]

Here's the deal. Before you know it, you'll cut packing time down to about 10 minutes. Then you'll get that brand new ZP canopy you ordered, and you'd better be prepared for more of the 2 hour pack job again...

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."

[GaryP 0]

You DON'T need to make the mouth of the bag close over so that the grommets meet the other side. Bands stretched across the mouth and canopy visible is FINE. Just make sure the lines aren't retained too tightly by the extra tension placed on the bands.

When trying to get a canopy in the bag it's best to hold the pack-job and move/mould the bag around it rather than holding the bag still and forcing the canopy into the bag.

I usually sit my S-folded canopy ON TOP of the bag (with the mouth folded open and upward). Lke this, the rear-corners of the pack job are already near the rear of the bag and all I need do is carefully reach under and open enough of the mouth of the bag to pop the pack job inside. Then, some more wiggling and nudging and the canopy is now pretty much in the bag and now I can use a bit of pull force to close the bag.

Likewise when putting a bag (or free-canopy) into a container, hold the bag and mould the container around it to fit by pulling each flap around and over the bag rather then forcing the bag into the container and reefing closed with a pull-up.

Dedicating one hand to holding the pack-job still whilst using the free hand to manipulate the bag or container around the pack-job is the best way to do this and it retains the integrity of the pack and promotes on-headings.

Just my 0.02

g.

"Altitude is birthright to any individual who seeks it"

.

[Travman 6]

I tried packing my sabre for the first time on Wednesday... tried - still haven't gotten it into the dbag. I know I am missing a step between flaking the nose and wrapping the back around the canopy.
Just haven't had time to have another look.

[skr 1]

This is like some kind of rite of passage :-) :-)

I think the main trick is watching other people pack.

Keep trying yourself and remember all the hard spots,
then watch how other people cope.

I was lucky, the PD flying circus came through about
the same time I encountered my first slippery canopy.
I watched them pack a bunch of rigs and tried to
remember all their moves.

Then I practiced about 10 times at home during the
week before I tried it out in public.

I've seen people use a number of techniques that
I wouldn't use, but I've also learned some good
moves just hanging out watching people pack.


For the really new and slippery ones I use all four
legs, six arms, several other appendages, chin, chest,
elbows, knees, and some secret Tibetan words to keep
it contained in the last stages of stacking it up and
getting it in the bag.

Canopy material comes with built in sensors that look
for unconstrained places, and if it finds more than about
a square centimeter it squirts out there like a watermelon
seed.

That's its mission in life.


Just remember that you are smarter than a pile of nylon,
and if you keep trying, and stealing other people's tricks,
you'll have it mastered in 20 or 30 tries.

Skr

[sunshine 2]

Quote

Ok, AJ, I get it. Now I know why you didn't pack your rig last season!

AJ didn't pack cause she knows how much i love packing for her.
Seriously though, once the weather is good, you know i'll meet up with you at the DZ and teach you to pack. I used to always teach people on my sabre2 cause it was a breeze to pack, but now i have a new canopy that is a bitch to pack. We'll find someone with a smaller canopy and practice on that til you're good, then we'll move up to your canopy.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[bodypilot1 0]

Have someone, that KNOWS how to pack, watch you so you dont bevelope bad habits also.

And most of all, don't give up, you'll get it.



Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[GQ_jumper 4]

when i first got my new canopy(brand new ZP!!!) there was a full proof way i found to get it in the bag. lay the canopy on the ground after you take it off your back, it doesn't matter how you lay it out, you can drop it in a pile if you'd like, this technique works either way. now heres the tricky part.... walk away from the canopy. go find a packer, and drop a couple bucks to have them pack it for you!!! jk. seriously though what i did was pay to have it repacked for them while i looked over their shoulder and had them explain to me what they were doing. then after i felt like i knew it, i would do it myself and ask one of them to look over my shoulder as i repacked it. and at pretty much any dropzone i guarantee there are friendly people with tons of experience willing to show you their techniques if they see you having trouble. i watched tons of people show me different techniques picked what worked for me, combined them and now i can get my canopy in the bag easier than any of them. don't get frustrated, give it time. and its probably best that you don't try to "figure it out" without someone watching cause you may develop a habit of doing soemthing wrong that could bite you in the ass later.

good luck and take care

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

[killler 2]

The easy way for you to learn packing is to flat pack... And a ZP canopy thats new is better to flat pack for the first 25/50 jumps for a new packer...

The key is to remove all the air you can (roll your body from tail to nose on top of the canopy) and then close the nose to stop air from getting back in...

As long as you get the lines all laying in a group in the center and the stabilizers clear... IT will OPEN...

To make the canopy more in the bag, Stand the bag on it's mouth and pull the bag down to meet the flap... And don't forget to make the lines nice and neat with a good 2 to 2 1/2inch loop from the rubber band and it's tight.... New micro line LOVES to dump.... Take your time.... The more you play with it the better you'll get....

Kiler......

[darrenspooner 0]

When I posted about this a few months ago I had a brand new sabre 2. Like trying to get a jelly into a condom. Someone told me to talk nice to it, but I found it much better if I swore and abused it.

Secondly though, use a pull up to get the mouthlock on, then think about tidying it up. Another tip that someone local showed me was, when its on the floor get your knees on the end, just above the label, and hold it in place with all your weight. Then lift the whole thing up laying flat against your stomach and chest, and hold the twisted tail with your hands. Don't let go of the twisted tail until its ready to go in the bag. Fold it in half so the end that attaches to the bag is on the floor, and your hand that's holding the twisted tail is still holding it about in the fold. Keep hold of the twisted up tail. Fold it in, fold it in, fold it in. Rolling, squashing, folding, with your knees still on the label. Then get the bag ready and stuff it in. Get the pull up in the bungee and lock it closed. Then tidy it up.

Good luck, you poor poor poor newbie.

Failing that, buy something old or find a packer!

[Tilion 0]

It doesn't matter much how you get it in there, as long as you get it out again ;).

[dropoutdave 0]

Feet....use lots of feet.

------------------------------------------------------
May Contain Nut traces......

[colossus 0]

I feel your pain man. I just got myself a Sabre2, and I am having a bitch of a time trying to put it in the bag. All I can say is practice, practice practice. Heck, I am at a small dz, so there is no way that I would be able to get a packer for myself.

Anyways, good luck!

[intheclouds 0]

I hear your pain, I'm at the same stage. Brand new ZP great to jump and fly but a bitch to pack!!! The trouble I have is from the S fold to getting it in the bag, everything else is fine. Anyway I'm off to practise, practise, practise. Keep at it, your not alone. Everyone tells me that it's a rite of passage for a newbie.

• Quote

[IanHarrop 37]

Here's one idea...

Precision packing (I think its also known as Psycho Pack, please correct me if I am wrong)

I do not use this process and do not vouch for it. There are much more knowledgeable people than I that can comment on this process.

http://www.precision.aero/packing.htm

Watch the video at the bottom of the page. It will make you sick how fast he sticks this thing in the bag.

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[Jeth 0]

Quote

Quote

Ok, AJ, I get it. Now I know why you didn't pack your rig last season!

AJ didn't pack cause she knows how much i love packing for her.
Seriously though, once the weather is good, you know i'll meet up with you at the DZ and teach you to pack. I used to always teach people on my sabre2 cause it was a breeze to pack, but now i have a new canopy that is a bitch to pack. We'll find someone with a smaller canopy and practice on that til you're good, then we'll move up to your canopy.

Thanks, Sunny! ) I will definitely look for you when I get back there!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[Jeth 0]

Quote

I hear your pain, I'm at the same stage. Brand new ZP great to jump and fly but a bitch to pack!!! The trouble I have is from the S fold to getting it in the bag, everything else is fine. Anyway I'm off to practise, practise, practise. Keep at it, your not alone. Everyone tells me that it's a rite of passage for a newbie.

Yup, as darrenspooner said - us "poor, poor newbies". But we'll get it eventually!

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[soarfree 0]

Quote

Quote

Ok, AJ, I get it. Now I know why you didn't pack your rig last season!

AJ didn't pack cause she knows how much i love packing for her.

I didn't pack for so many reasons But now thanks to Jeth and JustABill I've gotten it into the bag once. Now time for more practice!

And Sunny I'll be looking for some packing tips as well, but don't worry you're not losing a customer... I'll still need you during those days of training and 4way competition! (and um.. til this canopy gets more jumps on it so it's easier to pack!)

Well behaved women rarely make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

[tigra 0]

Hey Jeth, what did you buy and is it new? When both me and my rig were "new", I used a packer for a long time. I finally started practicing at home, but I'd bring it in mostly packed (but looking really bad, IMO) and dump it out right in front of my packer and have him redo it. He'd always be happy to take my money, but he was also quick to point out the job I did wasn't that bad and it would have opened!

You've got til at least March to practice anyway, right? There's a video- How to Pack Like a Pro- that might help too. You could order it from Para Concepts or Paragear.