stiletto or cobalt

[sweeney 0]

This is not a question of which one does someone recommend for me. I'm just wondering which main canopy is preferred by expierienced skydivers, stiletto's or cobalts.

[rgoper 0]

Sean:

In your profile, you have everything listed, except you jump numbers. i do not reccomend an elipitical canopy for anyone who has not been evaluated by an experienced canopy pilot who holds no alliance to a canopy manufacturer. when in doubt, go conservative, go ugly, but live to jump that elipitical.

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[Craig 0]

Just somthing to keep in mind with your poll. There is probibally more jumpers on the forums that have or do jump Stiletto's than Cobalts and this might reflect in your results, this is what I am guessing. There may also be poeple that have only jumped one of the two and will pick the one they jump. I have a Cobalt but have never jumped a stiletto so I could not tell you what is better, if either is. Sometimes it comes down to what the jumper wants out of the canopy.

[voodew1 0]

I have jumped a cobalt 120 from about jump number 110 at a light wing loading of 1.3 this is below what is considered as beginner from the manufacter and have had great results. One of the great things of the cobalt is in a spinning line twist condition as you reach for the handles to chop and your body goes to a neutral position the spin stops and you can kick out of it. I don't know what will happen on a high wing loading, but I will find out very shortly!

The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

[Unutsch 0]

i voted for the one and only Cobalt, mainly beacue it is made by a fellow Slowenian.
but i never jumped one, the same with the stiletto. and from what i saw, heard and read, i can only say, that they both are great

Check out the site of the Fallen Angels FreeflY Organisation:
http://www.padliangeli.org

[sweeney 0]

read the question one more time very carefully my friend

[AndyMan 7]

I know four people who've sold their cobalts within monthes of getting it.

I don't know anyone who's done this with their Stileto.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[hookitt 0]

The stiletto flies really nicely and every last one of them I've jumped opens comfortable and predictable.....(minus the occassional "I'ts a parachute, all parts move, it's bound to open like that now and then" type openings)...

Ive only jumped the Competition model. After around 50 jumps I couldn't take it any more. If the openings were consistant, or shall I say, comfortable and consistant, a competition model would be in my container. They fly great.

I know nothing about the regular cobalts or anything larger than a 65.

Edit: In all fairness, I plan to demo another Cobalt Comp model this year. It flew so well it's worth another try.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[sarge 0]

well, never flew a cobalt myself. Heard about .... 'sesational' opening issues (like numbing sensations) Try the, "gear reviews" section in this site..?

http://www.dropzone.com/gear/Main_and_Reserve_Canopies/Atair_Aerodynamics_USA/index.shtml

Most experienced hi-po pilots I'm aware of fly x's anyway... the rest of us humbles prefer whatever...
.

--
I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

[PhreeZone 15]

It takes a different technique to get Cobalts to open nice... but once learned (nose hanging as far open as possible, slider out, minimal tail rolls) its a sweet opener. 3.2 seconds is my average on video from out of bag to start of the slider moving down the lines (lots of video of the openings )... but I disliked the recovery arc and really like airlocks so I jump a Jedei now. I do miss the light riser pressure, way lighter then a Stiletto, and the nice flying while in line twists. I still have the Cobalt and will use it on wingsuit jumps and in my second rig all the time.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[hookitt 0]

Thanks Phreezone

Believe me, I've performed all that and more. Packing is not a mystery to me at all. Near the end, the openings became reasonable (note i did not say good near the end, only reasonable). However, it's of my opinion that having to open at a certain fallrate, a certain body position and don't even think of breathing at the time, is not a good feature.

I plan to skydive until I'm physically not capable of doing it any more so I'd like to extend that time as much as possible.

Thanks again.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[hookitt 0]

OH yes... I have many jumps on a Jedei as well, Loved the openings. didn't care for the flight characteristics of that model. (many years ago). Brian makes a kick ass parachute so I'm going to sereiously explore his productsl.

C-ya

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[JJohnson 0]

I've put only a few jumps on Stilettos, less than 20. I was not thrilled. The openings snivelled, I had line twists three times. The flare was not great and it flew kinda twitchy...my opinion. I bought a Cobalt after a few demo jumps and loved it. The openings are one of the best I know. I have had line twists here as well and getting out of them was a lot eaisier than any other canopy I have had. Riser pressure was lighter than the Stil and flare was better. Stil was faster in turns in toggles.

JJ

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[hookitt 0]

The line twists aren't because of the canopy, but that's besides the point. Question for you. What model Cobalt are you jumping? Several people at our dz jump them and really like em. They are 105's on up to like 150? Any way, None of those are the Competition models. I'm curious as to whether the Comp and the Regular cobalt's openings have been found to be very different.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[JJohnson 0]

While any canopy can get twists induced into it, some are more prone than others. The Stiletto is more prone than a Cobalt in my humble opinion. The nickname of Spinetto didn't come from me. So perhaps a better terminolgy might be "more sensitive to body position and packing methods"?
I jump a Cobalt 120. Have not jumped the Comp version yet, but looking forward to it.

JJ

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[hobbes4star 0]

i have jumped both. What i like is the cobalt is much more forgiving if you are still not perfect with you pack jobs. while a stiletto well isn't. as far as range and flair I found them to be just about equal..
just my opinion though.

if fun were easy it wouldn't be worth having, right?

[AndyMan 7]

Quote

The Stiletto is more prone than a Cobalt in my humble opinion. The nickname of Spinetto didn't come from me

The nickname Spinetto came about 10 years ago when everyone was jumping rectangular canopies, and didn't understand the importance of body position.

You should know this, jeff...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[jumperconway 0]

They both have opening issues. Pack a Crossfire any way you want and N O opening issues! I would dump my 99 in a full track and it won't hurt ya!

[PhreeZone 15]

And I used to throw my Cobalt from sits and stands and had better openings then my old Sectre...

Every canopy is different, even those off the same production line. Demo, Demo,Demo...

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[JJohnson 0]

Understood and agree, but please don't stop me from warping truth to prove my point. I'm practising for my career in politics.
The Stiletto would still, in my opinion be more sensitive than a Cobalt. This may stem from the fact that a Stiletto turns faster still than many current canopies. Again, my opinion only.

JJ

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[hookitt 0]

Quote

And I used to throw my Cobalt from sits and stands and had better openings then my old Spectre...

ZACTLY!!!!.. thats what my stiletto can handle. It also could care less how I pack it.

What kind of Cobalt was it? It seems the people at the dz I jump at, have good openings, but once again I believe none are the Comp model.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[LouDiamond 1]

Not trying to throw full on a fire here but I have noticed something here that shows itself to be consistent. First off, I am a Stilleto jumper and know of the spin issues everyone,even those who've never jumped one, speak of.

While I had my share of flying the openings at first I quicky realized I needed to be more aware of my body position on deployment. Since making those corrections I have yet to have to fly an opening on my Stilleto. As for riser pressure,, personally, I think people are spliting hairs here. Try pulling a T-10 riser or a 375' MC-4 riser then compare riser pressures. The stilleto has a light riser pressure IMO and if you think it's to much maybe you should hit the gym a bit.

I am not the best or fastest packer but I have been known to stuff some real footballs into my D bag and I yet to have deployment problems so i think the packing excuse is weak at best. I have found rolling the nose 4 & 4 helps the openings but other than that, it's all standard PRO pack.

So as you can probablly see, it all depends on the pilot under the canopy, since we've also seen conflicting Cobalt information in this thread as well. I think both canopies are excellent HP chutes that benifit the flyer that is best able to control them and feel comfortable with that chutes handling characteristics. Granted , there are some lemons out there that just don't seem to want to fly right but that is not the rule. Put a good pilot under any canopy and they will be able to swoop it for all it's worth.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[SkySlut 0]

I agree with you...its like arguing what flavor ice cream is the best.

As a side note:I believe that PD doesnt recommend rolling the nose on those canopies. The theory is that it is only going to give you an offheading opening. The chances that both sides would unwrap at the same time and equally are pretty astronomical. This would cause one side of the canopy to inflate first and then the other. Make sense. Thats what I got from Scott Miller anyways.

I like Chocolate Chip Ice cream the best!!!!

[hookitt 0]

Quote

I like Chocolate Chip Ice cream the best!!!!

MINT.. chocolate chip. MMmmmmm (now were fighting ... Ow... sorry you win, you win!!! chocolate is the best ice cream, chocolate is the best ice cream... Ok.. can I get up now?

Lou, The spinetto factor doesn't happen to me either. (although it has a couple times out of a few thousands jumps) I find doing NOTHING, works better than trying to assist the opening. It's not going to fly untill it's pressurized any way, The moment it's pressurize then do what you need to. Pull, stay square, and just let the parachute do it's thing, fly it when it's ready

C-ya

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[billdo 0]

Wow! So much conflicting info! What to make of all this?

My first 120 eliptical (not my first eliptical was a Stilleto 120, and was the best opening, extremely consistent canopy I have ever jumped. I put about 120 jumps on it. My WL was 1.9

I then bought a cobalt 120 (NOT Comp Cobalt) and had tons of trouble with openings but SO LOVED the way if flew and flared that I stayed with it like a difficult girlfriend and learned to make it work. Packing is different than with the Stilletto and I found it to be WAY MORE finicky than the stilleto.

In summary, I find the cobalt, which I still fly and love, to be a more "specialty" type canopy than a stilleto. A stilleto is a better all around performer, being extremely consistent. I've just found my own unique niche with the Cobalt. I think it's time I try a stilleto again though.

Sorry this probably doesn't help any.