This ought to test your knowledge.

[scottbre 0]

Ok, I have a vector 2 rig, and the part of the rig that connects the leg straps to the rig (right at the hip position) is basically a stiff plastic piece that is sown into the strap with the material around it. Of course it is sown into the main part of the container and sown into where the leg strap joins with the should straps. On the left side of the rig, that plastic piece inside the strap has managed to crease and eventually work itself to where it has split into two pieces inside the material that surrounds it. This, of course produced a couple pointy corners which have cut through the stitching (over time), which is how I noticed the break in the plastic.
My question is this. How would I go about getting that fixed? Because it seems to me that that plastic is there for added strength and it wouldn't be very smart to jump it with out getting that strength back. I am pretty sure that a rigger could take care of the stitching that has come undone but would they be able to replace the plastic inside? Because it seems like that would require undoing the stitching that holds the legstrap to the container and the stitching that holds the strap to the shoulder strap, before you would be able to take the broken piece of plastic out and put a new one in. That seems like a LOT of sewing.
Views on whether, how, and for how much money this can be done?
Scott
"Can't keep my mind from the circling sky. Tongue-tied & twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I."

[PhreeZone 15]

For major work like this most riggers need to see the part up close in person before desiding on a cost. If the work involved is a lot of time or needs special parts or sewing machines, its been my experience that the rigger says to ship it to the factory. I'd say call The Relative Workshop and talk to them directly on it. They are probally the only ones that would have the plastic stiffeners laying around and they could get it done lots quicker then your rigger, unless hes fixed this type of thing before.
Also a master rigger might need to do the work if its on major structial places, like it sounds like yours is.
I'm not sure what to put here right now.....

[Unisyn 0]

You should really contact the Relative Workshop about shipping to them for the repair. This is a major repair. The harness and the bottom of the container have to be unstitched to replace the plastic stiffener.

[riggerrob 562]

Sounds like a job for a Master Rigger.
Unysin was correct in saying that you have to unstitch the hip joint and lower corner of the main container, which will take a couple of hours of skilled labor.
Nice guess, but that stiffener is not a structural component. The stiffener was originally designed to prevent twisting the horizontal back strap, back when leg-mounted pilotchutes were fashionable. A twisted horizontal - and bridle - would cause a pilotchute-in-tow malfunction and the scary scenario of having to deploy your reserve past a pilotchute-in-tow.
Now that BOCs are fashionable, the primary reason for that stiffener has vanished. However, many skydivers became accustomed to the feel of the extra stiffener and insist on having it for comfort's sake.
While the stiffener is not a structural component, its sharp edges are starting to damage structural stitching, so don't jump it until it has been repaired.
Any Master Rigger can do the repair provided he has the materials and sewing machines. The repair will take an hour or two and cost upwards of US$100. Most Senior Riggers will return this kind of repair to the original manufacturer: Relative Workshop.

[scottbre 0]

Well, if that stiffener isn't a structural part of the harness, would it just be simpler to have a rigger trim the two corners so that they aren't pointy and then just restitch the little area that has come undone, leaving the creased stiffener inside. It's on the left hip of the harness so even if I wanted to use a leg mounted throw out that would be on the other side. Because if that is something that will work, that is something much simpler that a senior rigger could probably do very easily. 15 to 20 minutes even. Would trimming those corners so that they are smooth rounded edges instead of the sharp pointy ones, which resulted from the initial break, be sufficient to keep it from snagging and severing the stitching that is next to it again? If the plastic stiffener has no structure significance, beyond stiffening that strap (no load bearing purpose), then it could just be left in and restitched. Correct me if I am wrong.
That would sure save me time, because I don't want to have to wait weeks while I send my rig off to relative workshops to get it fixed, if a perfectly safe solution is right at my dropzone.
Scott
"Can't keep my mind from the circling sky. Tongue-tied & twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I."