Katana or Stilleto

[frankiebrina 0]

As I previously had posted... I intend to downsize to an elliptical canopy. I currently fly a 150 Sabre and I intend to go to an 135 but I will demo a 150 elliptical a few jumps to make sure I can handle the 135. The big question here is.... I intend to do this in about 3 to 4 months. I was planning to purchase a Stilleto but now with the Katana coming out should I consider this option better???

[TALONSKY 0]

Unless you have already decided on only buying PD you should demo a few other canopies as well. The Samari by Big Air Sports, the Crossfire 2 by Icarus (my personal favorite) just to name a few. when I went elliptical I wish I would have demoed a few more canopies because there are alot of great canopies out there. Oh, you may also want to demo a Vengance to
Kirk

[Kris 0]

Solid advice, Kirk. PD makes some amazing products. I love my Stiletto a little more than a man really should.

But...now that I'm ready to get rid of my 190 and go to a 170 I decided to try several other canopies before blindly settling on a Stiletto or Vengeance 170.

Tried the Vengeance. Fun canopy, but I didn't like the openings. I really liked the Samurai as an all-around performer....then I tried the Crossfire2 at Rantoul. Wowza, I was blown away by it. I'm ordering it in a few more weeks.

I would really have liked to have tried a Katana, but the biggest they're making is a 150. Sigh...

Frankie, like Kirk stated, the point is, demo, demo, demo. Don't get hung up on brand. There are a lot of other manufacturer's out there with solid products.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[AggieDave 6]

Well, supposedly I'm going to get a demo Katana 150 once they're available, so standby for a detailed review, especially against the Xfire2 and the Cobalt (the Vengence, Stiletto and Heatwave as well).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[PhreeZone 15]

What? Not including the Sam in the review list?

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[AggieDave 6]

I wanted to, but BigAir Sports never got back to me to get me a demo. I dropped them a couple e-mails, but after I was ignored, I said fuckit. Especially since I don't really enjoy jumping airlocks anyways.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[trigger 0]

Don't want to sound like a canopy nazi i'm notbut 250 jumps total isn't alot when what your considerring what is effectively a double downsize,going elliptical and smaller at the same time.Maybe you should[its up to you]keep the 150 sabre a while longer and if your thinking about 'swooping' i think you'll be suprized at what's possible with a sabre. edited to add:exwhuffo's reply to your last thread[wish to downsize]was IMO the best advice you got regarding your question.though the best advice isn't always the advice you want to hear

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[freekflyguy 0]

Frankie

I would echo the statement about not changing planform and size at the same time.

I went from a Jonathan 150/ Sabre 150 (I jump both regularly in my job) to a Stiletto 135 and after a few jumps decided to go for a Stilleto 150.

Get yourself an eliptical of the same size you are jumping and put a good number of jumps on it before you downsize. You may find that the gain in changing planform may be enough to defer your desire to downsize.

As it happens I now have a Jonathan 150 (eliptical) for sale at a very reasonable price, and could easily bring it over whjen i go to Perris next week

Buzz

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

[JJohnson 0]

> I love my Stiletto a little more than a man really should<

Are you going to have to explain any strange stains or spots on the canopy when you go to sell it???

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[Kris 0]

Quote

Are you going to have to explain any strange stains or spots on the canopy when you go to sell it???

Luckily, those were on the cell that got replaced after it blew out.

Hmm....maybe we're onto something here.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[frankiebrina 0]

Thanks!! For all the feedback. Now my question is How to get these canopies for me to demo with. Also is it OK for me to use my javelin J1 container with a 135 if i choose to demo that size. It might stay a little loose wouldn't you say?? Also the thread went towards the safety side and has no mention on wether I would be capable of flying a Katana. (Is it more HP then the Stiletto and Crossfire 2)

[AndyMan 7]

You should consider the option different... There will most likely be plusses and minuses to the canopy that you like. PD has said it is not a replacement for the Stiletto, they're still going to sell both.

Hopefuly by the time you're actually going to buy it, you'll be able to do a demo of both. That is the best approach.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[koz2000 1]

How to get the demo, the best way is to go to your local PD dealer and have him/her request a demo. Or you can go to the PD website and go to Katana and request a demo. They do charge a fee.

The Katana is similar to the Crossfire2 and the Nitron as far as the ability to dive on front risers. If you take things slowly and carefully you'll be ok on the Katana if you can fly a Stiletto. I wouldn't necessarily say that it will be more HP than the Crossfire2 (which is an incredible diving canopy), but it is closer to a Velocity (crossbrace) than the stiletto. IMHO, the stiletto was only HP as far as it's toggle turn rate, not a good diving canopy.

http://www.performancedesigns.com/katana/testlogs.asp

As far as a J1 and a 135 you'll be ok as long as your closing loop is tight. The position that Sunpath puts the closing loop allows for more varience in canopy size. Many moons ago, I had a J4 with a 150. It was soft but still safe.

D

______________________________________________
- Does this small canopy make my balls look big? - J. Hayes -

[frankiebrina 0]

thanks for the input

[jeremyneas 0]

Quote

I love my Stiletto a little more than a man really should.

And the crowd goes wild after the 'blacklight' swooping contest!!!

[karlm 0]

Great feed back - nice to see the jumpers with more experience not getting all "hot dog" and saying "go ahead jump the smaller canopy, you'll handle it"

The one thing I have learned is that smaller does not equal faster all the time, I would do as suggested and fly a 150 elliptical for the next few hundred jumps (dont know your LW) and then move to a 135. As when the shit hits the fan on the 135, you'll need all the skills you can gather.

I have also attached two articles from PD about canopy choice and downsizing, good reads both of them, may help you make the right choice.

What I found moving from square to elliptical was, that the canopy became more radical, but still staying within my control limitations, if I had tried to downsize at the same time, my name would have been in a different forum. ;-)

Also, get the demo gear, and jump it like you stole it - get the real feel for the canopy if you can get atleast 5 to 10 jumps on each, before making the choice, also speak to the jumpers who ly the make and model on a regular basis, and even chat to your Inst.

Better never to have met you in my dream than to wake and reach for hands that are not there.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

As I previously had posted... I intend to downsize to an elliptical canopy. I currently fly a 150 Sabre and I intend to go to an 135 but I will demo a 150 elliptical a few jumps to make sure I can handle the 135. The big question here is.... I intend to do this in about 3 to 4 months. I was planning to purchase a Stilleto but now with the Katana coming out should I consider this option better???

Buy a Stiletto 150 for a good price with just a couple hundred jumps on the lineset. You'll find that it's a lot more sensitive to control input than your Sabre 150. After 100-200 jumps and you have no problems with Bill von Novak's list of things to do before downsizing, demo modern designs that interest you (Crossfire 2, Katana, Samurai), buy the one you like the next size down, and sell the Stiletto for what you paid.

You'll learn a lot from a hundred jumps under the Stiletto, and will be safer from not making the planform and size changes at the same time.

I switched from a Monarch 135 (square) to a Batwing 134 (elliptical) for a season, and then bought my beloved Stiletto 120. It was more of a handful than the Extreme FX104 I tried when jumping my Batwing. At first my Stiletto didn't always fly straight after planeout or land me standing up. Transitioning directly from my Monarch to my Stiletto probably would have been worse.

[fool 0]

Shouldn't be a problem at all. I have a J1 with a 120 in it. as long as the closing loop is short enough, it's fine.

S.E.X. party #1

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "f*#k, what a ride".