HP Canopy Comparison: Katana vs Cobalt

[iambeav2 0]

After many counts of forum lurking AND searching, I have not found a thread that seriously brakes down just the differences b/w a Cobalt (either Comp or non Comp) and the PD Katana.

Can I just get feedback on these 3 canopies (Katana, Cobalt, Comp Cobalt).

I promise I've searched, and the 2 (and/or 3) have not been directly compared, always compared with numerous other canopies.

Wing loading is 1.4 on a 150 and I currently fly the Katana. Please offer your input and if I have overlooked the thread I am looking for, please post it and shut the thread. Thanks guys.

...it's not the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...it's the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until someone appreciates it for you!

[PhreeZone 15]

No comparison. The Katana dives steeper, has a stronger flare and the openings are more consistant in my opinion. The Katana is a much higher performance level of canopy in just about all aspects. I've got 250-275 jumps on a Cobalt 150 and a few dozen on similar sized (and smaller) Katanta's and if you are looking for a very high performance canopy then the Katana is the way to go.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

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[iambeav2 0]

Thanks PhreeZone!!

...it's not the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...it's the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until someone appreciates it for you!

[piahenzi 0]

for what it's worth, I went from a Crossfire 2 99 to a Katana 97 - miles different!!! - the dive on a Katana doesn't stop and the front risers are "butter" - they practically do the work themselves... A good friend of mine who has regulary flown a 74, 84 and 90 Velo with serious w/l'ings LOVES my Katana. His w/l on it is probably around 2.2-2.3 on it so that says something for sure...

[Brains 2]

I'll give this a shot. I have a couple hundred jumps on a cobalt 105, couple hundred on an H-modded cobalt 105 (basically a comp cobalt) and a couple hundred on a Katana 107. I agree with what phree said regarding dives. The katana dives like no other canopy i have ever jumped. I have never flown a crossbraced canopy so that comparison is only other nine and seven cells. The katana also has lighter front riser pressure than the regular cobalt and about the same as my h-modded cobalt. Glide ratio on the katana is also steepest between the three with the comp being slightly steeper than the regular cobalt. When jumping the katana, you learn quickly how far out in front of you that you need to be planning, it is much different than the other two canopies and everything happens much faster. Openings are butter on all of them (I had a "good" cobalt) The katana openings do tend to seek slightly on opening but never violent or spinning, just searching and almost always ended with end cell closure that tended to clear quickly. Personally i liked this as i was almost always jumping full camera gear (ftp, 20d,vid, flash.) and have neck problems. My cobalt (both) liked to be bumped on rears for the swoop and then would need very little additional input with a long toggle stroke and tons of bottom end power for the final flare. It took me a while to get used to the katana, and found that steady pressure on the rears and a smooth transition to toggles was best. I still believe that no other canopy has more bottom end lift than a cobalt. I don't necessarily think one is better than the others, it is all about preference and what you like to do with your canopy. If i were still jumping and trying to compete in cpc, i would get another katana without question.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[cefey 1]

First of all, [email protected] is maybe to low wingload. By changing a canopy to Springo or something in that class, you can get much more out of it.
For the second, try Crossfire2.

Sorry for litle offpost:)

Blue skys and soft landings to all!

[Sergey-san 0]

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A good friend of mine who has regulary flown a 74, 84 and 90 Velo

Then your friend must have a pretty rare canopy, cosidering the fact that PD don't make custom sizes for general public:) As far as I know the smallest Velo available is 75sq.ft.;)

And not to deviate from the subjuct, I think it would be much more interesting to compare Katana and Radical (new canopy from Atair Slovenia, which is an evolution of the venerable Cobalt). Although I realize that skydivers in the US are much more familiar with Cobalt and Cobalt Comp., but those are the canopies from the era of Crossfire I and Stiletto... Katana entered the stage much later and now mostly faces competition from Crossfire II and Mamba.

Cobalt, in its turn, has evolved into Radical. The most noticeable improvements are vectran lineset and interesting end-cell design.

http://www.basetroll.com/products_3.html

[piahenzi 0]

sorry - typo!! Actually PD only lists down to a 79 on their site, right?? Nevertheless, the point stands that a Katana can be a lot of fun for even a die hard Velo pilot.... at least the one I can reference to Crossfire2 is a great canopy - ( I came off a Stiletto 107 to that) but the Katana is a different animal altogether...

[Sergey-san 0]

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sorry - typo!! Actually PD only lists down to a 79 on their site, right??

That's right, maybe they no longer offer those tiny handkerchiefs:)

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but the Katana is a different animal altogether...

Although I have very limited experience with Katana (a couple of jumps on 120 and several demo-jumps on 107 when PD rep visited our DZ in Michigan), I will definately agree with you that Katana has a noticeably longer recovery arc than a Crossfire II. Does it mean that one is better than the other? I wouldn't be so sure, because I've seen some remarkable swoops on a Crossfire and some lousy landings on Katana... much depends on the pilot and his personal skill level:)

I've also put several demo jumps on Radical 105, and its recovery arc was very long as well! But that's not enough to draw a decent comparison, that requires a couple of hundred jumps on each canopy and much more experienced pilot:))))

I think SkymonkeyOne can tell a detailed story of Cobalt platform...
And maybe someone who's got experience with the new Radical can step in and share his knowledge of that canopy....

Problem is that we have considerably less info about Cobalt and Radical because most of the seasoned pilots fly either Katana or Crossfire:(

[piahenzi 0]

...agree on the Crossfire2 and Katana comment re piloting and I shld add that I learned a lot on the Crossfire2 coming off the Stiletto - first off, for me, add 250 feet for a 270 if you want to get it remotely right..

[likestojump 3]

so - IS there anyone with enough jumps on a Radical to give us their opinion ? I always thought Comp Cobalts are the shitznit, wonder what the Radical brings us.

thanks in advance.

[karma 3]

I've jumped the radical and the katana. Here is what I think of them.

Openings: I found the openings on the radical to be better. The katana seeks much more, it's much more nervous on opening. Both open soft.

Flight: in flight both canopy's are great. Light toggle pressure, but both have a tendency to oversteer. Once you get used to it, it isn't much of a problem.

Riser pressure: the katana has really low riser pressure. The radical also has low riser pressure, but it's higher then on the katana, and when using fronts it builds up more the on the katana.

Dive: the dive on the katana is aggressive. It dives longer then the radical. This is not to say that the radical doesn't dive, the katana just dives harder and a bit longer. The recovery arc is longer on the katana.

The radical is in my opinion a step up from the cobalt competition performance wise.

Overall, I think the katana is a bit more high performance.