Clownburner 0 #1 March 3, 2003 Since the tempo isn't being made anymore , are there good alternatives? What about the new Aerodyne Smart reserve? Has anyone tried 'em yet? Can you demo reserves somehow? I know the PDR is a perennial favorite, but I'd like a big-ole-honkin reserve canopy and the PDR seems to pack so large that it'll be hard to fit in a container sized for my main. It's always an option (and a good one), but the Tempo was well liked by a lot of people with many chops and it seems a shame to lose it to the tempestuous winds of skydiving equipment manufacturers. TIA7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BoobieCootie 0 #2 March 3, 2003 Get a Raven Dash-M. It saved my butt on jump 176 (01/18/03). Do a search on "cheaper than a hospital bill" in the Safety and Training forum. There's a service bulletin for certain ones built prior to 1999, so make sure you get it done if it needs it. Besides that, I've heard that Performance Designs makes solid reserves. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ojf1982 0 #3 March 3, 2003 The reason for PD Reserves packng slightly larger is because they are reinforced so much more than other reserves. Personally, just because it packs a little bigger than usual (not a whole alot) is no reason to compromise on safety. Spend the extra money and get a PD reserve. Just my 2 cents.The edge ... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who know where it is are those that have gone over - Hunter S. Thompson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveMonkey 0 #4 March 3, 2003 The Techno seems to be another popular choice as well.____________________ Say no to subliminal messages Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #5 March 3, 2003 They have more reenforement, but they are also sized larger. A tempo is sized via one method and the PD is another. Basic fomula is advertized tempo area *.93 = PD reserve size. A PD would pack small too if I was saying a 143 was a 160.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveMonkey 0 #6 March 3, 2003 Shouldn't it be PD size *.93 = tempo size (actual)____________________ Say no to subliminal messages Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #7 March 3, 2003 If you are looking for a bit cheaper choise from SA , how about Chute Shop´s decelerator ? I have no experience about it though... EDIT: since im a finn I cant spell at all.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #8 March 3, 2003 And I also would guess that you can still find Tempos that some dealers have in stock.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #9 March 3, 2003 I'm mainly looking for 'smaller pack volume' not 'cheaper.' But if it's just that the PD's are bigger (named smaller) than their actual size, it could be that I'm tilting at windmills here. I suppose if I'm going to get stuck with a custom container anyway (owing to my wierd dimensions), I can just have them size it for the big-fat-PD and live with it. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #10 March 3, 2003 QuoteI know the PDR is a perennial favorite, but I'd like a big-ole-honkin reserve canopy and the PDR seems to pack so large that it'll be hard to fit in a container sized for my main. Do you understand why it does? PDr's are larger, according to PIA standards, then their listed size. For instance, my PDr 176 is actually almost a 189. All I happy having for a reserve is a PD reserve, IMHO they make the best reserve on the market.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f1freak 0 #11 March 4, 2003 I guess i like tempo's because i have seen the BEAUTIFUL white above my head..... I think that the tempo reserve was a grade a reserve, and i have never thought twice about what i have up high on my back.... it was nice having a company that produced a quality product at a lower price (i guess that's a good reason to buy them out....)...HAVE FUN... ...JUST DONT DIE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygod7777 0 #12 March 4, 2003 i know the guy who designed the smart reserve and the tempo. they are both very good reserves. the smart is tso C23-D. has been tested at crazy weights, well over the minimums (at least dominic told me that) Phree: and saying that tempo's are smaller than PD's, well that is true, i guess, by PIA standards the tempo is closer the the actually size than the PDR's are. a tempo 150 is like a 144, and a PDR 126 is actually a 138 (or is it 137) at tempo 170 is actually a 180, pdr 176 actually like 180 something (almost 180) pdr 160, up in the high 170's. so who says PD's way of measuring a canopy is right. look in the back of paragear, all the sizes there have been measured useing PIA standards. sandy reid has measured a lot of the canopies out of the market, and also given the pack volumes. and givin size for size, the tempo's just pack smaller. like a tempo 170 is actually a 180, but still packs smaller than any other (claimed to be) 170 out there. and at the moment, PIA is trying to come up with a new method to standerdize it. but getting all of the manufactors to do this, is difficult. as to someone saying getting a Dash M. i don't recomend it. the smaller ones (150 and below) or the sizes that are loaded up at all, stall very easily. like just below your shoulder. i don't like that personally. but it's not me hanging under one. (i could be a little biase, i have had a friend go in under a dash m with broken A and B lines, and had another friend break his back from his 120 dash m stalling, and onother break his wrist from his 150 stalling). i would recomend a tempo (used), smart, PDR (even though they pack big). i can't say anything about a techno, i have no experience with them, or have seen one. the new precision reserve looks good, looks very strong in the construction, and i have seen video's of the flight characterists, and they look good. Icarus is coming out with a reserve, it should be out in the next couple of months (about May i think, but i'm not possitive), and it seamed to sound good, but i haven't seen it's flight performance, but the construction looked strong. i also want to say, i don't want to start any big debates. this is all just my opinion. and opinions are like assholes...........everyone has 1, and they all stink later Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rdutch 0 #13 March 4, 2003 I looked at the aerodyne smart reserve at the PIA, and it looked like a good reserve, I also talked to their rep for a while about what made it so good. But the one issue I have is they use type 3 tape as a line attatchment. That is the same tape that made precision recall their reserves. When I asked him about that, he told me that they are using a different bartack that doesn't weaken the tape. Mike Truffer from skydive magazine did a few pull tests on the tape, and the tape broke not just the attatchment. This is in an issue of Skydiving from a few months back. This said, the canopy is tso'd so it has proven itself in that manner. But I wouldn't reccomend wing loading it a lot. Ray Small and fast what every girl dreams of! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #14 March 4, 2003 Yes, it'd be hard to be one of the first people to carry a new reserve chute ... 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jib 0 #15 March 4, 2003 QuoteBut the one issue I have is they use type 3 tape as a line attatchment. That is the same tape that made precision recall their reserves. I recently asked about that and Ian's reply was: "Based upon feedback we received from riggers in the field and their lack of confidence in type III tape due to the Raven failures, we have used wider Type I tape on the Smart line attachments." -------------------------------------------------- the depth of his depravity sickens me. -- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark135 0 #16 March 5, 2003 sounds like your freinds forgot BASIC SKYDIVING 101 "when under a canopy you are not familiar with, test the flare point and stall point at altitude" I've had 3 rides on my 181-m and all were very nice landings. s to someone saying getting a Dash M. i don't recomend it. the smaller ones (150 and below) or the sizes that are loaded up at all, stall very easily. like just below your shoulder. i don't like that personally. but it's not me hanging under one. (i could be a little biase, i have had a friend go in under a dash m with broken A and B lines, and had another friend break his back from his 120 dash m stalling, and onother break his wrist from his 150 stalling)._______________ "It seemed like a good idea at the time" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skygod7777 0 #17 March 5, 2003 Quotesounds like your freinds forgot BASIC SKYDIVING 101 "when under a canopy you are not familiar with, test the flare point and stall point at altitude" I've had 3 rides on my 181-m and all were very nice landings. yes, that is pretty much what it came down to. but you have a 181, they are not as bad as the smaller ones also. precision freefly admits that they have a short toggle stroke. and for a reserve, in my opinioin, shouldn't have such a short toggle stroke. even precision doesn't. on there new reserve, they made a deeper toggle stroke. later Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 561 #18 March 5, 2003 If you want to match the pack volume of a Tempo, buy a Techno or Raven. If reserve container sizing has you confused, borrow a page from the Infinity boys. Simply order your reserve container to fit a P.D. XXX reserve and any other reserve that claims to have similar square footage will fit in gracefully. Oh, and my pet peeve is six different canopy manufacturers using six different measuring methods! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beppo 0 #19 March 5, 2003 Rob, one question: Do you think a PDF Techno is as strong as a PD Reserve? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #20 March 5, 2003 QuoteRob, one question: Do you think a PDF Techno is as strong as a PD Reserve? Or is PD Reserve as strong as PDF Techno ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #21 March 5, 2003 Actually, if you want a Tempo, just buy a Tempo. They are still on the shelf at plenty of gear stores. I happen to know a place not 50 feet from where I am sitting that sells them for $550 and has them in stock (SkyKAT, but I wouldn't want to advertise on the forums). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 37 #22 March 5, 2003 QuoteQuotesounds like your freinds forgot BASIC SKYDIVING 101 "when under a canopy you are not familiar with, test the flare point and stall point at altitude" I've had 3 rides on my 181-m and all were very nice landings. later I'll agree with the stall point. I love my Tempo 120's, but when I jumped my Dash-M 109, I had just had a spinning mal and by the time I opened my reserve and got the toggles unstowed I was at 1100 feet. I got back to the dz and turned into the wind. I had forgotten to do a test flare. I flared it like I flare my Tempos (and I'm up to 12 or 13 reserve rides total on a variety of canopies) - which was a "staged" flare like I flare mains - with that flare my Tempo lands beautifully. I stalled out the Dash-M hard and had my worst landing since I landed a 23 foot round reserve. I'm selling my canopy and getting another Tempo. Think I might buy one last Tempo for my 4th rig because I like them so much. W Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #23 March 5, 2003 Interesting. So, can you demo a reserve canopy? I know the FAA allows one 'familiarization' jump of a reserve as a main and still have it packed as a reserve. Do the manufacturers allow for demos?7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooknswoop 19 #24 March 5, 2003 QuoteI know the FAA allows one 'familiarization' jump of a reserve as a main and still have it packed as a reserve. The FAA doesn't say that. At least one manufacturer, that has a bridle attachment point on some of their reserves, allows a canopy to be jumped once as a main, then either as a reserve only or never used as a reserve. Hook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Clownburner 0 #25 March 5, 2003 Ok, apparently I was misinformed, then. I suppose that means that manufacturers don't let you demo reserve parachutes. Makes it hard to choose then, doesn't it? I would think introducing a new reserve parachute is pretty difficult then, as you have only the TSO certs to prove the darn thing works. I know personally I wouldn't want to bet on a new reserve design no one has jumped. I'm not even thrilled with the idea of not being able to test the actual reserve I'm jumping with. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
