R Bird or Phantom 2

[alygator 2]

Hi and sorry for my bad english.
I have a prodigy2 and about 20 jump with it. I look for my new ws and for the same price i can buy a brand new phantom2 or an used Rbird (10 jump)
I don t know which one to choose. Some people says that the Rbird have better perf than the phantom
What do you think of these wingsuit?
Thanks

[kallend 1,621]

Quote

Hi and sorry for my bad english.
I have a prodigy2 and about 20 jump with it. I look for my new ws and for the same price i can buy a brand new phantom2 or an used Rbird (10 jump)
I don t know which one to choose. Some people says that the Rbird have better perf than the phantom
What do you think of these wingsuit?
Thanks

I think the performance you get mostly depends on your ability.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Try them if you can.

[LetsGoOutside 0]

R-Bird will likely give you some better fall rates right out of the box. I think you'd get better performance, range, glide, agility, and fun from the P2 if you learn to fly it. Personally, I'd say go for the P2. Get back fly inlets.

Disclaimer: not a brand thing. Just my opinion. Will probably get a Tony suit this year.

[Bones 0]

What are your plans for the suit?

Solos?
Acrobatics?
Flocking?
BASE?

What's your weight, height?

Also-don't forget the most important thing...it has to look cool and match your rig!

[alygator 2]

Yes i know it s me who make the perf of the suit but i ll jump many and for a long time with this suit, so i ll learn how to use it.
I can t try them...
My height is 176cm and my weigth is 78 kgs.
I want a suit good for all, good perf in solo fly, fly with another ws and base later...
I d think buy the phantom but some people says that Rbird is a lot better so i ask you...

[LukeH 0]

"better" is very subjective.

The R-Bird is bigger than Phantom2, is bigger better?
The Ghost 3 is bigger than the R-Bird is that better?
(Note: minimum 80 WS jumps recommended for Ghost 3)

Both manufacturers have a range of suits, covering a range of comfortable performance spans.

For your experience, height and weight I'd recommend you get a Shadow or Phantom2z. Shadow is my suit of choice for skydiving and I'm similar height and weight. However I'm biased, I liked PF products so much I became an agent.

[Oddern 0]

Hi. The thing is often in the ws community that its with ws like it is with cannopies. People love the suit that they fly themselfe. So if they today fly a brand and are happy with it they will recomend it without ever tried one of the suits from the other ws developers.
Not many people have tried a updated product from every developers before deciding for a ws.

So my best advice and to get the best answer for your quesion is to try different suits from different developers.
Then you go for what you like best :)

I personally love the Tonysuits. Its a very good suit with latest technology and is easy to fly.

Hope you find a suit you feel is goo for you :)

Let the fun begin :)

[mccordia 73]

At Zhills here, 14 out of 21 flockers fly shadows and phantoms...their preference is quite clear
Most tested both before buying....

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[Oddern 0]

Hehe :) So what your saying is that the people that should buy a ws have tried most of the suits on the marked before buying their ws?
Or do you say just buy a phantom and dont botter to try any other suit because you are a PF lover and many people at zhils fly phantom? ;) ;)

Im a Tonysuit lover but still my best answer to this guy is the one I gave him on my last post ;)

Take care Jarno :)

[mccordia 73]

The OP asks about two suits, and I give an answer related to that.
Sorry if its not one you like

Im a 'PF lover', as Ive flown TonySuits, Sfly, Birdman, JiiWings and more in my last 1000 wingsuit jumps, and like that model (actually the shadow) most at this point in time, related to the flying style I prefer. Its based on experience with all of the above.

Several flyers here commented comparing suits in actibe flying, and arriving at the P2/shadow as their choice. Seems like a perfectly valid amswer to the OP question

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[Oddern 0]

That's interesting. So what kind of Tonysuits have you flown?

[DSE 3]

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That's interesting. So what kind of Tonysuits have you flown?

Dunno about Jarno, but I've flown em' and own em' except Apache and X2. In my current collection;
Blade, Classic, GTI, Mach1, SuperMach1, Raptor, T-bird, Rbird, Sbird, Xbird, Verso, Prodigy, Phantom, Phantom 2, Phantom 2Z, Ghost, Ghost 2, Ghost 3, Stealth, Stealth 2, Venom, Vampire 1, 2, and 4.
Most of em' in blue/yellow (meaning I bought them, not sponsored).

The Phantom2 is by far the most-flown suit in my collection; I'm on my third Phantom now. The Super Mach 1 is second (because it was the fourth suit I bought, and one I flew for a long while), and the Ghost is third in the mix.
My first wingsuit was a Phantom 1, second one was a Blade.

So...I'm not Jarno, but since I have a choice, I'll take the P2 over the Rbird. RBird isn't a bad suit, but for a few bucks more (compared to used), a more efficient and versatile suit is found in the P2, IMO). I believe that's why in these pix, you can see most everyone on the loads are jumping P2's (a Stealth, Acro, Xbird are also seen).

[Oddern 0]

DSE, Thats a good answer from one that tried many of the new suits.

The guy asking for advice should try some of these suits before buying.

Have a good easter everyone and have fun flying :)

[alygator 2]

DSE can you be more precise in the qualité and default of this 2 suit please. Thanks
A friend of mine who is an experienced skydiver, wingsuiter and base jumper say to me that the both are good ws but the phantom need a lot of jump to have good glide ratio than the rbird.

[Skwrl 56]

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At Zhills here, 14 out of 21 flockers fly shadows and phantoms...their preference is quite clear

Jeez, Jarno, so you're saying that, at a PF-sponsored event, where some of the PF reps have arrived early but not every one else has arrived yet, there are more PF suits than not? Shocking.

To the original poster - yes, try both suits, but (if you can) try them while flying with another experienced wingsuiter so you can get a meaningful idea of performance.

Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[piisfish 135]

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DSE can you be more precise in the qualité and default of this 2 suit please. Thanks
A friend of mine who is an experienced skydiver, wingsuiter and base jumper say to me that the both are good ws but the phantom need a lot of jump to have good glide ratio than the rbird.

get X or the Y, put 100 flights on X, then get Y and you will think that your 1st flight on Y is better than your first flight on X...

It's not the arrow, it's the indian....

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[mccordia 73]

Im only saying there is a small, tiny group of jumpers here with one preference, similar to mine. Of course that gets a few few people upset who have another preference.
Im not saying the whole world flies P2's, Im not debating politics. I do think most people selected their suits based on what they like to fly (its suits they own, not demos). Not suits they brought based on which rep or LO is coming.

Several people here commented on trying both, and for their intent/goal, prefering the suits mentioned.
Its not everyone in the world, its a small group of people here. Sorry if that statement somehow upsets anyone with other preferences...

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[Skwrl 56]

Oh, I'm not "upset" - I'm not a sales rep and don't have a stake in the game. I got no preferences or brand loyalty - the next time I need a suit, I'll find whatever the best used suit I can get for the money, I don't care if it's made by Tony, PF, or Lurch.

But what I was getting at is that it is like hanging out in Atlanta (where Coca-Cola's global headquarters are located) at a Coke bottlers convention and observing "Gosh, people must really prefer Coke over Pepsi..." Maybe, maybe not, but...

Of course, if you want to give me a free suit, I'll happily say whatever brand you want is awesometastic, outflies Lear jets and makes my penis larger.

I stand by my advice to the original post - try both before you buy, and fly with another experienced dude so you can get a better idea of performance.

Skwrl Productions - Wingsuit Photography

Northeast Bird School - Chief Logistics Guy and Video Dork

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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At Zhills here, 14 out of 21 flockers fly shadows and phantoms...their preference is quite clear
Most tested both before buying....

It, in my opinion, is impossible to find a better "all around" wingsuit than the P2. I have 11 suits by every manufacturer, but would would give up all but my P2 if forced to have only one suit.

Chuck

[alygator 2]

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It, in my opinion, is impossible to find a better "all around" wingsuit than the P2. I have 11 suits by every manufacturer, but would would give up all but my P2 if forced to have only one suit.

Chuck

Many say that but what is better in the phantom than the Rbird? This is my question!

[gzimmermann 0]

+1
It is sort of the Swiss Army Knife for Wingsuiters. Very solid manufacturing too...
I will not give it away even when flying bigger suits. Bigger is not always better. The P2 has done a great job in helping me with barrel rolls, back flying, flocking and will do so in the future.

[Butters 0]

Prodigy <-> Intro
Phantom <-> T-Bird
Ghost <-> R-Bird
Vampire <-> S-Bird
Venom <-> X-Bird

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[DSE 3]

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Many say that but what is better in the phantom than the Rbird? This is my question!

"better?" How about "different" or "more applicable?"

The Phantom isn't a fat-wing suit. The way the thickness of the wing, inflation, and vents work together make it very stable/solid. The cut of the suit makes it easy for beginners to fly, but also allows for people that have skills to capitalize on those skills. It's a suit that can grow with you. It's not a mattress, so it's easy to be acrobatic. It's not a low-pressure suit, so it's easy to flock. Put on an experienced wingsuiter, he/she can easily get very long flight times and/or speed from the suit. Put i the hands of an FFC, it's difficult to generate instability, and easy to recover from instability. It's pressured, but not such high pressure that it's not easily shut down.
There are many other reasons, that make it a unique suit, but it's easily said that the P2 is the most popular suit in the sport post Birdman GTI or Classic. Even at Zhills, there are a LOT of P2 suits.

In my stable of dozens of suits from virtually every manufacturer...the P2 is my fave by far. For myself and for students.

[alygator 2]

Three people (skydiver and basejumper now in xbird or vampire) who know the 2 suit say that the rbird have a better glide, a better "start" , easy to fly too and have escape slave. But is not precise and unstable when turning (not good for flock or proximity)
The phantom is more agile and precise but have really less performance.
I know it s the pilot who make the suit but this comment is for the same guy (the three to say the same)
So each one have quality and default that s why it s difficult to choose
i ll buy the cheaper i think....