Dragon

The canopy is one of the easiest canopies I have ever packed (and it was a 210 size), when deploying it is quite soft, but it tends to turn so it's best to be prepared for a little "deployment flying". In flight the toggle pressure is quite high which I didn't like and I immedietly noticed the lack of flare compared to a 9-cell canopy. It also sinks much faster. The profile was stable even in turbulent winds and it kept flying on heading. In no wind, landings are not the best out there. The canopy is quite steep and you really have to go full arm stretch to perform a soft landing in those conditions... never much running, just prepare your knees and ankles for that thud. So all in all not bad, but I would rather buy some other canopy if I had to choose. She's not my type ;)

Dragon is a tapered 7-cell, designed to combine good characteristics from classic 7-cells and elliptical 9-cells in one canopy. My girlfriend bought Dragon 150 as her first canopy, downsizing from student 210 sq ft (she is 160 cm, 50 kg - 5'4'', 110 lbs). But before giving her the canopy, I made first 6-7 jumps, at wing load of 1,25 (I am 85 kg - 185 lbs).

Canopy has very smooth, consistent openings, always on heading. It flies great, and I estimated that glide is equal or better then PD Spectre. Toggle inputs are light, but the canopy is quite responsive (also, more toggle input is required then on elliptical 9-cell). It is also stable in deep brakes, and rather difficult to stall. It is also very predictable canopy, no nasty surprises. I tried hook turns, and to my surprise, it was possible to make some very decent hooks, with long flare and enough lift at the end of the flare to climb a little, just enough to touch down softly (no running required). Front risers are a maybe bit harder then on my Radical 135.

My girlfriend's transition to new canopy went smooth and without a single problem. She immediately fell in love with it, finding it agile and responsive, and enjoying very good glide, nice flare and great openings (just wanted to share her impressions, of a skydiver with only 50+ jumps).

Later I had a chance to jump PD Storm 135, which is kind of high - end tapered 7-cell, and I think that Dragon is not so far behind (at proper wing loading, of course).

It is great as all-round or transition canopy, and would be also very convenient for WS jumpers, due to consistent on-heading openings. I would always recommend Dragon to novice jumpers.