Stiletto

Manufacturer
Purpose
Main
Material
ZP
Cells
9
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At the time of its release, the fully-elliptical 9-cell Stiletto was seen as the highest performance canopy available to the expert pilot. With improvements in canopy control technique over the years, the Stiletto has now become a very popular choice for experienced jumpers across many disciplines. For those who appreciate responsive handling, snappy turns, flat glide, a short recovery arc, and great landing capabilities, the Stiletto is a fun and practical way to enjoy your canopy flight.

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tristansdad

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  • 5
snappy turns, responsive, great flair,
sometimes the openings get me.

I only have about 50 jumps on my 150 loading it at 1.4 and Im very happy with it. I just need to learn the fine art of flying through the openings. I transitioned over from the Sabre 2 150. I found that the stiletto can be as docile or as radical as you want. Rear riser turns are very fast compaired to the Sabre. Im no swooper so I've been doing front risers up high and i find that as soon as I let up the recovery is very shallow and I can feel the canopy actually gain altitude. At the bottom end the fair is very powerful. This canopy is easy as hell to land. The more speed I get the better the two stage flair is and this wing actually makes it look like I know what I'm doing. The thing I need to work out is the bad habits I developed putting over four hundred jumps on a Sabre. The Stiletto will let me know when I have bad body position on opening. I do get some great openings when I fly it right but if I get a little lazy it will let me know. The openings are faster than the Sabre but they are not hard. Over all I think its going to be a great tool to introduce me into the world of high performance canopies.

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tracker6735

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
Snappy Turns, Harness Flying, Good Openings
Glide...If there was one.

I've got a Stiletto 150 loaded about 1.2:1, so lightly loaded. This canopy is snappy, flys with harness input or riser input well. Front Riser pressure is a little high, but nothing to raise concern over. People talk about bad openings, my only comment is: LEARN TO PACK. I've trash packed, psycho packed, propacked, and even packed flaking only the D lines. It's all good. Flies like a dream. BUY ONE

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MotherGoose

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 3
Fun, responsive on toggles, forgiving recovery arc.
Openings, high riser pressure

I have not really enjoyed my Stiletto since I bought it a year ago (250 jumps). The openings are so unpredictable and can go from completely perfect on heading one jump, to gnarly spin on your back off-heading line twists the next. I have almost 1000 jumps and this is my first full time elliptical. I have borrowed Kats, Xfires, Mamba's and even an FX so its not my only experience. The fact is, for camera flying and for big way flying, I'm looking for something that is way more predictable while still having fun flight characteristics. I will be going with the Katana at the same WL for my next canopy. My advice, skip the Stiletto and go straight for a Kat. That is of course my personal advice and everyone has varying opinions so try to make an informed decision and definitely take one of these canopies out for at least 10 rides before buying one.

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jumper1986

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
Sweet openings, sweet turns, sweet swoops, sweet everything!
It costs money :(

I started jumping a Stiletto 135 at 40 jumps loaded at 1.3:1. Soft openings and really quick turns were my favorite atributes about the canopy. It also had good shut-down power at the end of the flare. 9 times out of 10, I didn't have to take a step when I touched down after a little turf surfin'.

At 160 jumps I snagged a Stiletto 107. With a wing loading around 1.8:1, I started having a little more fun. Harness turns are really responsive, toggle turns are smokin' fast, and the front riser pressure is low. This canopy also has a quick dynamic stall, so don't hang on to the rears for too long on your swoops. (My ass is still sore... haha)

In conclusion, this is a sweet canopy, and the "spinetto" callsign isn't true.

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kevinhaddon

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
quick turn rate, solid recovery, smooth opening
hard to get second hand

I had maybe 15 jumps on a stiletto 120 before i did my night jumps for my d-license at a 1.7 wing loading. The stiletto opened outstanding after being trash packed to make the next load. It was easy to handle and i made solid non-swoop landings with it, despite the high wing loading. I jumped a Precision Rage 130 and i liked it at first, but it had a weird recovery arc and glide angle. i tried a stiletto and i got hooked. flies fast and straight, opens wells. cant really say enough good things about it. i put about 200 jumps on a sabre2 135 and then stiletto was a natural progression for me...

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nicksoccer20

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  • 5
almost everything :-)
openings

i just bought a stilleto so far i love it but i am still trying to figure out how to slow the openings down my first jump on it was nice and slow but every one sence has been alittle firm. i love this canopy it has some sweet landings nice and fast but then it has good shutdown power i love it. and the toggle turns are crazy tight, it turns on a dime. i would recomend this canopy to anyone who wants some thing fun but not too crazy this is my first eliptical canopy and i have no proplems flying it previously i was jumping a triathlon 175, and safire 169 and this canopy is a whole different animal its great!!!!!!!!!!!!

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N4785frox

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
Best landing of them all
Few spinning openings

I loved it so much i now have 2 120s. my 120 is loaded at 1.65 and i now have 70 jumps on it and love it very much. i had some hard landings at first because i only had 170 jumps when i downsized to this canopy. but now that i have it down i love the flare and flys well in strong winds. my dropzone is at 7000 feet and it seems to fly the same as it does at 5000 feet in Denver. i had some spinning openings at first but that i think was my body and not the canopy because now it opens on heading.

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mikempb

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
the best openings, super responsive toggle imput
absolutly none

I have aprox. 500 jumps on my Stilleto 120 at 1.6 loading It does recover quickly from a turn, for some that might be what there looking for, for the rest of us, just work your way up to 270 degree turns and then the fun begins!

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dharma1976

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  • 1
hmmmm
quick recovery arc, bad openings

I got a few different demos on stilettos, a 150 and a 170...and the 170 beat the shit out of me so hard that I had to send it back after 5 jumps a concussion and a compressed disc.

on the lighter side when I could see straight on it, it seemed to have light toggle pressure, but harsh riser pressure.

overall, try a crossfire or a vengance before this canopy

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donovan

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  • 5
Soft openings, flat glide angle and responsiveness.
Off heading openings

I've done about 130 jumps on my stiletto 135 which is loaded at about 1.4 its responsiveness is beautiful i have a ball under this dream canopy. i'm only 17 and have about 200 jumps under my belt and i can see myself flying this canopy for a long time. I'm just getting into swooping now and what i have tryed so far the canopy seems to be real smooth and controlled. What can i say i love my stiletto.

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bskyz

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  • 5
Soft openings, highly responsive, great control range
None come to mind

I put approximately 300 jumps on my Stiletto 120 loaded at 1.3. It was my first elliptical canopy, and I was very impressed!

I was hesitant to buy it at first because of the stigma attached to the "Spinetto", but as long as you deploy with even weight in the harness, the openings are great. I actually prefer them to my Spectre, and that has extremely soft openings.

The Stiletto has a very wide control range. I’ve made it back from quite a few long spots with just a bit of rears or deep brakes with no problems. At this wingloading you can also almost sink it in when trying to make it into a tight off-DZ landing.

Toggle turns initiate quickly and speed up from there. Even at my (relatively) low wingloading, harness turns were impressive. The canopy does have relatively high front riser pressure. The pressure on the risers starts low (especially after deep brakes), but increases quickly. The Stiletto also planes out very quickly after coming out of a turn. This is both good and bad for someone who is just learning how to swoop. Because it does not continue to dive, you have to initiate the turn lower than you would have to on other canopies. However, if you do find yourself low, you can “dig” out of it relatively easily.

Overall, I strongly recommend the Stiletto. Try one and you’ll see why the first elliptical canopy is still in production, and as popular as ever!

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ScottH

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
soft openings,fun to fly
none I can think of

I have been jumping my stiletto 150 loaded at 1.4 since 1993,it is now on its third set of lines with almost 2100 jumps on it.It still opens and flys great altough the flare is not what it once was.The stiletto is the best parachute I have ever had.With 20 years of jumping I have seen and jumped many parachutes and the stiletto is the best all around chute,moderatlly loaded it even has a minimal accuracy ability.Ilove my stiletto and will sone buy another.
Scott H

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stilettodude

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
Soft openings and awsome swoops!
None

I Have over 250 jumps under a stiletto 120 and have never jumped a sweeter canopy. I also do not understand why people call them spinlettos..... i have never had to chop mine ( maybe these dudes need to attend a packing course)?? In my opinion.....Stiletto is the best, so forget the rest!

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Skymonkey2

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
consistantly soft opening, dont need to pack a certain way. nice swoops
none

I jsut dont know why people call them spin lettos, I have been jumping a stiletto for 6 years and have over 3000 jumps on them, and never had to cut one away do to spin ups.

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flipper

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5

i jump a st120....at 170 pounds...to me its the best chute on the market.....itll give a nice surf from a straight in landing.....or go forever using risers...openings are what you want....slow ...controllable....there is the odd spinner....only 1 in the last 800 jumps that i had to use plan b...!
getting back to the dz from a long spot is easy ....just use a little back riser ...ive used it on demos as well....no worries...
youve tried the rest ...now try the best

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parachutist

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5

I have 7 jumps on my new Stiletto 120 (1.9 wing loading) ... I feel like this canopy performs very well... it provides for spirited flying. This canopy is also predictable, which I appreciate.

For concepts that are new to me with the Stiletto (such as my need to learn how to "fly" an opening elliptical canopy to keep it on heading) PD has provided excellent online documentation that explains such things in detail, as well as accurate descriptions of the canopy's performance characteristics.

I am very happy after 1 weekend under my Stiletto, and I feel that I have a lot more to learn before I'll be able to use the potential it has to offer.

Chris

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SkymonkeyONE

0 of 0 members found this review helpful 0 / 0 members
  • 5
Great openings, good swoops
None

With 19 years in the sport and over 2,400 jumps I feel I can give you a very good idea what this parachute is all about. I currently own a Stiletto 97. I weigh in at about 158 and generally wear 10 pounds of weight when I spin 4-way, so you figure the wing-load. I have put about 150 jumps on this main. I put more than 500 jumps on a Stiletto 107 before trading to a 97. I love Stilettos....period. Before going eliptical, I owned two Saber 135's and two Monarch 135's which almost put me in the ortho ward for their horrible openings. Before that I jumped an Excallibur. Listen; if you are someone who LOVES to go fast and turf surf, but has been beaten to death by tons of horrible Saber openings, then you owe it to yourself to jump a Stiletto.

As a result of being a video guy for several years while at the same time jumping a Monarch that came off my back and opened like a bomb, I thought I was going to have to give up the little mains and find something more docile. Man, was I wrong! My Stilettos have been a lifesaver for my neck, PLUS I swoop twice as far! These things open SWEET! True, you may experience the occasional "Stiletto spin-up", but I have never had to chop my main. The worse I ever had was two line twists, and it kicked out fine. Concerning landing technique: I had a finicky 107 that didn't dive right in the front riser mode, so I toggle-hooked it on every jump. Dangerous, yes, but I had the experience not to frap myself into the ground. Oddly, my 97 dives great on one front riser, so I am even happier with it.

I land my Stiletto upwind, downwind, crosswind, and circle-surf; it just doesn't matter which way I am going. The Stiletto's natural recovery arc is much tighter than that of the Velocity (and FX and VX) and as such, is much more suitable to busier DZ's. I instruct at a very busy student-heavy DZ and it is just the smartest "hot" main to jump in those kinds of conditions. I just last weekend ordered a new main. I had test jumped Velocities and almost bought one, but hated the ground hungriness that was evident in every mode of flight. I was all set to buy myself a new Stiletto 97 because I am truly happy with it, but then ended up succombing to the unknown and bought a new Vengeance 97. Still, I will not be selling my Stiletto. It will just be relegated to duty in my alternate rig.

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admin

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I have a stiletto 135 which I got second hand. The canopy had about 800 jumps and is in very good condition. I have done about 60 jumps on it and I absolutely love it!! My last canopy was a Sabre which I had for hundreds of jumps. I am becoming a swoop fanatic and have learnt (slowly and safely i must say) the fundamentals of swooping on my Sabre. I couldn't wait to get a Stiletto owing to the fact that it was THE swooping canopy before we received today's 'weapons' like the X-braced tri-cells and with the advent of these ultra-high perfomance canopies people have to remember the stiletto has not got any tamer!!

I must just mention that I had real hard openings maybe every 1 in 6 on my Sabre and I am very sure it was not my packing!! So this was a contributing factor to myself getting a Stiletto.

The openings are beautiful and they haven't changed! I normally do nothing to the nose and just roll up the tail and I get a positive opening for a Stiletto!! (this means it doesn't take 1500ft to open!) As soon as the canopy is out of the bag you can fly the opening by moving your weight across the harness. This is great for real slow openings because the canopy moves off heading real slow!! Therefore there is loads of time to ease it round if need be. Once flying I found the Stiletto to be quicker than the Sabre but not massively so. But then I'm not really heavily loading it either. I weigh 80kgs.

The turns are SO much quicker than the Sabre which is fantastic but the main difference is the over-steer. A Sabre will stop on heading when you let up toggle but a Stiletto will keep turning a bit so you must compensate but stopping earlier or using the opposite toggle. It doesn't take long to get used to.

I find the Stiletto has enormous amounts of lift if done flown correctly. Because I'm learning to swoop I like the landing area clear. As our DZ puts us out (Freeflyers) first. I should reace down first. But I have tried for a laugh to see how long I could stay up. I have managed to come down last from a full turbolet when I was out first. I found the best technique is release the brakes and use the rear risers to flatten the glide angle. Then when everyone is down I can bring it in....

The landings are fantastic!! I have found that doing long front riser turns build up so much more speed than a snap front riser which we all know is far more dangerous. The recovery arc is longer than a Sabre and it has a nice long surf. If done well a fairly strong flare can be achieved with the softest of the landings...

I have been told that with this many jumps the canopy will be out of trim, but I haven't noticed it acting strangely, but then I have never flown a new one... So I'm gonna get some new lines. I love this canopy and I find myself jumping it just so I can hook it in again...

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admin

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It's the only one canopy in the world, which is extemely fast and extremely safe. (I can't say that about Velocity,that "Winged Beast" :)).

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