Leaderboard

Update on my new Sabre 3 150 canopy form Performance Designs I received it July 9, 2020 and have made 72 jumps with it from 25th July - 15th Aug ....... I'm very happy with it. I previously was jumping a Sabre 2 150 and before that a Sabre 150... I weigh 170 lbs. The first 6 jumps were at Meadow Peak Skydiving the weekend before the 53rd Lost Prairie boogie to install the canopy and work out the flight and landings before the boogie as I like to jump a lot at the boogie Chris Walker the rigger took care of attaching it to my new rig (Vector V3 V310) and adjusting (Shorten) the brake lines after my test jumps.... The elevation at the airport is 3,400 ft and landings have been my biggest problem here. More than a few Homer Simpson landings for me here. One of the biggest selling points to me was the powerful flare for landing after that all the other improvements were gravy. The openings were smooth, on heading and no end cell closure after opening. Wow wow wow a big improvement from my previous Sabre canopies. With the brake lines set and a few jumps under my belt I was ready for Skydive Lost Prairie Boogie the next weekend. I made 63 jumps during the boogie and improved my stand up landings at the Prairie from an abysmal less than 50% to 90% .... I was stoked as the year before I ended my jumping before Boogie end due to a Homer Simpson landing and bruising my bad knee .... grr. So landings were my biggest criteria to fix. Thank you Sabre 3 Canopy performance during flight seemed to be in par with what I had experienced with my Sabre 2, but I only have 63 jumps on my Sabre 2 to compare it with. The flair at landing is powerful so I had to use it wisely and ease into but once you figure it out ... OMG its awesome. I had so much fun at the Prairie again this year. So many friends and so many jumps!!! Missed a lot of folks who could not make it this year and hope to see them next year. I then followed up by making 3 jumps the next Saturday at Mid America Sport Parachute Club in Taylorville, Ill with some Rapid Decent Skydiving Alumni. Thank You Performance Designs for an awesome canopy. Curtis J. Langwell D-25292 USPA: 148615

I bought it after reading the reviews here. I love this canopy, the only think what to be aware is, that you should have a minimum of 1,4 wingload; It doesn´t matter but, if you haven´t enought wingload at windy days it could be not so charmed like usually! I would by it again!

Based on about 5-8 jumps on a Storm 170. Previous experience about 200 jumps on a Sabre 1 - 190 and about 5-8 on a Sabre 2- 170. I tried both the Sabre 2 and the Storm the same week. Conditions ranged from windy and turbulent to calm with no wind. My windloading was perfect as the storm cut through thermals and turbulence beautifully (the main reason I was downsizing). Turns were very crisp with no hesitation, perhaps not as forgiving for a student but it really followed my input. Flat turns were, well, flat. I didn't try a full brake turn, half brake turns were very quick! Front risers in general were tough to pull with lots of pressure in both level and turns. Not too difficult, just tough. Rear risers were sweet for slowing, flaring or turns. Full speed straight and level flight semmed faster than the Sabre 2 and much steeper. Partial brakes leveled out the canopy and really offered comparable (Sabre 2) glide distance. A long spot would have you in partial brakes a long time but brake pressure was not unreasonable and glide was much shallower. Slow flight somewhere around half brakes was not mushy but maintained good cell pressure and felt fully controlled. Openings were actually faster than I expected but without the shaking and sometimes whomping I get from the Sabre 1. Openings seemed to be on heading for both my packjobs and packs by the pros...No tendency for end-cell closure which I did see on the Sabre 2 (to be fair, it didn't affect the openings on the Sabre 2 anyways). What did affect openings was body position, any reasonable change in the harness as the canopy was inflating affected heading. I like this as you can actually steer the thing as it's opening. Unstowing the brakes/collapsing the slider! What a suprise, reaching up for the toggles/collapse cords has to be done at the same time otherwise I was able to turn the canopy easily just by shifting body position. My Sabre 1 has a single cord to collapse the slider so I reach up with one hand while steering with both toggles in the other. Bad habit! On the Storm I had to collapse the slider with two hands then unstow the brakes. There is so much extra brake line stowed that the canopy really picks up speed as you release the brakes. I'd hate to inadvertently release one brake early! Not bad, just different. Now for the amazing part. FLARE!!! I flared early, I flared late, I flared twice, I think I even forgot to flare until it was too late. I swear this canopy actually went upwards when I pulled my stoppin ropes! The steep approach took some getting used to but once you decide to brake, there is so much energy left in the canopy to flare, it does just that. Flare slowly from too high, it keeps flying. Flare hard from too low, it keeps flying. Flare too high, goof and let up, pull again lower, it keeps flying. Even on no wind landings and higher wingloading (for me) the Storm levels out beautifully during flare, holds for a second or two, and let me down gently (all but one time, but that was my fault, and the grass stains are coming out just fine thanks.) My overall impression is that the Sabre 2-170 is a sweet stable canopy. The Storm-170 is a sports car that even I can handle! Last year my instructors suggested that I downsize to the Sabre 2. I don't think they had tried the Storm when they made that recommendation.

Usually jump a Competition Cobalt 85. Demoed a Katana 97 and 83. 83 opened and flew much better. Basically it flies better at 1.9-2.0+ Put 25 jumps on each canopy. Review is based on the Katana 83. Packing- Trash pack. Shake it out-No flaking. Shuffle nose in a little bit. Pull slider Out Opening- Sweet smooth on heading. Not too fast but not slow. Never wanted to spin up or jerk me around. Easy to steer during snivel using harness unput. Smooth opening for such an agressive canopy. Flight- Very steep trim. Canopy wants to be on the ground. Long spots are a little trouble because it still sinks in brakes or on rears. Cant hang out and wait for others to land- Falls out of the sky too fast. Very stable and fun to fly. Fairly hard to stall using toggles. Hard to stall on rear risers. Not super fast responsive but thats good. Makes for smooth flying. Any more responsive would be too much on such an agressive canopy. Landing- Very light front riser pressure and moderate rear riser pressure. Harder to plane out using rears that my Competition Cobalt. Keeps speed and a dive very well. Swooping into the wind is no problem- Cuts right through the wind. On the 83 loaded at 2.0+ started 360 turn at 800-1000ft. Dives like crazy. Come out of turn at 200+ feet and put pressure on rears right away. Planes out very nicely on rears using this technique. If you are late on the rears use toggles because it will not plane out right away on rear risers. Can hold double fronts to keep in a dive if needed. Not a forgiving canopy. Has good flare. Not quite as much flare as my Cobalt and Competition Cobalt. At higher speeds and correct dive altitudes there is much more flare. Lower speed- Decent flare. (Enough to have a nice stand up but you can feel the need for more) Low turn=Not much stopping power. Dont do it because you will not pull it out of the dive even if you are deep on the toggles. 270 turn worked best for me. @600+ft Whether doing a slow carve or a fast dive swoops are great. Fast dive and then hard on rears makes for super fast swoop. Carve makes for a long smooth and fast swoop. Had to do an aviodance braked approach and landing. Landed much better than expected. Almost half brakes until full flare and it still landed me softly. Canopy can be jerky if the transition from rears to toggles is not smooth. Just fly it smoothly. Jerky Motions(Rears and toggles)=Loss of speed and shoter swoop. Not much or really any running out landings. Flies until its almost stopped. Overall- Awesome canopy. Swoop machine. If you like to open low then the spot better be good because you will be on the ground shortly. Most agressive canopy I have flown. Approaching the dive and long recovery of the Velocity. Great canopy to try with 750+ jumps and good canopy control and progression. Not a good idea if you are not current or dont have the swoops mastered on something else. Competition Cobalt is a good transition canopy to the Katana. Main negative aspect is that it doesnt fly as well at slow speeds as my Competition Cobalt. The Cobalt will continue to fly going slow and keep gliding at that slow speed. (End of a swoop) Once the Katana starts to die out it will lose the speed and the swoop is over. Still flies well at that slow speed but comes to a stop sooner. Swoops were longer in distance but seemed shorter in time than my Cobalt. Meaning it is much faster and covers ground in a swoop very fast. Great product from the best in the biz. A+ Canopy