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I have to chime in on the misuse of a word. Toxic masculinity is not the gender opposite of toxic feminism. The word I think you're all looking for is femininity, not feminism. Dr. Peterson started it. He first said (per the Wiki article and subsequent quoting here) that feminism contributed to the threat to masculinity. He continued by positing men were encouraged to be more feminine under this construct, which illustrates his misuse of the word "feminism". This is not how feminism works. Feminism, is simply the idea that everyone has the right to the same opportunities, having their abilities judged without regard to gender (including men being able to take on roles that society has assigned to women). That is a very basic example -- gender identity should be included in this freedom. The patriarchy is the construct that only cis-gendered men have the right, or should be encouraged, to be in positions of power and influence. Laws restricting women's equal access (or the opportunities of anyone who isn't a cis-gendered, hetero male), per the patriarchy, at best are seen as a desire to "protect" women, and at worst are intended to codify the cis-gendered man's lock on these opportunities. [/soapbox]

Well, personally I would not buy a canopy, before I have jumped that particular canopy. Why buy something that you think you will be "ready for" at some future time? There are many different types of canopies (apart from the size consideration) and if you haven't jumped them, how would you know that you will like how that canopy behaves? I would recommend starting to try out different canopies when you're at the size that you will want to own for a while, and then purchase the kind of canopy that you like best. That's what I did. Of course, it may be that I am privileged to have a dropzone that had a few rental canopies as well as a guy who was renting various types in my area, but between DZs with rental gear, private renters, other jumpers and manufacturer's demo programs, it should be possible to at least try a few canopies before deciding to buy one, no? I tried a PD Storm, PD Sabre 2 and PD Spectre--all in the same size--and after jumping them it was very clear to me that I liked the Spectre and would not have been happy with the Sabre 2 (which pretty much everyone else around me was jumping.) There was no way I could have made that decision accurately if all I had jumped before were student Navigators.

It'll be fine. If you don't want it I'll take it. Ship it to me and it can sit in a truck for three more days. Lee

I’m afraid i find engaging some people in some discussions to be pointless. Because they only see inputs by others as springboards for what they want to say or do, and not as data to be evaluated. Wendy P.

true, but the slider is not necessary unless you came over to a WinX from a e.g. Crossfire and want the same'ish. Winx opens very soft and without the final "bang" of a Pilot7. Pilot7 has some snivel ehich can help jumpers that did not have the optimal bodyposition at deployment. Winx has very little snivel, but opens softer. To sum up, some pilots might find the Winx opens hard if they do not feel the difference btw no to short snivel and a generally hard opening canopy. I think Atair did a sublime job on this. That said if I where a freeflyer, I would go Crossfire But I am always dressed up in a promdress unless weather dictates terminal jumps

Hanlon's Razor, actually. "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

A manager once told me, people usually assume a conspiracy or motive when the truth is it’s usually simple incompetence. It is quite plausible that in an understaffed facility the infrastructure would also be in a state of disrepair. What amuses me having run a department of 50 people with keeping things contained and avoiding leaks was next to impossible. And yet people believe these massive conspiracies that would require 100’s of people involved somehow are supposed to be iron clad. Hillary has killed hundreds etc..

Are you perhaps biased toward Parachute Lab products in any way?

Yeah, I'm going to agree that I can't get on the Peterson Express because his standpoints (many of them) are coming from a bias that Atheists are vanishingly rare (Hey, over here! *hand waving excitedly*). I've listened to some of his material, and after watching his exchange with Matt Dillahunty, I'm pretty sure he's not the guy I want to be taking life advice from.

If you are coming down on top of me, I am not sure which is better, for one to be in freefall and one under canopy, or both under canopy which would lead to an entanglement or wrap. Hmmm.. let's see. What would I prefer: An 80 kilo slab of meat hitting my canopy at 200 kph or the same slab of meat hitting me with 50 kph? Just about the only advantage of wraps / entanglements is that they are relatively low speed, allowing for just a little more time to solve the issue and for communication between the jumpers. Maybe not, but communication about what they're up to is a start. In fact, knowing what is going on in the rest of the load (or at the very least in the groups around you) is just as important as the exit order itself. For instance: there were a lot of factors contributing to my first reserve ride, but being distracted moments before pull altitude by seeing open canopies in the distance at an altitude I wasn't expecting them certainly didn't help. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom