Bluhdow

As someone who works for a manufacturer I think this is critical. Always get your hands on the gear you're looking at investing in and trusting your life to.

Good websites do not equate to good product, in skydiving or in any other business for that matter. We are not buying medical services, or financial services, or products that come from a highly regulated and scrutinized industry (comparatively). Any manufacturer can say whatever they want in their marketing materials to compel you to buy.

Talk to customers...not sponsored athletes...and get unbiased opinions from people who have paid for their gear. And even then take it with a grain of salt. Everyone likes to feel like they bought the best gear possible, and a good way to reassure themselves that they made a good decision is to get others to follow in their footsteps.

If we were to apply this logic across all manufacturers, Americans should only be jumping suits built in Florida by Tony.

You are on the right track. Apparently a signature was collected, but not by the resident. We've got a claim in.

That said, we'd rather have the canopy! It's a beautiful UL black and white Lynx 280, brand new, and literally the only one of it's kind (so far)!

skytribe

Are they Porch Pirates and awaiting the delivery and picking up before resident does

Yes sir.

The resident is not the thief and has been receiving packages with this name for some time now. She has reported this to the local police and had all packages that she intercepted returned to sender.

A parachute was recently stolen from Apex BASE through the use of a fraudulent credit card. This stock item was purchased on our website and delivered earlier this month.

Before shipping out stock gear we always open a line of communication with the buyer to verify age, number of skydives, and number of BASE jumps. In this case we had e-mail communication with the customer who verified all of the above in a dialogue that did not suggest anything suspicious. It is our belief that this gear may have been stolen by an actual jumper with a fraudulent credit card, or by a criminal who had enough knowledge to speak a bit of BASE, if you will. To add some additional color, he claimed to be 25 years old with around 400 skydives and 15 BASE jumps. He also gave a weight which would have made the 280 an appropriate size.

The stolen canopy is a black & white UltraLite Lynx 280, SN #20-19280-0016. The canopy is brand new.

In addition to the canopy this person also ordered a stash bag, two pilot chutes, a D30 back pad, and a set of risers. All items that make sense alongside a canopy order.

The name given by this person is "Larry Valdez." He had the gear shipped to an address in Farmers Branch, TX. This is a residence that is occupied, but obviously "Larry" doesn't live there and was using it as a drop address. We had e-mail communications with him at the e-mail address: [email protected].

Since receiving this canopy "Larry" has attempted to order another canopy and more accessories, none of which he will be receiving.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of this gear we would love to retrieve it.

This will hopefully serve as a cautionary tale to other manufacturers and anyone selling gear over the internet. It's how we all do business but fraud is becoming more sophisticated so be sure to go the extra mile when verifying the identity of the person buying your gear.

I bet PD knows if you give them a call directly.

As a side note, lead times are fairly common and are a good indicator of product demand. If it's popular, there's usually a line. =)

Can you elaborate on how you can feel the difference?

Can you feel it inflating more stable behind you? What does that feel like? Can you feel it inflating faster? What does that feel like?

I’m not being sarcastic. I’m genuinely curious how you can feel the differences between two different pilot chutes behind your back. I’ve had probably 20 different PCs behind me over the years of various builds and at different airspeeds and once it’s pulling on my bridle I can’t tell the difference.

Pretty sure the poster is looking for a PC that is not $200.

I think there are arguments to be made for more complex PC designs in BASE, but in skydiving I just don't see it. The standard design has worked so well, and for so long, that I feel like the SkySnatch is a solution in search of a problem.

In the words of an engineer friend of mine: "I could tie a f*ckin' plastic grocery bag to the end of my bridle and never know the difference."

Hell, Jimmy showed us that you don't even need a PC at all!

https://jointheteem.com/friday-freakout-skydiving/friday-freakout-jimmy-pouchert-base-jumper-survives-no-pilot-chute/

I believe they are apples and oranges. Perhaps you know this already, but the Strix is Phoenix Fly's suit in the "Freak" category.

For anyone in Southern California, Apex BASE happily gives shop tours to skydivers and BASE jumpers. We're about 15-20 mins from Skydive Perris.

Our cut table runs the entire length of the shop and is a joy to watch in action. =)

If you're in the neighborhood feel free to come check it out.

www.apexbase.com

rlseib

Putting a jump # on everything is not the definitive answer to how good you will be and how well you will progress . Some people are naturally talented , some have to work harder to achieve the same success...

...Take the time to learn how to fly your body.

100% yes.

People lean on jump numbers to determine suitability (pun!) but the reality is that it's a poor metric. It's the most obvious, and I don't think there's a better universal measure of ability, but we should be aware of its limitations.

I've seen world-class freeflyers get in a Freak with like 2 WS jumps and absolutely slay. I've also seen people with way more jumps, on way easier suits, totally embarrassing themselves.

I personally think that learning to freefly is the best tool to become a better wingsuiter. Learn to fly your body and the suit will follow.

Nothing offers slower landings than a 7 cell BASE platform.

The flares won't be as strong as on a ZP canopy, but your forward speed will be much lower if running out landings is a concern.

Forgot to mention that our skydiving Lobos are also unvented. Basically, they are built for skydives and terminal openings (WS or freefall).

We're building a 140 right now. 130 should be no problem. =)

We could get a 160 demo if you'd like to feel out the platform.

You might consider an Apex Lobo.

https://apexbase.com/product/the-lobo/

We build skydiving Lobos for wingsuiters and people looking for an UltraLite skydiving main. We can build them in any size (multiples of 10) without a tailpocket and modified crossports for slower skydive-style openings. 100% PN-9 ultralight material.

Feel free to give us a ring if you're curious. I can point you to a few people flying them currently with good results.

I find the paper copy very valuable. It protects my coffee table from my beer bottles.

Ditch the magazine altogether. Or at least make it an online magazine.

Of all the hundreds of skydivers I know, zero people (maybe less) read that publication.

You'll be so stoked on the system when it comes time to pull.

Hey Riccardo,

I fly a Freak and it works great for all of the above.

That said, either of the suits mentioned should work well for you. It probably depends mostly on your previous suit experience and familiarity with different flying styles, Strix included.

Feel free to ask me about it the next time we chat.

-Joe Putrino

Quote

That said, my Freak is a work of art!

You're right. My post was totally biased.

Nailed it.

No company is perfect.

Squirrel seems to have the advantage in lead times and customer service, but I know quite a few people (myself included) that have had to send gear back due to poor quality control. In my case it was two different sets of risers. That said, my Freak is a work of art!

PF seems to have the advantage in QC. But the price of this quality assurance can be long lead times. Sorry guys, high end custom stuff takes time.

That said, every manufacturer can and will make mistakes. We're all human. Stop being so dogmatic and try to appreciate that we have options and we're able to cast votes with our dollars.

Apex BASE also has an ultralight, low bulk WS sky canopy in the works.

It's based off the Lobo platform, with adjustments made for the sky environment (obviously).

No ETA yet, but it's in beta and progressing nicely!

My takeaway was that no PC is clever enough to correct for bad technique.

In skydiving I definitely feel that the complex PC designs are a solution in search of a problem. The discussion is more interesting in BASE, but I think the jury is still out as to whether or not the juice is worth the squeeze here.

There are a lot of jumpers out there using Suuntos quite happily.