skydave89

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Posts posted by skydave89


  1. On 8/22/2022 at 5:22 AM, alfonso904 said:

    I'm debating whether to buy this, the Epicene Pro, Pilot 7 or an old Spectre. I've never flown either but the Omicron description sounds exactly like what I'm looking for (good flare, reliable openings and low pack volume). Any of you guys have anything to say about the Omicron? 

    I have the WinX and really like it. Demoed the Pilot 7 and thought it was good but the WinX did the same thing just smoother with it. The P7 has a sorta hard transition during the opening sequence compared to the WinX. Also had a Pilot 9 cell for a long time that I loved but obviously being a 9 cell it’s more aggressive if you spin it up and it starts diving. My Spectre I thought was great but the snivel is a bit longer than I think you want in a WS canopy. Never jumped the Epicene/Omicron/Horizon.  

    • Like 2

  2. On 4/15/2022 at 6:51 PM, kleggo said:

    Surprisingly, and to their credit, my contact @ Sunpath did not feel Aurora was appropriate for my morphology.

    Bravo to them.

    They did say a Javelin with dynamic corners would be ideal!

    For what it’s worth, I love my Aurora and also have a Javelin Odyssey with open corners as a backup rig, but for wingsuiting I think the Icon-Long is the next best option if you don’t do the Aurora. 


  3. On 3/21/2022 at 11:29 AM, kleggo said:

    If you own / jump one please post your thoughts.

    durability?

    comfort?

    ease (or not) of packing main container?

    does your rigger swear at you when its time for I&R?

    harness configuration (rings at lateral / leg strap junction or other)?

    other?

     

    I know some may think WS "specific" rigs may be a marketing ploy, but my shoulder likes the thought of lower pilot chute pull location.

     

    Thank you.

    Craig

     

    Been jumping one for a year now. Love it. 
     

    Durability - no issues and I regularly slide in after doing 270s. Does feel like lighter fabric so I’m sure if I slide across asphalt it’s gonna tear. 
     

    Comfort - just fine. No huge puffy backpad or leg strap pads but it’s as comfy as any other rig without thick padding. 
     

    Packing takes some work to figure out, but you’ll get it soon enough. 
     

    Rigger doesn’t care at all, she said it’s essentially the exact same as any javelin 

    Didn’t like the adjustable laterals so I had my rigger tack them in place. 
     

    BOC is huge, the guy I bought it from had his rigger sew a line right through the center, splitting it into a top and bottom boc. The top one is where I put my pc for storing, but I use the bottom for jumping it. 
     

    location of the BOC is amazing, I love how long the rig is. Had a cutaway due to a really fucked up pull because of a bad shoulder so I went with the longest rig I ca. find and I’m happy I did. You basically don’t even need to bend your elbow, the pc is nearly at my full arm length. 
     

    don’t think the neoprene collar up around the yoke does much but doesn’t hurt. 
     

    prrvious owner also had a rigger sew on a spot for bridle protection but with how I route mine I don’t even use it and I have as good of bridle protection as my standard javelin or any other rig.

     

    let me know if you have any other questions. 


  4. Cardo Packtalk is what everyone I know and myself use. Work very well, biggest complaint is I have the control unit mounted to the outside of my helmet so I usually push a button and switch modes when I pick my head up to look at my canopy opening because it hits the yoke of my rig. More than once I’ve suddenly connected to a radio station and had music start playing. A couple friends have lost units to a riser strike. But it’s really amazing to be able to have a straight up conversation in freefall 


  5. How used is the Phantom? I have around 500 on my OG Havok and then 450 on my OG Strix and at this point I can tell there’s a noticeable decrease from when it was new. I’m really rough on my suits and also live in a hot humid place and sweat a lot in my suits which doesn’t help the material. 
     

    I think you need to hit at least 400 jumps or so to finally get to a point where it’s actually affecting your overall times compared to when the suit was brand new. And once you learn the suit more you’ll probably make up for the lack of performance with how you’ve learned to fly it to the limit of its ability. At a certain point I can see a suit not worth flying anymore, but I would guess that number is nearing like 800 jumps based on my own experience. With people having hundreds of tunnel hours I think we’ll start to get a good idea on the upper limits, but then I think the skydiving environment is a lot worse for longevity than the tunnel. 


  6. On 3/6/2021 at 2:47 AM, wingsweet said:

    May I ask if you solely mean a "zero degree an/dihedral angle" other than a zero degree wing sweep, which by design modern wingsuit don't have (anymore).

    Keep your arms flat the entire time you’re flying. You flare by taking the whole flat wingsuit/body and pointing it downward to gain a lot of speed, and then you flatten it out and finally you point it “upward” which causes a flare. Diving and flaring shouldn’t be initiated by “sweeping” then  flattening the arms. 
     

    If you go back and watch the early ‘proximity flying’ videos you’ll see most people were diving by sweeping their arms back (dihedral) which will cause you to fly steeper, but you’re giving up power compared to when you watch the newer terrain flyers that don’t have any V shape to their arms because they’re taking the whole wingsuit with the arms flat and pointing it down the mountain which results in higher speeds and much bigger flares when they need to pull off the line. I think Scotty Bob was one of the first people to really start doing it. Since then it’s become standard practice for diving and flaring. 
     

    the TopGun BASE site has all that info in a much more drawn out and technical approach but essentially just dive without pulling your arms back and flare without dropping your arms and you’ll be going faster and flaring higher. 


  7. At those numbers I’d buy one of the newer beginner/intermediate suits that have a surprising amount of performance and just learn to rock it. Swift 4 or Magister aren’t too big but they are slightly larger than the smallest suits offered by the company. With one of those and some practice you should be able to fly with Havok/Funk/etc. suits. Even ATCs and Strix if they fly a little dirty for you. 


  8. 21 hours ago, Westerly said:

    Two seasons actually (and part way into the 3rd), and I now have 1,150 WS jumps including 100 WS BASE jumps on more than 50 wingsuits (mostly 5-6 suits). Just because most people only do 200 jumps a year doesent mean we all do. Also, there are no 'seasons' in half the USA where DZs are open year-round. Regardless, the Carve is slow and I'll back that in person if anyone wants to come to the DZ with one.

    You’re missing the point entirely. The Havok was designed for acro. The ATC was not. Comparing them doesn’t make sense, and you just sound like an idiot for bringing them up in the same conversation. 

    • Like 2

  9. I have 500 jumps on my original Havok and just did my first WS BASE jumps with it last year. They’re amazing suits and I think they’re probably the best all around suits ever made, but I’d only be offering like 350 for one now. For 500 you can find a Carve and for a bit more a C2rve 


  10. On 2/6/2020 at 7:47 PM, timski said:

    Welcome to the conversation DAVE, I'm obviously speaking of Tony in FL and NOT the SQL boys. Carry on. 

    P.S. It's my personal experience that Asians take A LOT of pride in there work, and it shows. 

    ;) 

    Well that’s what I get for drunk posting. Misread your post. 


  11. 13 hours ago, timski said:

    I know the crew, I know the suits, I also know a thing or two about successful marketing, and a couple/few are doing it right. But I digress. 

    It is nice to have an AMERICAN MADE product as an option!    

    Wait, you’re claiming the suits sewn in Vietnam are AMERICAN MADE? Lol. The most American wingsuit is Tony. 


  12. Spectres are alright, very square and stable, but they tend to snivel longer than you want in a wingsuit canopy. Longer snivel = more chance for line twists. Personally I think the 9 cell Pilot is the best all around WS canopy. Short snivels, flat glide for getting back from long spots, and stable in twists. Of the wingsuit-specific canopies on the market I’ve heard the best reviews (from non-sponsored jumpers) about the WinX from Atair. In regard to size, wingloading isn’t the biggest factor, but rather the smaller the canopy the shorter the line set and it puts the canopy more into the wingsuit burble than with a larger canopy. 

    • Like 1

  13. lol @ the guy trashing the Havok. It may very well be the best all around wingsuit ever made. 

    But anyway, you’ll just have to decide if price is enough of a consideration to possibly have a suit you don’t like as much/ can’t fly as well with. That said - a very prominent Phoenix Fly person has told me they think Intrudair is actually a pretty decent substitute for PF if money is a big concern and you don’t wanna spend more. 


  14. 9 hours ago, val4o said:

    Just get a Kraken! NZA came out with an amazing product, took them 2 years to make, but it is totally worth it! I am flying a Kraken 169 at 1.26 with an ATC and have had only butter soft on heading openings! Pilot7 sucks, had 3 chops on it. It was the zp version. Just unleash the Kraken, you will not regret it!

    You had 3 chops on a 169 Pilot 7 and an ATC? Yeah I’m not so sure I’ll be listening to your canopy advice lmao 

    • Like 3

  15. Disadvantage: Without sounding sexist (even though it still might) I think the biggest issue women face flying wingsuits is the comparative lack of upper body strength in regards to men. Obviously there are some badass women out there flying the largest, most highly pressurized race suits, but I’ve seen a whole lot of women mention how hard it is to fly even small or medium-sized suits and how tired their arms get. I don’t think too many women see a lack of cute designs as the biggest hurdle. 

    Advantage: many women are smaller framed and can get similar performance from a smaller suit than many men can. 

     

    • Like 1

  16. Oh I’ll also add: there was a guy at Summerfest last year that went straight reserve on his ATC that I think was quite new to him at the time and he’d just arrived after driving like 18hrs from Canada so I’m assuming fatigue played a role in that one on top of the inexperience. 


  17. It was beyond stupid. After he asked me what I thought he didn’t like my answer so he asked the other experienced flyer at the DZ the next weekend and that guy said the same thing. Clearly he was shopping around for somebody to tell him he’d be ok. Then he bought the Funk anyway and said “I just wanted it now, but I won’t fly it yet”. I knew that was BS, but I wasn’t as firm about it as I will be in the future for those cases.

    Now after all that imagine my horror when I saw him comment on a sale post about an ATC and he gave the same “I wasn’t gonna fly it yet I just wanted to buy it and hold onto it” *eye roll*.  Some people are bound and determined to kill themselves it seems. 


  18. Personally I never have, but a jumper at my DZ started in a P2 and reported having occasional trouble finding his handle, so when he had 25 jumps and asked my opinion on upsizing to a Funk told him it wasn’t smart. So did the other experienced flyer. What did he do? Bought the Funk, jumped it, and wasn’t able to find his PC (never did a practice touch up high). Tumbled from 5,000ft down until his AAD saved his life, because on top of all that he’d hooked up the suit wrong and had reserve handle inside. 


  19. 12 hours ago, 20kN said:

    I'd disagree. Squirrel's products are still noticeably superior than the other brands. It might not be a night and day difference, but small amounts of attention to detail go a long way and Squirrel consistently considers the small details while the other brands largely skip over them.

    You’re joking, right? The only thing you can give Squirrel the edge on is customer service. Their products aren’t any higher quality than PF or Tony. 


  20. I jumped a 120 Storm for about 15 jumps. 14 of those were the best wingsuit openings I’ve ever had. The other one convinced me it was only a matter of time until I chopped it. The friend I sold the Storm to chopped it within 20 jumps. Most of the time they’re great, but every once in a while they open with a significant turn that took a substantial rear riser input to stop. I thought I was crazy until I read a thread here on the forums of people reporting the same thing. I went to a smaller 9 cell and I’ve never had the same issue. 


  21. 14 hours ago, 20kN said:

    If the Strix is similar to the ATC then I am wondering why Squirrel calls for 70 WS jumps for the ATC but Phoenix Fly wants you to have 200 WS  jumps to fly the Strix. I have my own theory as to why this is, but I am curious what others say.

    Because Squirrel has always done that. It really seems to be part of their business/marketing strategy. Also I think there’s a bit of forgetfulness of what it’s like to be a new flyer. A Squirrel team pilot with 3,000 wingsuit jumps is going to, obviously, say a suit like an ATC is easy for them to control. For somebody coming from 70 jumps on small suits I don’t think they would say the same. I’ve seen several cutaways, flat spins, and even no pulls on ATCs by people that upsized into them with hardly any experience. Jump number recommendations are another debate, but we have to at least try and set a recommendation, and I think more than 70 jumps is logical for suits of this power. 


  22. 2 hours ago, A-73988 said:

    Does the pocket slider completely solve the issue? I swear I read somewhere on this website that a dude was getting very hard openings even with the pocket slider. The thought did cross my mind. 

    I owned Sabres for years. Went from a 170 to 150 to 135 to 120. Even with a pocket on it, the 135 and 120 would slam the shit out of me on wingsuit jumps occasionally. The pocket helps reduce the frequency of slammers but doesn’t negate them entirely. Went to a Spectre and found it opened too slow. Swapped for a Pilot and have never been happier. 


  23. 3 hours ago, birdynamnam said:

    yeah f... it. Don't mind those silly limits, lol they obviously didnt think of mad skill swoopers. While you're at it also exceed the limits on your reserve as well. It all adds spice to the action about to take place. Envision the heartpumping day you have that mailfunction on your main, what can be more spicy than ending up in a tiny tiny reserve that has line twists generated in the tens as you spun away from your cutt from that mailfunction, and then... the ready to rock and roll loaded reserve starts spinning you on your back, but offcourse. Yeah there is a few higly action packed videos on excactly this, but really they can be improved, you can create your own video and It's about challenging yourself man... And that small rig on you back - is so cool and sexy on the ground :-D 

     

    Seriously, a small reserve is just not very clever the day it goes haywire

    It doesn’t take a ‘madly skilled swooper’ to understand that canopies, especially non-ZP canopies, land better when they’ve got a little speed. Not like you’ve gotta do a 720*, just do double fronts or a 90 and it’ll land much nicer. Also - he said it was a 1.3 WL, that’s not exactly excessive.