elleof8ed

Hey all. Thanks for the responses, and sorry for abandoning the thread. I didn't expect more than a couple responses, so once I got those, I stopped looking for new replies. Oops! That said, all of your responses are much appreciated. Several of you asked why I was leaning toward a 7-cell. While I'm not set on anything, I was leaning that direction for two reasons. First, I like the idea of a very docile canopy. I'm a nervous wreck under canopy, so I want my first main to be pretty forgiving. Second, smaller pack volume. I don't know for sure how quickly I'll be able to downsize, of course, but starting with a 7-cell canopy (or a small-packing 9-cell like a Pulse or zpx Pilot) would allow me to downsize a couple times with the same container. Again, I haven't made any firm decisions, but I also don't care too much about the various flight characteristics of my first main as long as it opens and gets me to the ground safely. I just see it as something to use while I'm building my skills and deciding what's really important to me in a canopy. Then, when it's time to downsize, I'll know more about what I want. Am I going about this the wrong way?

As a very recent AFF grad myself, I wanted to chime in about a couple of things. 1. Thank you for posting this. Even though I've got the skills needed to stay stable in freefall (and that's pretty much the only thing I can do) and even though I have loved every single jump I've done, I still catch myself having the same doubts about whether this is really for me and whether I'll ever get good at it. Those doubts tend to be worst at around 8K feet on the plane ride to altitude. haha. Anyway, it's helpful to know that you and many others have also struggled with these doubts, so thank you. 2. I just wanted to echo a couple of the points made earlier about AFF. The first few levels aren't fun. They're hard, stressful, and they feel like a test, which is why you feel a crushing sense of failure if you screw up. Try to remember that a skydive is a skydive. If you deployed your parachute and got to the ground in one piece, you passed. You just... may need to pass again a couple of times before you do a different dive flow. :) Once you get to AFF levels 5 - 7, though, you'll be amazed at how much more fun it is and, if you're like me, you'll actually be able to feel yourself improving second by second during those jumps. Persevere at least until you get to that point. It will be so worth it. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks guys! Labrys, you're right. "Recommend" wasn't the right word choice on my part. I just noticed the difference on the maximum load charts for the two canopies and wondered if that meant the storm needed to be loaded heavier for performance. Thanks again!

Hey guys, Newb jumper here. I'm just starting to think about my first gear purchase, and I'm leaning toward a 7-cell main. I've been reading a lot about the Spectre and the Storm, and it seems that PD recommends a notably higher load on the Storm than the Spectre. For example, looking at a 170 sq foot canopy in both models, PD lists the maximum exit weight (for a novice) as 153 on the Spectre and 170 on the Storm. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? My initial reasoning was that a Spectre 170 would be a good first canopy for me. It would be a pretty light load (my exit weight is around 150) and I could easily downsize later to a 150 9-cell without needing a new container. Then I heard about the storm and thought that sounded like a good option, but would I be too light to fly the Storm 170? (Of course, I'll try several canopy models before I settle on one, but I'm trying to do my homework while I'm still renting student gear.) Thanks!!

Hi Chad! I'm new, too. In fact, you and I are in the same boat. I'm also a few levels into AFF and loving it, but wondering when I'm going to get the hang of this landing thing. Welcome!