sundevil777

The "keep an eye out" article on p. 61 of the magazine that showed up today (by Jim Crouch) says that the vast majority of us have brass grommets on the main dbag where bad interaction with rubber bands or tube stows is a real concern. I had thought they were gone long ago.

Forward movement was a goal on some jumps where it seemed to not happen, when you did track, your legs didn’t adjust their position so it was an ineffective track which is common.

Be aware security may demand you open the main and reserve. It does not matter if you have the X-ray cards and USPA letter and all, they can demand it and you can't expect to change their mind. Be aware that carrying your rig around exposed might cause some nervous Nellie to get security involved. No matter how cool it might seem to get on a commercial flight with your rig on your back, it draws unwanted attention and could result in skydivers being treated worse in the future.

Cypres is $53/year more considering the difference in lifetimes.

Comparing cypres to Mars, no time value of money blah blah, $200 more initial cost, + $400 total for 2 inspections/15, = $40/year. This gets the owner a warranty for the 15 years if nothing else. yes, the mars lasts 20 years; so the comparison isn’t quite valid.

My point about getting a used unit applies not just to Cypres. I understand that the used market is tight. Sometimes the per year cost matters less than the "right now" cost. For some, the desire to have a predictable cost (warranty that lasts) is important. I am a fan of the Cypres, but will be considering others when I need to replace mine in few years. The competitors definitely have some advantages, as I have mentioned. I even bought an Astra way back when I returned to jumping after several years away. Fortunately others persuaded me to reconsider and I was able to return it. Back then the only other choice was the original version of the Cypres. The exchange rate at the time allowed me to buy it at perhaps the lowest price ever.

The cypres does have the benefit of being in warranty for the entire lifetime if you get it serviced as recommended. The mars has a 2 year warranty. If the battery on a mars does need to be replaced, even though the mfg says it should last 15 years, it would presumably not be done for free. It is great that it shows the remaining battery life left, and it also shows the pressure the unit is sensing for confirmation to a local barometer. If that pressure check is not within the recommended tolerance, then presumably fixing the unit would not be free. Of course the 15 year warranty of a cypres comes at a cost, and most never need to get their AAD fixed at any time during their life. I think we should acknowledge the trade-off when discussing cost comparisons. Another point worth acknowledging is a Cypres can seem to have no problems at all, no problems during the start-up self-test, and then when SSK does the full series of tests including accuracy/resolution at the fire/no fire limits, high/low temp, vibration, etc it fails to meet the original standards and requires repair before returning to the customer. Does this mean it would have necessarily failed to save your life if needed? No, but it does mean that the mfg is not comfortable with the self test being the only check on the proper function of the unit, and for very good reason - some fail! The self test can't check things to the same extent as can be done at the factory. The self test cannot simulate a jump (simulate the pressures on the transducer) to test the entire system, and cannot test it in harsh environmental conditions. It just is a partial check of the health of the electronics. If cost for an AAD is critical, then getting a used unit is also worth considering. If a used unit is bought at the right price, then the cost/year should be about the same as if buying new. I hear finding used units at the right price is the challenge.

It might be easier than it seems, if you haven't actually tried. Unnecessarily high closing loop tension is common.

You are correct, while I'm holding down on the loop with my thumb, the pin can be taken out and reinserted (there is no reason to want to do that), and of course the pullup cord can be removed with no wear on the loop. I do not "use the pin to pull the loop out a bit...", I just use the pullup cord to get the loop out far enough to allow the pullup to be removed without any friction.

I would be more concerned about losing it from the occasional combat RW encounter. The mag and Grellfab also protrude so far, which makes interference with the mud flaps while looking to the side under canopy worse. I love the https://chinmount.com/ alternative. I haven’t seen anything so low profile, so inexpensive, so well made, and can be used on a Kiss helmet. The ability to dislodge, and break or cutaway is superior to the mag IMO.

I understand your comment about the loop being too long, but no need for concern. It doesn't need to be much past the final grommet for the technique to remove the pullup with zero tension to work.

I was holding the pack tool as you describe, and I still say it is less comfortable than an ordinary pullup. I can agree with you that the spectra cord will wear the closing loop less than a typical pullup used in the normal way, which means withdrawing the pullup when full tension is on the loop/pin. I withdraw my pullup while there is zero tension on the loop, because while the loop is pulled through with extra to spare, I hold my thumb on the loop against the grommet until I get the pullup removed.

I can’t understand the benefit to the pack tool, such a small diameter it hurts more than using a wide pull up cord/ribbon. Even those seem fancy to me, for I grew up using gutted 550 cord. I’ve started using that again the last couple weeks.