bigway

I know mate. I have taken safety measures and made sure customs intercepts it when it is coming through the airport. They will then release it to you once your CCi gives the nod. Im not very funny am i. Think it has something to do with the kiwi dry humour. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

I didnt sell you a 150. shhh, what are you talking about? You have a 170 in that container. Go away now and be quiet .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

It does make you wonder who he purchased the Micron off for such a small canopy with his jump numbers. Saying that though, there must be a reason the gear store he purchased from has sold him something so small. I think in my limited time in the sport i have only seen 2 girls on a 135 within their first 100 jumps and that was because they weighed around 50 kgs. to the original poster. I am sure you have purchased this size because it was reccomended to you. Can you tell us why your instructors suggested this canopy to you and what your canopy experience is so far? Like how many jumps on a 150 have you got and what canopy it was or how many on a 170 etc? Just hoping you can explain your comments to make sense of it to the people in the community who think it is a bad idea. Also, how much do you weigh? Were you advised that this is the correct size for you? If so, who from? I dont mean to sound like i am drilling you, its just your comments as to landings smooth as butter etc seem like you could give some more information in to why you are on this canopy. There is a few countries that you would not be allowed to jump this size canopy in. It is VERY rare for someone with under 100 jumps to order a container made for a 135 i would think. How many jumps did you actually have when you were told to buy this size canopy? Cheers mate. be safe! .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Have yo noticed all the 'first rig' threads are very similar? They all come from a person who registered on that day and have a blank profile but they all post in the 'welcome' section and then straight after in the gear asking what rig they should buy? It almost seems as if it is the same person repeating it systematically on a weekly basis. no offence to the O.P, just this thread popped up five minutes after the other thread with the same story and same routine of just registering and going to the welcome forum. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

HUGE difference and it can actually work both ways. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Maybe a 170 is the perfect canopy for you. Maybe it is not. That only your instructor can tell you. A canopy size can be the difference between life and death and should not be advised to you by people who have never seen you land a canopy ten-20 times in a row. The same goes with a 9-cell and a 7-cell. To tell you the difference in what you would understand at this level... a 7 cell is a more doscile canopy than the more radical 9-cell canopy. I would say more jumpers buy a 9cell than a 7cell but alot of students are advised to make their first canopy a 7cell due to not having a natural skill in canopy control or just because an instructor does not think you are suitable for a 9 cell canopy yet. There are so many reasons and i can only be vague over the forums because only your instructor can advise you what you should be on. In some cases an instructor may not let you jump a 9cell full stop as he thins you will hurt yourself from what he has witnessed to date from you. I am not sure why you think people have different opinions as only two people have replied to your post. If you say that people have different opinions because people on your dropzone are saying different then i suggest you listen to hose than know you and know what you are capable of. Answers to your post in this forum as to what will be good for you can only possible be vague at most and anyone that tells you what canopy you should go out and buy is giving you irresponsible advice if they do not know you and are not your instructor. I sell custom made gear for a living and i am trying to be very careful to only answers some of your queries without giving you any advice other than to speak to your instructor as his reccomendation is the only one you should be looking for. As your instructor given you any advice as to what to look for? If so, let us know what they have suggested and maybe we can guide you to the right gear that is in the classifieds for you to take back to your instructor and show him a short list of what you have found. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Just a quick response..... but for good top end used gear look for canopies that have around 200-300 jumps on it. Canopies with close to 500 jumps may need to be relined. Look at spending maybe $3000 on your first second hand kit with AAD. The less jumps on everything the better the resale price will be for you. Search for the username 'likestojump'. he deals in second hand gear at reasonable prices and it seems his gear is always decent. If you are looking at buying new gear you will be looking at between $5000-$7000. I would only think about buying new gear if your instructor says that he wants to see you on a 190 within 40-50 jumps. that way you can buy new custom made kit made for a 190 so when it is made you will have got enough jumps on the 210-230 or whatever and ready to jump your new kit. Then that kit with the 190 in it would last you a few years if not many years as it should be able to downsize to a 170 later on when you have 150 odd jumps. Bear in mind buying custom made will take an average of 17 weeks so you would have 17 weeks to hire kit in preperation to downsize. However, this is a touchy subject and you should only consider this option after speaking with the instructor that has been by your side and will be watching and coaching you in preperation to downsize you to a canopy you can be on for years to come. Looking for second hand gear, personally i would suggest you look for a Wings container as these are priced well and hold shape really well. Icons are similar and in the same price range. Look for a PD reserve or a smart reserve as these are very common. Try and get one with zero jumps but I would also look at those with 3 or 4 jumps on them. Sure they are good for more, i just know i am picky about my reserve. Look for an AAD, i would say Cypres 2 as these are the Jonny walker blue label of the group. Look for a Sabre 2, Pilot, Safire 2, as a main canopy if you are suggested by your instructor to buy a 9-cell canopy. He/she may suggest a 7-cell for your own good though so make sure you sit down with your instructor and have a good chat about gear and what is suitable for you. if your instructor is not easy to approach or does not have the time of day for you then go to a different dz where you have an instructor paying close attention to your jumps and canopy control. There is so much to consider when purchasing second hand gear, even new gear so take my advice as a 'general common' approach and do not go looking for gear with my advice. This message is just in case you are reading throguh all the classifieds and just want some things to look out for. You MUST sit down with an instructor as there is nobody who does not know you on this website who can tell you what gear is suitable for you when it comes down to size or canopy. The only person who can help you there on this entire planet is the person who pays close attention to every landing you have done to date. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Just gave them a call and will send you a PM. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Yeah, that is understandable. It is a shame i guess they put a canopy out there when they were not 110% happy with materials they were using (if that is the case) but with them being the sort of small company that is trying to bring new innovative products to the sport it sort of can be expected. Actually, maybe it could not be expected by all but i have seen them testing new canopies ever since i started in the sport so see what they have been trying to achieve. I have never seen more deicated guys run a company and put so much money into the sport with such little financial return. These guys are NZ skydivings biggest sponsor at the same time and only two of them are kiwis. I do think it is a shame that they have had to rethink their material after they released it but i am confident they are only going to make it better for the next time you purchase. On a side note mate, I have sent an email yesterday chasing up if they have enough of the other material to put a canopy together for you. Even if it happens to be a different colour for a bit less off the retail price. Will let you know once i have heard back from them. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

what do you regards as unusaly long? Mid season the norm can be between seventeen and twenty two weeks with the majority of popular manufacturers these days such as aerodyne, Icarus, wings and micron. I have experienced wait times in that region with all the manufacturers I mentioned above at least once this year. Maybe wings was a week under that though. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Does anyone know if that guy who ordered PDF ever got his gear after 18 months or something stupid? .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

With aerodyne they have done exactly this with their 'elements' range. Not all stock containers can have options added to them though. With Wings, you could buy a stock container at the moment for around 30% off the MSRP and have it in a couple of weeks. (not made to measure) With aerodyne you could buy stock at the normal sale price and have the harness made to measure and with you in 4 weeks. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

You know i am finding that over the last 12 months more and more manufacturers are producing more stock than usual cause of the wait times. For example, Aerodyne send me a PDF file every friday with their new stock and it is always mega packed. But they sell alot over the weekend. Icarus have a lot of stock. Also Wings do alot of stock containers. If you buy stock it is always nearly the same price, however if you buy a stock wings container these are heavily discounted. For example, you buy a wings stock container and there is no reason you would pay more than $1500usd for the container with the options. I find alot of people buy stock canopies, not so much stock containers. Aerodyne has a great stock programme that they have been building for the past 2 years and i think they have finally hit the point where if you want something now in reasonable sizes then aerodyne has it in stock and will make the harness to fit and delivered within 4 weeks. From what I see, Icarus also has great stock. However, custom made icarus canopies are only taking around 5 weeks with from New Zealand. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

I know your answer mate. You just waited 6 months for a container. Didnt you buy two canopies off me during that 6 months wait for the container as well? .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

So there are some very popular manufacturers who have very big waiting times. Does this affect you purchasing their product brand new (custom made) or not? As a distributor i was suprised to see that some wait times were over 23 weeks at one point. Im not complainign about that but i am wondering if some of you guys thought, well i will just try and find their product second hand then. The reason i ask this is because i notice Safire2's are hard to find second hand, especially Crossfire2's. Icarus in spain had a huge wait at one point and i wonder if the reaosn you cant find these canopies so easily second hand is because it is super easy to sell them as people dont want to wait? Also, on a side note, those that were put off by Icarus's wait time when it was 24 weeks, how come you did not just order from the origon of Icarus NZAerosports as their wait time was only 3-12 weeks? Just curious. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Nobody thought you were blaming anyone. It was very clear you were just showing an unfortunate situation. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

NZ canopies at the moment take 5-6 weeks. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

We do something like this off the Auckland sky tower. Pretty lame and very slow to be honest even if it is from the 6th largest building in the world. it is like a winch letting you down. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

I believe it has 100% I find that i am alot safer than most people i know in any aspect of life, if it be driving, ligting something, crossing the street, anything. I never use to cear about safety but since skydiving i have become a person who likes to make sure i do the things i do with minimum risk for the situation. I look for the way to do it not so much cautious but safety seems to be something that comes first without even thinking about it. I also find i have a go at my partner when she is reckless in daily activities etc. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

So it is. Someone filled the form/confirmation out wrong. A distributor gets a confirmation from the manufacturer after they have placed the order. As a distributor and after seeing this I know that I am going to make sure i thoroughly go over the confirmation and the customers order form alot more caerfull. That is a pretty big let down for the customer i imagine. Not to worry though O.P. They will fix the mess. I imagine there is some sort of re-stocking fee if it is the distributors mistake so there should be no hassles with getitng it replaced quickly. Good Luck. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Alot of the VRW posse's use these grips dont they? .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Do mirage offer two different blue's? Also, the sketch photo, is that the confirmation that the distributor sent back to you as confirmation? On the form did you write 'royal blue' or just blue? What have they said to you since you have told them about this issue. Its a pretty terrible situation you are in, however dont stress too much, if they fix it for you it will only take them a week or two i imagine. Hope it gets sorted out for you. Have you contacted the manufacturer direct? .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

At least they have the guarantee and you have the option to do as many jumps as you want in 30 days and return it. Not every manufacturer has that. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

I wish I had USD and wanted GBP. Anyway, HIFX is who i use to get a better conversion rate when paying my gear manufacturer orders. They hold your money in a trust and sell you other currencies at around 1 cent different (ex GBP/USD) from the market rate, alot better compared to the banks. I would not get in a habit of trying to make money out of this as it is the most risliest situation if you fall into that area. But if you just want to put your money ssafe somewhere for as long as you want, i would buy GBP with them now and leave the money in that account for as many years as you like at no charge and then buy USD back again when the pound is stronger against the USD. Not only will you make a nice amount of cash you will also have it kept safe. For example, right now 10,000gbp is 17,770USD. Last week it would have been $18,600 usd. at some point it will go back to $20,000 USD. I am only waiting till it goes back to $18,200 usd. If you do this, only do it once, cause doing it now would make you money over the next couple of weeks. That is a given considering the politicians are coming back with a change on the bailout tomorrow as they are up for reollection and need to save the world. I reakon they only denied it so they could make themselves look good when they agree to it.. you know, panick americans even more and then look like heroes. So if you make money, dont get greedy and then try to doo it again as then you are going to more than likely lose money. It is not every day you get a chance like this to know that when this bailout gets passed that other currencies will restore some value. You got to realise, banks all over the world have vested interest in the USD and the entire world needs the bailout. America wants to save the world, they know if they dont come up with a bailout that they will be doing more damage to the world than bin laden ever has. You can even put your money in the account and not do anything with it. It costs about $10 a transaction. If the GBP?USD changes by 10 cents (it has dropped 30cents in 2 months) you will make $1000 USD for every 10,000gbp. So change your USD to GBP with them now and then in a week change it back and make a shit load of money but thats it. Then keep it in their account or open an offshore account and have them wire it there for you. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .

Good point, I forgot how long the road was. .Karnage Krew Gear Store .