Maddingo

Since the Safire 2 was produced by the same company I wonder what are the differences now that they have divided. Both have launched the new beginner/intermediate canopies and I want to hear about the flight chracteristics of the new designs. There was a lot of talk about the Safire 3 but I haven't seen any posts and reports about the S-fire. How does it stack up against the competition?

Gave it to a friend not long ago, and he psycho packed it with cells twisted inwards. The longest, softest opening ever. It was actually hilarious how gently it brought me up. Like a little baby. :D

I hear good things about the Volt. It is much cheaper new than used Safires, Sabres and Pilots and it is somwhere between a a Pilot and a Sabre. It has better openings than Sabre and is a bit steeper than Pilot. But that's what I heard, I do not have any experience on it yet.

Well a newbie here but still. 1-10 270 0.90 10-40 250 0.98 Gonna transit to a 210 in the spring with a couple of jumps on a 230 before just to double check. I became a bit bored on this canopy, I land on feet no problem: no wind, crosswind, downwind

Its the same company as the sky-shop.eu the European version. They are a good company. Always deliver, answer questions and act professional. Their prices are very nice.

Secure fastening is not a problem I always make them tight. I also thought about pushing them back down a bit as you mentioned, but I'm a bit scared of accidentally pushing them down to the knees. :D

Well I get better canopy rides and worse, I always find it more comfortable if I contract legs to a sit position, then it's fine. But I feel that should be my natural position when I relax my legs not straining the muscles.

I have a question of my own. Regarding leg straps, which are the most comfortable? Which company produces the widest, softest leg straps? This is the only issue for me after deployment. Those legstraps bite you in the legs hard sometimes. Are there any strapping techniques or is it just the way it is... uncomfortable. I love canopy flying but before I buy my own rig I wanna know which system has the most comfortable set up. I'm a big guy 193cm so it is possible the borrowed rigs fit me so badly the straps slide up too far.

I must say most of the times people are amazed when I say I skydive. They get that respect, as if you were doing something supernatural and get all excited and start asking about how it feels and that they want it too. :P Then there are some that call me crazy, but I always reply with a smile. I tell the same story to all of them, I don't mind making a good promotional speech about our sport. I mostly tell them that I feel freedom which cannot be achieved on the ground and I wish everybody could find such a great release as I get from skydiving. And finally I always invite them to try :)

I noticed a few things during my early deployments that made my canopy twist up. 2 times was very bad, if I would have any higher wingload I would probably have to chop it. So cut to the chase, I noticed the canopy twisted up on me because of the following reasons: 1st both times my tuck tab came open which induced a bit of a turn during my riser deployment. 2nd I tried to control the opening by pulling the risers apart and "catching" the canopy to make it open on heading. 3rd I looked at the canopy during deployment and didn't relax enough. 4th my deployment was too sudden I tended to jerk my body which induced a rocking motion during the pull... slow down. There can always be a gear factor but for me it was mostly human error. So after I fixed all of theese problems my deployments suddenly became absolutely wonderful. On heading, soft openings, no fuss... except for that one time because of a packing error, nothing serious.

Theese days you have a couple of good full-face option and I would not limit myself to a certain model. Test them out and see which works best. From what I've seen od dz's the Z1 are on the smaller side as are the cookies g3. Then you have models like Kiss and Bonehead which provide enough room even for sunglasses on big skulls. ;) You should really try them and see which fits best. I always liked the new Z1 but was too small for me.

You are a real inspiration to me as a new skydiver. I love your podcasts and alot of your discussions helped me get trough some initial troubles.

I started with SL, 3rd jump I froze (but i managed to cancel the jump on the ground) and I left skydiving untill next year. Took up AFF class and the fear at one point just transformed into anticipation and healthy concentration. MY 1st SL was absolutely terrible. I was so terrified I couldn't even think straight. It's a process every newbie must deal with, you are not alone. And my best advice is to just decide one the ground to jump out of the plane. Make the decision before you even put on your parachute that day. Just focus, don't let the fear stop you, jump over your fear. It Will hold you by the neck untill you let go of that wing and when you do, fear Will have to let go, because it does not have the guts to follow you ;) All in all it's a mental thing, that's why skydiving is so fun. Tandems can help but in most cases jumping out alone is a total different game. I had classmates who have done tandems and when the time came to jump by themselfs they quit and never came back. NOTHING can prepare you for your first solo canopy flight. The fear of the fall is real and it is a bit of a weird sensation at the beginning but you eventually don't even notice it anymore :D Don't worry just go!

I've heard alot of good things about the Volt from Parachute Sytems, cheaper, pretty much the same flight characteristics and it is said they open a bit better.

From what I have heard the Infinity and Curv 2.0 are one of the best free-fly rigs, less expensive option is the Icon container nexxgen. I have also come across an opinion that chest and hip rings are useless unless you are capable of performing more complex figures in free fall (gymnastics).

You have different opinions out there. In general there are older skydivers that will say to stick to an open face for safety and then you have younger instructors who say that there is no problem wearing full-face. I use full-face from the beginning and I had no Issues with FOV, hearing, fogging etc. Modern helmets are designed by the latest standards and needs of a skydiver. I had a crazy line twist this year, was kicking sweating, breathing like crazy, was 100% the lens will fog up. At the end I only saw drops of water running down on the inside of my visor, that was it. I opened it after I kicked out the problem.

By lighter I meant from the full stop/stall point I let go of the pressure on the toggles just a bit (few percent maybe) so I glide out straight when the wind is stronger. Thanks for the clarification of the "swinging" part I'll practice timing my landings better. By momentum on no wind days I meant to say that there is no additional stopping power from the wind and all you have is your precision and canopies ability to flare. Thanks for help!

I have a question here. I am still learning to get good landings and it is mostly the no wind conditions that are tricky for me. Give me a moderate wind and I Will land standing up, give me a no wind or a sudden gust from the side I somehow feel that I sink to the ground too fast and I risk injury to my ankles or knees. I always try to do a two stage flare so I level out first then when I start to sink I fully flare. It is also funny that when I can see that I Will stand up a landing I always cautiously do not apply full flare to the canopy because it swings me on my butt. My instructor didn't like the idea although I explained to him that I only let go of the pressure because I felt I was swinging back too much. The landing was super soft. Maybe he got scared so I wouldn't crash with a lighter flare on a no wind day? I am a very careful student and always understand that every jump, landing is different so I need to adapt. I do not like the idea "land everything the same way" because I believe that is not the case. So my question is if the rushing ground is something that I have to get used to and run it out or am I doing something wrong here? For me it feels like I have too little forward momentum on my student canopy to land all no wind days on my feet... that said I also realise I can't do much untill I get better at canopy piloting. Is it possible that last 50m inputs slow me down even more and kill the flare power? I don't make sudden jolts but I tend to correct my approach until the last 20m.

Bought the new KISS for a really cool price (cheaper than G3). Pro's: venting system lens FOV lens replacement mechanism lens locking system strapless fastening to the head damn cool look no fogging outside audible pockets comfort thick material, helmet looks and feels sturdy sound isolation Con's: -If you don't get a special deal a bit more expensive than a g3 - no top mount for the cool kids (but you can install mouth grellfab mount) I personally cannot fit my head into a xxl G3 but the KISS will fit me XL perfectly. I have a long head from chin to the top. I think it is gonna last me for a long time and I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of this helmet with every jump I make. Compared to Cookie the build and the feel is much better. I have the green lime variety with the black mouthpiece.

I do not know for you, but I wear basketball "high top" trainers. They are made for supporting your ankles and have a nice large, flat, grippy, surface. I was braking a bit high not long ago on a hot and windless day, so I dropped from somewhere a meter to the ground. I put my legs togheter and the high top shoes helped me stabilise my ankles a bit more. So all I got was a bit of a sore ankle for a few hours. I was back in the air that day and I landed no problem. So my best recommendation is to buy shoes with a large flat surface and good ankle/foot support. I would also like to stress out that the images provided are not any commercial, I don't work for any shoe company. ;)

I bought it too. The helmet is very well made with practically unobstructed field of view, I literally can't see my helmet when I'm wearing it. I couldn't fit my head into an XXL Cookie G3, but the KISS is a great fit in an XL size. It's for the people with the big oval shaped heads (long from chin to the top of the head). I also like the sound isolation. When the visor is closed the loudness drops up to 50%. I am super happy with the purchase. The tightening system feels very secure and it's immposible to take it off when u lock it in place. I also breathed heavily trough the mouth on the ground to try and fog it up, couldn't do it. :D All in all, couldn't be happier. Tried Cookie, Phantom X and KISS before purchase. The phantom XL was to tight on my head.