Maddingo

You should also consider that student canopies are "buses" in the sky. The performance increases just by going from lets say a 240 Navigator to a 230 Sabre II, Pilot 250-230 etc. sports canopy 2nd One are numbers and scales and other are facts. Downsizing for a 6ft 2" 250lb man is a very different experience than a 5ft 8" jockey with 180lbs of weight. I read a lot of downsizing guides and approaches and noone even considered (except Brian Germain) the difference between a large vs small person. I would give more importance to how you feel in the air with different sizes of canopy and what do people on the ground think about your flying. The biggest difference I noticed when downsizing is the speed, which can be adjusted to pretty quickly if you are methodical and careful (to some extent afcourse), the other is the dive potential when u turn your canopy... that is the part you really got to be careful about. Noone also considers the DZ's. If you jump at a small DZ with max 5-6 people in the air you can probably get away with a smaller canopy, if the DZ is busy, not so much if it is beyond your skill level. Theese guides should not be taken literally from my perspective more like a very basic guideline. 3rd You can find a 240 that will feel like a 210 and vice versa. I'm talking from what I've demoed. At the same wingload I've encountered very different flight characteristcs and I've never went beyond square 1.1 wl canopies during this time. Some made the flight almost too exciting, others felt like slugs...

I had the same issue. Couldn't fit the g3 on my head no matter the size, not mentioning the claustrophobic feel they gave me. Tried on several different ff helmets and then I found my baby... I bought the Kiss helmet and it fit me like a glove. I even got it cheaper than a new Cookie. The G3 is good for round heads and the chin problem you mention will go away in a split second in a Kiss or Phantom. They are made long from chin to the top. The lining is also adjustable and no annoying neck buckle suffocating you + two external audible ports. What can I say, I love it. Will never buy a Cookie.

It will pack in a 190 container, but I was advised regular zp from a very reliable source due to increased wear on zpx. I also had the honor packing a 1 size to big zp pilot in a container. It was hell of a struggle but it is doable. Wouldn't recommend for regular jumping. Canopy had a noticable hesitation during deployment.

Owners of Wings, don't you dread a reserve hesitation or lock on theese systems? The reputation for Wings containers is pretty bad atm.

Just search the market, a lot of better cameras than the GoPro. GoPro is a kewl toy for the kewl kids, but there are better options out there.

I'm surprised noone still heard of the new Tonfly helmet...

I noticed their canopies (volt etc.) tend to have thicker fabric, so it is possible they fit tight because of that? I'm not the best at packing and I have to say packing a Volt into a Vortex sized for that canopy was easy. No problem.

Why is that? Why is Vortex so bad? I heard a lot of people say it is bad but noone gives any conclusive answer is to why they hate it. It's like this rig is the ugly kid is school.

Thanks for that rigging aspect. Is there any other disadvantage of an exposed reserve pilot chute? Wear, snag hazards, prone to unintentional acitvations? Or is it more of a packing issue and looks?

Why is a (slightly) used Infinity better over a new custom Vortex in your opinion?

So here is the deal, I'm on the market for a container and have accumulated theese three options. I can get a new stock Vortex tailored to my size (custom harness), with hip rings, free fly handle, magnetic covers and cut-in laterals all covered with spacer foam for 1600$ final (shipping included all taxes etc.) An Infinity dom 2016, lightly used, tuck tabs, hip rings, floating laterals sewn close to my size, 1900$ An Icon dom 2015(?) with normal hackey, tuck tabs etc, but the sizing is unknown, haven't tried it yet, the container will house my current size canopy but it may be too loose on the step down in the future, 1500$-ish. - negotiable Comments are welcome too, especially if some of you out there have jumped more of theese containers. Pro's, con's? I've demoed the Vortex rig and although it wasn't completely my size the thing was comfortable, I jumped student icons and vortex in the past but the Icon was the worst out of the three I tried. New or not they were all stiff as hell, do Icon sport containers have better comfort level? Even some unknown DOM 2004 sport harness was more comfortable and it was really tight on me.

So after testing this canopy for some jumps I have grown to love it. At 1.15 wingloading it is a fast, reactive canopy that will take your fun to a whole another level. It is a big step up from most student canopies (navigators, solos) etc. so be prepared. It gets you home from long spots, while having a good sporty profile to play with. Toggle inputs are light with flare power to last. Even at my wingload you can get decent dives out of it so it is a good canopy for those getting into swooping. It can fly slow if you are tired or it can get your adrenaline pumping. Packing is a breeze. One of the best canopies I've flown till now. I'm updating this post since I have downsized to a 185. I must say nothing has changed. Everything just got a bit faster and more fun. I load it at 1.3 and it opens and flies perfectly. Soft openings are standard. Love it even more now. I would say it feels even better at 1.3 than at 1.15. Everything is more positive, the wing feels like a part of your body. I had a light downwind on my 3rd jump and ran out no problem, great flare. The only problem I noticed after 50 jumps it is not that consistent on openings. It varies from a 2 sec fast off heading deployment to a perfect 4 second on heading with same packing every time. It is a steeper trimmed canopy compared to a Safire 3 and Pilot. I'd say it is closest to a Sabre 2.

The canopy is one of the easiest canopies I have ever packed (and it was a 210 size), when deploying it is quite soft, but it tends to turn so it's best to be prepared for a little "deployment flying". In flight the toggle pressure is quite high which I didn't like and I immedietly noticed the lack of flare compared to a 9-cell canopy. It also sinks much faster. The profile was stable even in turbulent winds and it kept flying on heading. In no wind, landings are not the best out there. The canopy is quite steep and you really have to go full arm stretch to perform a soft landing in those conditions... never much running, just prepare your knees and ankles for that thud. So all in all not bad, but I would rather buy some other canopy if I had to choose. She's not my type ;)

Yes I understand, when I was a student a packer politely asked me to set the lines and the slider. I did not know I should do that untill then. So as I mentioned communciate with people it's the easiest way to solve problems in your life.

I don't count wraping as a normal input during flight so I did not mention it.

The worst thing I heard from a packer is: "I pack my parachute way slower and neater than the ones I pack for jumpers". Point being, find a packer you can work with and talk to them, observe them how they pack. Don't be that asshole who expects things, then gets all worked up because the packjob did not happen the way he imagined it in his head. They are still people and not some fabric slaves.

I flew what you want to buy. It is a forgiving canopy that mostly opens on heading. Openings are normal and predictable. It is immposible to stall the canopy. Mind you the new canopy is very slippery and you will probably have some trouble packing it if you are not good at it. It has a steeper glide and the controls are light for this class of canopies. It is sluggish in the top 30-40% of input, so you want to really go full arm stretch on landings. I find it easier to land than a Solo for example. It is a step up from most student canopies but nothing scary.

If you want a protective skydive helmet, Tonfly made one. Cookies, Kisses, Boneheads etc. are all expensive plastic shells with some padding. Their protection capabilities are limited.

I think every skydiver experiences this numbing fear atleast once during his career. (fun or pro does not matter) Some get it at the beginning, some after a few jumps, some after 30. The recipe is the same, pinpoint your fears (triggers) and force yourself to jump, you can do it. You know how to.

I jump a Vortex now and can compare it only to Icon. It is a solid build and it is quite popular around our airports. It is well made and comfortable to wear. It has way more padding than older Icons and the flaps and tabs are just built better. Magnetic riser covers work perfectly if you choose to have them. My opinion is that you can't go wrong. The only problem I can see is the resale value at the moment. I already wrote my impression about the Volt canopy in the 2nd thread. Demoed a Volt 210 1.1, snappy responsive turns, strong flare, a bit fast on openings but nothing painful (I like faster deployments over sluggish ones), light riser pressure, canopy reacts to harness inputs.

I've demoed the Volt 210 loaded at 1.1, it had snappy turns and was quite responsive. Fast openings that were somewhat shaky, but nothing too bad. To those who flew Safire 2 or Sabre 2, how is the trim compared to the Volt? I think the Volt is a very responsive canopy. Light riser pressure and harness steering was new to me. The flare was strong.

@djl Well yes I agree, but turning final means you still have around 100m of air. And you can make those correction in the first 20m.

If you fit your head into a G3 very well get the G3. I could not, went for the Kiss. Phantom is a previous version of it. It has unobstructed field of view and it feels much less claustrophobic than a G3, but maybe that was because of my bad fit issue/shape of the head. I recommend checking out the Italian Z1 SL-14 helmet, cheaper, great quality. The other important thing is to have your mouth visible. Easier breathing and communication while skydiving. I seen many skydivers wearing a g3 having their mouth covered, or wearing the kiss having the same issue. If it fits properly the liner will come under your bottom lip. (g3, kiss and bonehead aero helmets). The Phantom covers the mouth mostly. Pricewise from the most expensive to the cheapest: Bonehead Aero (full face visible) - 2 closed audible ports - chinstrap Kiss (full face visible if proper fit) - 2 open audible ports - strapless liner latch system G3 (full face visible if proper fit) - 2 closed audible ports - chinstrap Z1 SL-14 (full to partial mouth obstruction) - closed or open audible ports - depends on the model - chinstrap Phantom x/xv (full to partial mouth obstruction) - closed audible ports -strapless liner latch system

Yes, all well untill you wanna get separation because things, you want to bleed some altitude, student panics, someone borrows a rig etc. I see no major advantage over a normal aad.

Damn, I'm a totally different guy, I do things how they feel inside some established boundaries. Use risers? I use them all the time and land quite consistently without zigzaging. Is the windsock up? U will go short, so turn faster, no wind, too long? Pull down the front risers for a couple of secs it will bleed 10-20m in a blink of an eye. I believe you can adjust your landing spot for a good amount of time on final and with some range.