tzaman

It wasn't my intention to spam, as I am indeed on the lookout for new gear, I thought there are more like me, to take the opportunity to shave a couple % off the already expensive equipment.

I was thinking we should have a thread for this, if you find any good Skydiving gear discounts, paste it here. Mine: http://www.intrudair.hu/

I use Under Armour batting gloves (https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/mens-ua-yard-clutchfit-baseball-batting-gloves/pcid1265933-003) and absolutely love them. They tend to be on the smaller size though, so buy one size larger. Or buy both and trade the second pair at DZ, they look cool so it's easy to sell them.

I'll give you what I think is the most invaluable advice I've been given by my instructor when I started packing my own canopy. Get someone really experienced to do it for you (bribe/pay them if necessary) while you watch and then ask why - all the time. Do that with a couple of people, if possible. To me, this was a big revelation. Once you understand why you're doing a particular thing during a pack job, you'll feel significantly more confident in your pack jobs. If you need help: - why do we push the slider all the way up? - why do we put the slider fabric between risers? - why do we break the canopy? - why do we put the cells' fronts together? - why do we push the fabric between line groups? - why do we fold the fabric around the canopy and how many times? - why do we need to apply a bit of pull force when doing the S-fold? - why do we put the d-bag into rig with lines on the bottom? - why do we fold the pilot chute like we do? Once you have all these questions answered (and a couple of your own, because each person has their own tricks, as others have stated), things will start making much more sense, and you'll quickly gain confidence in your packing. Good luck!

Thank you for clarification (and kind words) - I think I'll go with the 580 (I said 550 because Safire3 order form lists 550 and 750). I'm not after high performance but based on my relatively low number of expected jumps per year (50-80) I think I'll appreciate any good choice I make now for a good number of years. I'm quite obsessed with all the details really - about 14 days ago I even asked a friend who's a rigger whether I can observe him assemble his rig after he purchased a new container. I must say it was a very illuminating saturday afternoon: 3-rings, RSL, AAD, Reserve, Soft links... it all makes sense now, and I'm definitely doing it again.

I wasn't trying to make one. I was concerned about safety implications of the choice. For example, a rigger at my DZ told me line twists are slightly harder to kick out of thinner lines.

I've sat next to the dealer when he was filling in the order form for the Vector, but his English is not that good, so I don't know his further correspondence with UPT (if any) - the order form has canopy (main + reserve) fields which we filled out, but I don't know to what extent UPT considers it. Maybe I should contact UPT on my own to be 100% sure things are moving in the right direction?

Thanks for the advice, but packing-wise I have no problems whatsoever, I've observed and asked (too much probably) skydivers around me since completion of the AFF, so I'm 100% confident in my pack jobs. Regarding the wallet, let's assume it's not an issue, so if in a year I discover another canopy that suits me better, I will have no problems changing.

Hey everyone, this is actually my first post after stalking these forums for about two years :) I'm buying my first rig (have ~100 jumps, last 35 on a 170 Volt with fairly consistent standup landings within designated spot) and upon talking with more experienced skydivers and riggers at my DZ I decided I'm going to go with a Vector. I've chosen V349, Safire2 169 as the main and PD reserve 176. Since based on Vector sizing chart, optimal fit for V349 are 149s (which is what I'm aiming for as my final downsize once I have enough experience), I'm wondering whether it makes sense to order thinner Vectran lines in order to remove some bulk from the pack. I'm jumping WL ~1.25 and have no problems with relining after 300 jumps or so. And the question: what are the potential downsides of going with Vectran 550 compared to 750? Thank you!