FlyEpic

Started in skate shoes, those sucked with little shock absorption and zero support, and would split pretty early in their life. Got some Keens with a low profile tread, they are like a light casual hiker style of shoe, with a wind and waterproof membrane in the shoe that keeps toes a lot warmer and dry in winter. Has good toe protection, and they're comfy and strong as. Buy 'em on sale unless you're loaded

I put 22 jumps on a brand new 9 cell Pilot ZPX 188 rental canopy with WL at 0.95, then went to a Sabre 2 170 loaded to 1.04 Canopy had less than 50 jumps on it when I started jumping it. I found the Pilot in some ways less demanding to fly, fairly easy to land in different conditions right from when I first jumped it. However once I dialled in the Sabre2 landings I vastly preferred them. I love how it flies. I prefer how it opens, a bit faster but softer than the pilot tended to. The flare is wicked powerful on Sabre2, even at my lighter WL. When I get the timing of the flare perfect and fully flare it, landings are amazingly soft with zero forward speed left. A lot of the power feels like it is at the lower end of the flare. How much of that difference I feel at landing those canopies on the same DZ is the effect of WL versus canopy design differences, I don't know. Just my experience, other people's may vary.