kitof1976

880.00 for a new wings articulated container , DOM 05/03 700.00 for a new smart reserve 150 DOM 05/03 430.00 for a Triathlon 150 DOM 11/01 with about 400 jumps. Total 2010.00 including tax, and S+H. "We see the world just the way we are...

It seems really odd that you have a problem fiting your 150 main in a W13-1 because I have a W9 and I fit a triathlon 150 in mine with not that much troubles. I also have a 150 reserve in it also.Sure it's a bit of a tight fit but it manageable. It became easier to pack after a few dozen jumps though. "We see the world just the way we are...

I am with you on that one brotha...

Sorry to hear about your main... I am glad you made it through and that your reserve saved your butt. I actually have a smart reserve also and I never had to use it yet... I would love to hear your comments on the reserve ride as there are not many people who have gotten their butt save by a smart yet. "We see the world just the way we are...

43582... I guess I'll be 22 for ever "We see the world just the way we are...

Ever thought of getting your hands dirty and getting done yourself??? It's true that 1350.00 for a clutch sounds really stiff to me! A new clutch kit cost around 150.00 at any part's store... so do the math and it seems like it will take them mucho hours to change your clutch!!! A clutch can be changed in a few hours (3 to 4 hours) if you have the right tools and a lift. Which I am sure they do have Of course they can warranty their work at this price... I mean no matter what you do, whenever someone brings their car to the mechanic, they will get the shaft!! I personally got shafted so many times that I decided to fix them myself! It really is nothing complicated and it will save you beaucoup bucks in the long run! Just get the repair manual for the car you have and follow the directions... Once you learn a little bit about how your car works, you will really start to understand that mechanics and dealer are crooks...Fixing a car is not rocket science and sometimes the guy that has to fix the car at the dealer doesn't know much about cars than my grandma... Anyways, I feel your pain man...car problems suck! Hope thing will work out for you. "We see the world just the way we are...

In my opinion you if you can pick up a set up like this for about 3 grand you are getting a really good deal... I know I wouldn't pay much more for such a set up. Have everything inspected and try it on before you buy anything. Good luck. "We see the world just the way we are...

Hey Sewing is a great skill!!! I almost fell on my ass when I found out how much customs suit cost So I decided to make some just the way I want them. The sewing part is easy. What really is a biotch is the pattern drawing... Once everything is cut and mesured the sewing is a breeze. I wish I had a serger though for overlock stiches... That's definitely the best was to stop the fraying. The machine I used to make these pants was the base model from Wall mart with really not that many stitches. I have put about 20 jumps on my pants and they work great!!! "We see the world just the way we are...

I don't know much about the dolphin, but what I heard of it is very average. If you are kind of short on cash definitely go with the Wings container. It's in the same price range as the Dolphin but it's much closer to the higher end container than the dolphins are. I find the Wings container also much better looking than the Dolphin but that's just me... "We see the world just the way we are...

Good for you!! Yhea... like crazyIvan said: don't forget the pics! I'll settle for a pic of just the chest strap "We see the world just the way we are...

I don't have much experience with other canopies but I really like my Tria 150. What I can say about it is that it feels rock solid and is very stable in turbulent winds. Opening are extremly soft but they do snivel for ages... So it's something get used to and it's something I could do without for hop n' pops. The landings are great and I have stood every landing so far on mine at 1.23: 1 wingloading. It feels plenty zippy to me but it's still docile enough to accept some piloting mistakes. I would not buy one brand new, but a used one is great for a first canopy to learn on. Not to mention they are much easier to pack than other ZP canopies. So also a great choice for the novice jumper learning how to pack! "We see the world just the way we are...

I get the feeling that I forgot something just as I step towards the door all the time ... I usually give a quick handles touch and I am out the door. But Recently I had jump where while in free fall I started to wonder if on of my legstrap came undone because I couldn't really feel the strap around my legs! I started to reajust the legs straps in free fall at about 4500 feet... a bad idea for a stability! I was just scared that if I was gonna pull without tightening them first I would fall out of the harness. "We see the world just the way we are...

The 150/170 canopy sounds right for a newbie (I am newbie too). But since you said you weigh 135 lbs and that the container you wish to buy holds between a 150 and 190 you might end up with a container that is too big real soon. A 150 would put you at 1:1 wingloading which in my opinion is good for a newbie but that is probably the smallest canopy that you can safely fit in that container. If you decide to go to a 135 in a few dozen jumps, which would put you at about 1.1: 1 wing loading, you container will most likely be too big for it. A 1.1:1 wing loading is not over the top for a newbie if you mentioned that you seem to stand up most of your landings... Maybe you should look for a container that can hold smaller canopie because I think you might soon end up with a smaller canopy than what you container is made for. My 2 cents... "We see the world just the way we are...

I am also a newbie and I can tell you that a wingloading of 1.3 with a 170 is probably not a good idea. If you only have 6 jumps, I assume that you have not yet jumped anything sub 200 square feet as most of students canopies are big ones. Don't set your mind on a canopy size based on what the average seem to be for a guy your size with average experience. And take it from a newbie who experienced it. A 1.37 wingloading hauls ass when you are new to the sport. I now have a 1.23 wingloading and it feels just right for my experience and abilities. Go easy, take your time, keep your "cahones" and you ego out of the way and go with what you feel you can safely handle. Instructors can be good judges of what would be a good size for your abilities... but the bottom line is that you are the one that will be landing the canopy. Definitely fly different sizes canopy before you set you mind on one. The key is to be honest with the self evaluation of your abilities. "We see the world just the way we are...

I personally have two young daughters (4 & 6) and I honestly don't see my skydiving as an act of irresponsability. Jumping out of a plane isn't an irresponsible act in itself. To me it's just an other activity in life that could be dangerous like motorcycling, scuba diving, driving a car, crossing a busy road...I do everything I can to be safe and I leave the rest up to fatality. Life is dangerous no matter what you do and no one can control fatality. I personally figured that my chances of dying skydiving are not much greater than the chances of dying from other accidental causes in everyday's life. As long as you keep your skydiving addiction in balance with the emotional and financial responsabilities you have towards your kids, then skydiving is not irresponsible. Skydiving becomes irresponsable when it takes over one's life. My 2 cents. "We see the world just the way we are...

My advice concerning learning how to pack is to learn on a F-111 canopy or on a Triathlon. Triathlons have this ZP fabric that is not as slippery as the regular ZP fabric. I learn how to pack recently and i didn't take a class for it. I tiped a packer who showed me how it was done in real time and how things should look along the pack job. Personally, I could not tell you what lines are called, which ones are suppose to go together ect... I just know how things should look. So like someone said, you don't need a scientific explaination of what everything is called. You just need to know how it should look and be able to recognize when something is not right. A canopy with color symetry is also a good idea because it really helps you locate things. Canopy with a few hundred jumps seem to get fabric memory. At least this works for my Triathlon. All I really have to do is give it a good shake with the slider all the way up and everything falls into place..line wise at least. So don't sweat it to much...packing is not rocket science just practice and you will get the hang of it. Practice make perfect ! "We see the world just the way we are...

How about making your own pants... there are really not that hard to sew. I designed and made my own for less than 20 bucks. Sure it takes a little while to make them but it's dirt cheap... If you need some info on how to make some PM me. Here is a pic of the one I made. I put about 20 jumps on them and they work great!!! "We see the world just the way we are...

I have ALWAYS a complete package in my car and I used (crashed it) to ALWAYS have a package in my motorcycle aswell. And since you don't ever see me without either one of those that pretty much covers anything. (both eyes need the same contacts so 1 package -6 contacts- should be enough for all events) Thanks for reinforcing the idea that I am the only idiot that never thought of bringing spare contacts to the DZ I just had to learn the hard way... The truth is that in 12 years of wearing contacts, I have never lost one doing various high speed activity. Hopefully, this will serve a purpose for somone who, like me, never thought of it... "We see the world just the way we are...

I just wanted to post about an incident that happened to me yesterday at the boogie in Davis CA. I got there on Monday morning for the last day of the boogie and I was pretty stoked about being able to jump from the casa... So anyway, I payed the registration fee and I bought a few jump tickets and off I was for my first jump of the day!!! The exit from the casa for a solo jump was a blast and I went into a stand and held it for about 15 seconds... I was hauling ass until i felt my left eye watering up real bad!!! I went back to the belly position and deployed at 3500... while under canopy something did not feel right... My vision was all messed up because i had lost my left contact. I took my googles off thinking that would fix the problem but all that did was send my contact back in free fall So there I was at 2500 feet with on eye almost blind and pretty disoriented by the feeling. Nonetheless, I was able to land without a problem... So there I was, at a boogie, with a casa to jump from with jump tickets but missing a contact!!!! So I guess the purpose of my post is just to remind people who wear contacts that taking an extra pair of disposable contacts when going to the dz is definetly a good idea. I know I will do so from now on!!! I never even imagined this could happen... but it did and the rest of my day was shot "We see the world just the way we are...

It sucks to be married... I getting a divorce today!!!! "We see the world just the way we are...

I am glad I am not married to you... If you are married to someone and never did them, that means that one of the two has to be a frigid iceberg. "We see the world just the way we are...

Way to go Rebel!!!! You are a true inspiration!!! Good luck on your journey! "We see the world just the way we are...

None and it looks like it's gonna have to stay that way... Unless my wife counts as a skydiver for doing a tandem "We see the world just the way we are...

Welcome to the forums!!! If you like the company of whackos, you will love it around here... "We see the world just the way we are...

You'll like it for sure!!! Smart decision! "We see the world just the way we are...