betzilla

UPT speculated on that for us, here: http://blueskiesmag.com/...ficial-upt-response/. Seems like a long shot to me, but admittedly, they are smarter than I. I have, however, personally seen an inexperienced, poorly supervised packer shove the eye of the pin right through a closing loop before, so Occam's Razor makes me think that's what happened this time too (and probably other times which no one has owned up to or published on the intergoogles).

I totally agree with this. I did my two night jumps fifteen years ago, loved them, landed on target, and will probably never do another, unless it's a ridiculously cool setup. These days, I'm just not that interested in the added risk.

CSR Braids is the place! Here's a link: http://www.csrbraids.com/

As nylon cordura ages, it starts to smell a little like puke (I think rigs that get a little damp are maybe more susceptible to the stink. Might be a fun experiment to try to figure out why some rigs reek and others don't). If that's what's going on with your rig, no number of washes will make that smell go away. I tend to agree with Terry that washing is best left to an experienced rigger, but if you decide to do it yourself, don't forget to pull your AAD and cover all the exposed hook velcro first .

The link has been flipped through the line group between that one line and the other lines. That's why the other ones look twisted around each other.

Looks like the right front link got flipped through its line group a time or two before being connected to the riser. Should take you about a minute to fix it (or an hour if you stink at puzzles).

The V308 stowless bag is perfect for a CF2 129. Should fit your M1 okay too, I think.

exhausting to turn those babies over, isn't it? That's why we nylon technicians get paid the big bucks.

When you are dealing with a symmetrical piece of equipment (like a pair of risers, leg straps, steering lines, whatever), it's actually pretty easy to look at both sides of it and verify that they're the same. Then, if they aren't the same (maybe one side has a bunch of rows of stitching, but the other side doesn't), you can think about why they aren't (maybe one side has rsl stuff, and that's why there is more stitching), and decide whether it's a defect. I'm actually really surprised that whoever assembled the main didn't notice those stitches weren't there when he/she hand tacked the soft links. Your eyes are pointed right at the missing stitches at that point. Just goes to show how easy it is to not notice something is missing that isn't there to notice. I might have missed it too, but I sure hope not!

EXACTLY. It's easy to inspect what is there. It's also relatively easy to miss what isn't there. This is a good lesson for all of us who inspect... ANYTHING. A couple years ago I inspected a reserve that was missing a bartack on one center A line. It had been inspected and packed that way by three other riggers before me. Thankfully there was a well-equipped loft and master rigger nearby who could make it right without the customer having to wait any extra length of time. Any of us are capable of a mistake at any moment. Let's just keep trying not to make them, and let's watch out for each other!

ah. The links weren't working when I first clicked them. Now they are. back when I was a DZ rigger at a place with SG340's, were were having to replace sliders about every second reline too - the vectran was eventually dinging the grommets to the point where the stainless was actually torn (and then, in a vicious circle, the sharp edges would destroy the lines). I'd never seen anything like it before dealing with the 340s, but it was happening all across our fleet of 18 sigmas. Perhaps the Spectra will help with that problem too!

anybody got a photo they can post? I almost never see sigmas in my current job, and would like to get a visual on how this is put together... Thanks!

I replace the Cypres loop each time unless it's pristine (and they are almost never pristine, haha). I never charge extra for a standard Cypres loop - I just see it as part of the job to make a new one each time. I could definitely see charging a nominal fee to build and replace a racer loop, or maybe even for a Reflex, but for just a plain old regular loop, just wouldn't seem right to me personally.

you should use a number 4 if you want the option to use a 'no hardware' bridle/PC like UPT's. The number 5 grommet will be just big enough that as the tape that the stopper is made of softens up, it may allow the bag to slip over it and slide down the bridle to the PC.

I just got lady-rigger wood

I don't think so, though vectran being a little "grabbier" than other line types, it might just be tougher to pfutz with. if I had a canopy in here at the moment with an over-tight larkshead on a line tab, I'd shoot a little video to show you how I handle it. Maybe later in the week when I'm at summerfest, I'll team up with the fabulous Miss FluffieDuckie to make it happen. The worst mishaps I've had in hundreds of relines (I miss relines. Don't get to do many of those at my current gig) are maybe 2-3 line attachment tab replacements required, and maybe two fingertip cuts and a palm stab. Could definitely have been worse!

ha! in this context, I take the word "guys" to be non-gender-specific. No apology necessary :) Some lines will be tighter on the tabs than others, as I'm sure you've noticed. I usually push up on the line, toward and against the tab, to loosen up the larkshead, then cut at the apex of the loop. I wouldn't have the nerve to use a box-cutter either. I don't need any more patch practice, nor do I enjoy replacing line attachment tabs, haha...

I use orange-handled fiskars. They cost about $8 a pop. Loosen the larkshead just enough to get one point in, and keep the tips close together as you push the blades forward onto the line. So you're never really opening the scissors, and you aren't using your hand strength to cut the line - you're just sliding the two blades across it and letting them do all the work. A couple pretty significant bonuses to using cheap scissors for this: - it's not so heartbreaking when you have to throw them away. - you can also buy cheap scissor-sharpeners (about $15, I think) that work incredibly well on cheap scissors, though they probably are worthless on high quality blades.

Lots of good advice already given! The best of this (IMO) is... if this is your first rig, buy used gear if you can find used that fits you (physically and otherwise). When you find a used rig that appeals to you, run it by someone knowledgeable before you buy it (your instructors and/or your rigger), to make sure it's a good choice and a fair price. Someone suggested a new container and used canopies - GREAT idea, especially if you have a non-average body shape. Someone else suggested that a "large dealer" will have everything in stock. That's largely untrue -- we mostly just pull off the manufacturer stock lists at customer request. Many large dealers will have a pretty good selection of used gear, though, so that's worth looking into for sure! Places to look for new gear on-the-quick are the Mirage facebook page (their photo albums are where you'll find their stock containers, and they have a LOT of new stock containers), Sunrise Manufacturing's (Wings) website has a good stock list, and the PD webpage has lots stock canopies. Sunpath also has a wicked-good stock rig program which gets you a hot-looking Javelin container with the harness built to fit you like a glove (and plenty of custom options available), with a 2-week delivery. Good luck in your quest! new (and new-to-you) gear is the best!

Sound like a classic lines-out-of-trim scenario. A reline will get you back to those sweet openings you liked.

Totally agree. I'm learning a ton here...

I totally agree with gowlerk: There has to be a sharp edge somewhere. Maybe the heat shrink, but you should also look at the confluence wrap on the main riser - the hot knifed edge might be a little prickly and making contact. Find the pointy bit and take care of that, and your shouldn't see any further damage, I'd reckon.

I'd be willing to bet that's an error on their redesigned webpage. Wanna put a cosmo on it?

Here's a list of what's been issued since 2001 or so: http://www.pia.com/member-interest/pia-public-documents

Go for it! The only thing tough is the grommets -- the tools to set them are costly, so if you'd need to buy the tools, you might decide to just buy a new slider instead. But if you have the ability/equipment to build a slider, you also have the ability to modify the existing one so that the drawstrings are functional again, so maybe do that first...