cwn

There is one low level officer.

I was referring to the Corcoran I jump boots which appears to be the same boot shown in the link you gave. I never liked them much so they were pretty much new when I started BASE jumping. Seeing as I already owned them and they were "Jump Boots" I figured I'd use them. I was issued combat, jungle, and mountaineering boots which I still have. Those boots all have hooks for the upper part of the laces which I don't want on boots used for jumping. Also with the exception of the mountaineering boots they seemed to me to offer much less support than the Corcoran I jump boots. The point I was trying to make was that there are much better jump boots available than the Corcoran I jump boots. In my opinion the extra cost for the Hanwag is well worth it.

I've used both Hanwag para-gliding boots and U.S. Army jump boots for BASE jumping and some skydives. After 175 BASE jumps and maybe around 100 skydives using a BASE canopy, boots, and other protective gear I'd say that the Hanwag boots are vastly better than army jump boots. When the Hanwag boots are new they are very stiff, but once they've broken in they're great. The trick is to wear them around for a week or so before you use them for something critical.

No, the Raven IV is only 282 when using Precision's measuring method. The PIA standard doesn't count the stabilizers. The reason the Raven seems to pack a lot smaller is partly because it is smaller if measured using the PIA standard.

I found that a Raven III works very well with a Dolphin D-4. Ravens pack smaller than a BASE canopy of the same size even when using the PIA size for the Raven.

I use a Dolphin D-4 for both CRW with a Lightning 176 and test jumping BASE canopies up to 280 sqft.. The reserve is a PD193R. I have to extend the closing loop on the main container for a BlackJack 280 and it's a very tight fit. A few years ago I bought a used Dolphin D-6 with a PD235R reserve specifically for test jumping BASE canopies. I've used it with the following canopies so far: BlackJack 280 Rock Dragon 303 BlackJack 310 Flik (Vtec) 322 All those canopies fit reasonable well in a D-6. For a 266 I'd say that a Dolphin D-5 would be the best but D-4 or D-6 could work too. The construction of the main container on the Dolphin is loose enough that you may not need open corners.

I'll be there 9/27-10/3 doing mostly BASE and demoing BASE canopies.

Are any CRW dogs going to the Moab Boogie that would be interested in doing CRW there? I'm trying to decide if I should bring my CRW rig or not. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=640 Craig Nadler

The manual for the Reflex can be found on-line here: http://www.tridenthc.com/manual.pdf

You might want to look at some of the smaller BASE jumping Pilot Chutes. Asylum Designs makes 32" and 38" ZP Apex Vented (AV) pilot chutes. The Apex Vent keeps the pilot chute stable to reduce off heading openings. I use the 32" AV PC for CRW, the last I heard the U.S. team was using custom 36" AV PCs. http://www.asylumbase.com/

You might want to start by telling people what sort of related experience you have. Your profile says that you only have 35 skydives. Is this number current? You list climbing as an interest which will help.

You could use one of your shoe laces as a pull up cord.

There have been a number of good threads on this topic in the BASE Jumping forum. Generally speaking if all other things are equal the smaller canopy will open faster because there is less canopy that needs to inflate.

I just replaced a Raven 181-M I had in a Reflex (R525) that I bought when I weighed a bit less with a RavenIIg. The 181-M was definitely a loose fit for the container and the RavenIIg (218) is a tight fit. You may want to look at the PIA pack volume chart posted by Billvon. http://people.qualcomm.com/billvon/canopy_vols.html

Vic, No, that is not the one big lesson here. It is to NOT panic and cutaway when you're wrapped up in a canopy. If your reserve can't deploy it isn't going to help you to pull the handle. This is the fourth case I know of where someone cutaway while wrapped up in a canopy, so far we have been very lucky. Even landing your main with the other persons cutaway canopy still wrapped around you is better than cutting away with it wrapped around you. BSSD, Craig Nadler