GravityGirl

Cool. Now I'll throw in MY opinion. Cordura and Parapak wear DIFFERENTLY. They both age and show some signs of wear. I've had both and have been dissappointed with neither. One note about parapak. It shows every little crease in the container because of the shiny finish of the fabric. So if you are going to "overstuff" it. It will look terrible. Also a lumpy packjob is more obvious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Any chance I can get to show off the love of my life! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

He was asking about the INSIDE of the leg pads and the backpad. You make a good case for the cordura option for the container in gerneral though. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Risers: What size are your canopies going to be? 3 Rings: Depends on your risers. Backpad and Legstraps: I recommend Parapak for these parts. Cordura is my #1 pick for the rig. But Backpad and Legstraps are the parts that sit on your body. If you ever do "no-suiters" you'll end up with rug burn. Also with the more "slipery" fabric up against your body, it is easier and more comforatable to position your leg straps. I am REALLY surprized that so many people have recommended cordura here. I have sold many, many rigs and so far, I am batting 1000 with this option. There you go. My opinion. Worth what you paid for it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Is that the set of a new Stephen King novel/film? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

IMHO the PD176r is a fine compliment to the 190 main you have. If you are pushing the envelope with the 190, I would say otherwise. But the PD176r flies more like a 185, lets say. If you are comfortable on the 190 and not loading it heavily, I THINK you will be comfortable on the 176r. For the last few years, Gravity Gear has hosted a seminar called, "Flying the Reserve" with the help of Performance Designs. Everyone on the DZ got to fly the size reserve they own, or wanted to downsize to. We have two people actually upsize as a result of these events. But mostly people walk away feeling more confident in their reserve canopy and their own ability to pilot it. In fact I still get "Thank you"s after reserve rides on a regular basis. Flying the reserve in a low stress situation makes it a piece of cake when it is time for the real deal. If you have the opportunity to demo a PD176r. Go for it! PM me and I'll give you some drills to practice when you fly it. By the way. PD reserves ROCK! Over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Eloy has about three more in the hanger! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

He just flew in tonight! Giddy up.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I like my coffee like I like my men: WHITE and BITTER Mathias just said he likes his coffee stupid . How should I take that!? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

How much do you weigh? I have a big boy rig that is almost new. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

My host is iSeattle.com I LOVE HIM... ...Kris that is. Takes personal care of me. And it is reasonable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Where do you jump? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Bigger please! Oh. My bad. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Go with your comfort level. You have the info. Now go with your gut feeling. If you are comfortable and relaxed during flight, you will fly your best. If you are nervous and apprehensive, you will make poor decisions. Go with what makes you feel most comfortable. This sport is 90% mental. Keeping your head clear and focused, free from stress will help make you a compitent pilot. Thank you and enjoy your flight! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Yup. You are right JP. The knot should be inside the grommet. That was common place before high performance canopy issues. Keeps the knot out of the way to prevent it from hanging up. Make sure the excess line is finger trapped back inside the steering line too. When in doubt. Have your rigger take a look and help you out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

My Jett is also available for movies! Sorry I couldn't resist! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I agree Dharma is the source. Tie Dye works best on cotton and silk. So fabrics like polycotton and cordura are pretty difficult. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Gear Geek But I love Gear Geeks. In fact it is due to Gear Geeks that my house no longer has wheels! God Bless the Gear Geeks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Well. By the time mine got really hard to see it had almost 2000 jumps on it. Plus it was a 97. But, yea. I got a lot of comments. Especially when rallying for a slot on the swoop coarse, etc. It helps if you DZ has green grass. I jump over pretty brown terrain, so ya know grey on brown is not great. Don't want to be a downer. Just relaying my experiences. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Providing that the sky is BLUE, The opposite end of the color wheel offers the most contrast. #1 = Orange #2 = Yellow or Red. After jumping an all grey canopy and hear, "Dude, I didn't even see you!" too many times, I went with this: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Well. From the mouths of babes: Me: Jett, get off the stairs. Jett: Why? Me: Because if you fall from way up there, you are going to get hurt really bad. Jett: How come? Me: Because that is a long fall and you can hurt your body very bad if you fall. Jett: Why? Me: Jett. Playing on the stairs is dangerous! Please come down now! Jett: Mom. Skydiving is dangerous. Great. Now I have to have a risk factor acceptance talk with my 2.5 year old. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

So far I'm batting 1000. I haven't had any returns yet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Geez. Look at the spectators faces. Did the previous guy bounce or something? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I used to call my Dodge Ram Conversion Van, the Gravy Train. Schlepping Ts from boogie to boogie to boogie.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I'm sorry if my tone seemed argumentative. That is certainly not what I was feeling as I sat here typing. I just want to be clear that you cannot make an accurate comparison with such dramatically different canopy sizes. And in regards to your wing loading. I have based my comments on your weight: Now is that your body weight? Because if it is, then your exit weight is about 180. It makes a bit of a difference. Of course it's your body, your choice. But don't fool yourself when you say, "I don't do low turns or front riser turns." If that is the case then you most certainly should not downsize! What is going to happen when you need to do a low evasive maneuver? You are going to loose a LOT more altitude than on the 150. But if you haven't figured out on the 150 how to perform this maneuver and walk away, then it is going to be increadibly more difficult to survive it on the 120. At some point you WILL HAVE to make a low turn. Best to going through all of these learning experiences on the bigger wing. Again. I am not trying to argue. Believe me if I was, the wording would be a lot different! I am just trying to share some knowledge to make you a better pilot and keep you in one piece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!