Buffdiver

Oh yeah, SirVato, you're just jealous a few new G2's will be joining the flock here in CO in a few weeks. I don't think the G2 was designed to be used in the BASE environment, but is def possible. You fly great with your P2. Id spend the cash on a V3 and keep the Phantom for your skydiving fun.

Here are a few pics I have flying the G2. Thanks to Butters for the last one. Love the suit. I know some guys that have flown the G1 for BASE. I owned a G1 and upgraded to the G2 mainly for the zip in system but honestly think they are 2 different suits. Inflation in crazy solid on all the new PF lineup. Good all around suit with more range than the P2.

Woops. Here is the pic.

Bought this rig used. Thanks Sonic @ the Ranch for designing such a great color scheme. bought if off buildarig.com. Awesome experience. Turned out to be a great rig. a perfect container for me. I am a Mirage fan for life.

Just got my first CF2 129/ I was planning on going with a 119 and had my instructors consent for that size. Found a good deal on the 129 and decided to go for it. I am downsizing from a SA135. I love the canopy. Openings are superior to anything else I have flown. I wingsuit a lot and it still preforms flawlessly. Perfect "all around" canopy for the experienced canopy pilot. amazing openings but a hot rod once its open. BTW I load it at 1.64.

When I bought my used Sabre2 135 last year it had 200 jumps on it. Brakes were at factory setting and any front riser input resulted in major bucking of the canopy. My rigger maxed out the steering lines but still had minor bucking. Ended up replacing the lowers but the end result ended up with a sweet opening/swooping canopy. I just sold this canopy but let the buyer know the mods I had done (he is 5 inches shorter than me). My new Crossfire has the opposite prob. It hauls ass coming in but I cant seem to shut it down enough. Looking back on some video the brake lines are 1-2 inches too long for me. The best thing is to test jump and adjust your canopy to your body specs. what is perfect for some may be too short/long for others. The new lineset should improve things a bunch though. I loved my SA135 for a great transitional canopy to my new elliptical. Good luck, and enjoy.

trab, I live just down the road from you in Superior. CO is a great state to own a bike. Sunshine most of the year. I am actually going riding tomorrow because the DZ is not open on weekdays for a few more weeks. I was stuck with the same problem you had a few years back but put off getting a bike until I was able to get my own skydiving gear and make sure that I had enough cash to pay for my jumps and then a bike. I love my bike and its something I always wanted to experience growing up, but to be honest, I am seriously thinking about selling it. Its been fun but I would rather use the payment $$ to jump more. Skydiving just gets better with every jump. My advice would be to give jumping a few more tries. If you are not totally hooked, cool, its not for everyone. If this is the case, take the MSF course and get a bike. I did the one at the Front Range campus in Westminster last summer and would highly recommend it. Either way, be safe and have fun. Dont hesitate to PM me if you want to get together and chat about jumping or riding. Jordan

Was a day away from ordering all matching new gear at jump 35. Ended up buying a used rainbow bright rig and canopy and was the best decision. Over the past few years the only equipment I have ordered new was a FF suit, a few wingsuits, and a reserve. The next container I bought was used but happened to be "my" colors and know it will last for at least 3 downsizes. I guess what I am trying to say is that if the colors happen to work, awesome, but dont waste your time and money just trying to match. If you want a Sabre 2 170 and one comes up that you may not dig on the colors and can afford, get it. find a good deal and spend the money you saved jumping. edit to add: All my gear now matches. (sale pending on a used canopy). This was purely by coincidence.

Was a day away from financing a brand new rig from my DZ at 35 jumps. Got a call from my buddy that had just moved away looking to sell his old rig. (in May of 2006) got a '95 Jav with a Sabre 170 with a new lineset and PDR 160. Bought a new slider and used Cypress for a total of $2,000. Best decision I ever made. Definitely get used for the first one. I still bought used for my second (dream rig) but knew what I really wanted. My advise is to buy some 90's rig for the first one. It will be florescent and ugly but you will love it the same as a brand new rig because it is yours. Later on you will look back and be happy that you waited to buy new until you knew what you really wanted in a rig. My first rainbow bright Sabre1 was such a good canopy to me. So was my old school Jav. This is good gear to buy because you can learn so much on it and then pass it on to the next generation of newbie jumpers to take advantage of.

Thanks dragon2. Thought I had checked all forums and search results.

Just saw the newest addition to PD's lineup. The Pulse! "The Pulse is a lightly elliptical nine cell canopy designed for the active intermediate to experienced "fun jumper." Pack volume has been reduced significantly, by combining our proprietary low bulk fabric technology with our well-known zero-p fabric. The Pulse can give you stress free on heading openings, a very flat glide and easy landings. It is highly responsive, very capable, and lots of fun to fly." Is this the new Sabre2/Silhouette hybrid?? I am curious to the opening/handling characteristics compared to other PD lineup. PD now has 11 main canopies to offer the public. I was just curious to where the Pulse fit in.

My first canopy was a Sabre 170. Lines were horrible but it opened perfectly. I relined the canopy and replaced the original slider with a new PD slider. Openings were exactly the same, the canopy was just more responsive. I have nothing bad to say about the original Sabres. I have had way harder openings on newer canopies. Reline, new slider, and you should be good to go. I'd like to add that I have had more consistent on heading openings with the original Sabre than with any other canopy. Could be my packing, body position... but it always was a reliable canopy in my mind.

Here is a pic of how the cable is routed. I tried tightening the loop to go around my thumb and you could probably make it work that way but it was a little awkward. Its all personal preference though.

With the new cutaway system on the Ghost/Stealth, the excess cable is routed into a sleeve on the swoop cord. having the swoop cord around your thumb may cause the cutaway cable to bend enough that it might be difficult to be pulled out of the sleeve. Also may not be able to tighten the cord enough with the sleeve sewed on there to use around the thumb. Hope this makes sense. New design is very comfortable around the palm.

Sorry for the delay. Did 3 jumps on Sat with the new suit. I am extremely impressed with the new Ghost. The suit is exactly what the website states, "a high performance suit for flocking, back flying, and all around fun flying." The new inlets make the suit pressurize instantly and it stays that way no matter what position you are in. This includes your back. This is a huge improvement and flying the suit a breeze. Maxing it out for an extended period did not take much effort. It felt like the pressurized wings were almost holding my arms and legs in the correct position and not the other way around. Not sure if it is the fit, upgrades or a little of both, but the suit was very intuitive to fly. It is like a Phantom 2 on steroids which is exactly what I was looking for. The less swept back delta shape of the arm wing compared to the Phantom allows for better slower forward speed flight but you can still haul ass if you want to. The extra fabric gave me that little extra range I was looking for. Hookup is so easy. Less than a minute. I also like the size of the new tension swoop cords. They are not thick anymore, but are the same as you would find on the Phantom. They still go around your whole palm and not the thumb but the thinner size makes it a lot more comfortable. Other fit and finish things to mention is that PF brought back the mesh in the arm sleeve covering the top of the arm cells. did not like that this was missing in the original. Also, there are airlocks for every possible inlet on the suit. There is even a strip of material on the inside of the sleeve to cover the backside of the new arm cutaway cables and tabs. There is no inlets on the body now and the rear deflector inflates with the leg wing. I know I only have a few flights on the suit but the Ghost 2 exceeded all my expectations and for flocking around, this is my favorite suit. I think that every suit in the PF lineup has a specific application and Robi hit the nail on the head yet again. I will always love the Phantom 1/2 but the Ghost 2 is a nice step if you are looking for another fun all around suit. Many thanks to Robi, Robert and Kathy. You all were a huge help in making this yet again, a wonderful experience.

Finally!! UPS payed a visit today with my new Ghost 2. Sorry no work pics but I was off today when it was delivered. This suit is awesome. The new upgrades make it a great improvement over the original. The zip in system took less than a min to hook up. Weather is looking promising for the weekend here so I'll get back to everyone on how it flies.

Night jumps are a lot of fun. Totally new experience (especially if you are dressed as Tron). My experience, like many, was a bit nervous right before I exited, but once in the air was just like any other jump but with amazing visuals. being in freefall above the city lights is beautiful. Enjoy and be safe. 2007: made with the glow stick suits. 2008: with the wingsuits. The one thing that messed with me was on final approach the first jump. I totally saw my shadow and thought it was another canopy in the air. Just be aware that your mind can play some tricks on you at night.

Congrats to the 71. Seems no one is looking at the new Ghost besides caldefly and myself. Reviews will follow as soon as they arrive.

How are the flight characteristics compared to the original Ghost? I know the suit has the newest inlet system that PF has updated the rest of the suits with. Looks like it inflates much better than the original. Cant wait. Mine should be here in a few weeks!

Dale, I wouldn't worry about your backflying skills at 10 jumps. It took me an entire summer to get my fall rate dialed in on my Phantom 1, and a good number of jumps to slow it down on my Ghost. ( I have a few post on here about it). I am a bit lighter than you but have not had many issues keeping up in a Phantom. When I did, it was all pilot error. The P2 has slightly bigger wings and much better inflation so I can only assume it will support a slightly heavier person.(have not flown one yet) But, overall, the Phantom has been my favorite suit in the PF lineup. It is incredibly easy to fly and is the most intuitive to learn on. If you are hurting for cash, I have seen a handful of P1's in the classifieds recently.

You have all sold me!! P2 oder is out tomorrow. I have owned 3 PF suits now and flown all of there lineup. Can not wait to get the Phantom 2. I fly with my lady friend here in CO and her Phantom 2 is the S&*t. Her Hubby also flies PF and loves it. Robbi, your products are the suit here in CO. Phoenx-fly is awesome.

Really?? I love our suits but would def pay some $$ for a flight like that. What an amazing experience.!! summiting a peak like that is unreal. Thanks for the link.

"like any innovation that works, the pay off is it usually makes it easier for the average joe. Does that mean back vents will make everyone a better back flyer? Not necessarily. Which is why I tell people to fly the suit that works for them and their flying style. What may be ideal for one person may not be ideal for another." I owned a Phantom with the back fly inlets. Worked my ass off to learn how to fly it on my back. Finally dialed it in and then switched to the Ghost. Sold the Ghost and am now flying my buddies Phantom again with NO back inlets and can fly it better than I ever could on my Phacro. Proof that the pilot, not the suit is the best answer to how a suit flies. Take the time with the suit. size is not necessarily the answer when it comes to fling a suit. I did not take this advise and now I am stepping down to a smaller suit again to learn my basic skills again.

I have Spandex on my Mirage. Going back to maurice1369 original post, from my knowledge, Wings is the only one to use the cordura BOC. My one scary situation with Spandex was about a month ago. I ordered the FF hacky. When wingsuiting, I used to let the FF tab flap out of the container B/C it added to my already complicated pull sequence during a WS deployment. . Last month I went to transition to backflying and felt something flapping on my lower back (end of the PS). Since then, I tuck the tab and have no probs on depolyment or during flight. Guess I was a bit paranoid come deployment time when in actuality I gave myself a bigger problem. I guess to answer the original question, I still prefer spandex just cause it has a grip on the whole PS not just the neck of the BOC.

Agreed with the above statement. Pick your area according to your skill. I did a balloon jump in Eloy and the landing areas available were almost infinite (middle of the desert). Have also landed in the small field at the crossroads of a busy intersection. If you are jumping in an area with high population, you should definitely up your canopy skills with more jumps. Everyone flails on their first dead air exit. Don't worry about that, just be comfortable with where you may or may not have to land. Same as a normal skydive, spot the area you are over and if not comfortable, Don't jump. Oh yeah, One thing to think about is that you dont have a wind sock to follow, Early morning ( when most jumps are made) makes for minimal winds, but you need to be able to land your canopy in at least a bit of a down/cross wind situation. Have fun, Balloon jumps kick ass.