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I was trying to think about numbers but I don't think that's it. The reality is that at a busy DZ, after you've established yourself (pecking order), there can be as many rigs to pack as you can handle. If you are a machine and can safely pack 30 tandems a day, there will probably still be more than that available. Getting your rigger's ticket will help. Also, if there are teams that are training, becoming the team packer can be an option too. 5 rigs per load doing 6 loads by lunch time can be a steady stream of income.

I meant that all things being equal, a skyhook accomplishes it faster. Different rigs, different jumpers and different canopies would not be a reliable way to determine what was faster. I have no idea whether or not any of those were the same or different beyond the obvious difference in rig manufacturers. In that case, the Racer was faster. If you were comparing a skyhook equipped Javelin to an RSL equipped Javelin with the same jumper and same reserve canopies, that would give some useful information. Not necessarily, See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze0Rcp7E0to

My next rig will have one. An RSL and a MARD system accomplish the same thing but do it differently. My view is that under most conditions, an RSL would work just fine. The Skyhook just accomplishes it faster. This would be no big deal at altitude but if you are super low and every last foot counts, I'd prefer a Skyhook.

Earlier this year I packed an old Firelite. It was in beautiful condition and only been packed a few times. However, as nice as it was, it was still made of really porous F-111 and would probably land much harder than a "modern" F-111 reserve of the same size. Every time I see one of the older ones I want to go hug my Optimum. I can probably get you the Firelite for real cheap Does anyone know what they are calling the Optimum material? It's not any of the variations of F-111... That I know of. I don't think you can buy raw material and if you need to do a patch it has to go back to PD.

Neither. Right now I'm very impressed with the PD Optimum. It is more money but they are supposed to fly more like modern parachutes than traditional 7 cell F-111 parachutes. They also pack smaller. I went from a PD-160R to an Optimum 160. I'm selling off my other reserves to buy another one. That being said, I don't have any experience with an AngelFire reserve. Jumpshack has a reputation for quality products and for doing things right... except their website which is stuck in the 90's. PD has made thousands and thousands of reserves that have been time tested. You would get a safe and durable product from either company. You would probably get a better product in terms of flight characteristics with an Optimum.

I did most of my early skydiving at a Cessna DZ where the ground elevation was 4000 feet MSL. 8000 feet AGL was the norm. We did a static line progression and worked our way up to 8000 feet as soon as we could. There was plenty of time as a student going to that altitude. The first time I went to a turbine DZ I was absolutely amazed that you can get on the plane, get to 13000 ft and do it in less than 15 minutes.

If I understand you correctly, you are moving up one size for your reserve but going to an Optimum from an F-111 reserve and you are keeping your current main? If that is the case, you should be fine at least for right now. Nothing should change much. It might even pack a little bit easier into your container... A little bit. If you are going to upsize your main, get a demo for a couple of weeks. It is a cheap way to try out some cool gear and if it turns out to be a pain in the ass to pack then you need to weigh out the cost of a new/different container vs the strife of cramming that thing into the container for the next few years.

This comes up a lot. The short answer is that there is no "Best" container. There are a lot of good ones with different pros and cons but really, they are minor. All of the major container manufacturers put out a great product. The older Javelins had the problem with the flap opening up but that has been fixed for a while. The skydivers who are in the public eye and who do this day in and day out primarily use Javelins and Vectors and Mirage. They also use LOTS of other stuff but I see more folks using those than anything else. Here are the basics for whatever container you buy: Get one that is sized for your canopies, not the canopies you are hoping to be able to jump in a few years. Get your measurements done by somebody who has done this before. DON'T DO IT YOURSELF! Darker colors wear better and sell quickly. Get the safety options (an RSL at the very least or a Skyhook) They are not perfect systems but your odds go up if you are using them. Check their delivery times. Vectors were running 37 weeks for delivery where most of the others were 10-14. Vector owners will say that that it is worth the wait. Everybody else will console themselves with getting to jump for most of a season with their new gear. Most of the websites have good information about their products. A few (I'm looking at you Jumpshack) have a great product but you'd never know it from their website or online presence. The Mirage Facebook page puts out photos every week of recent rigs and it's a really good way to get ideas for creating your own rig.

I was under the impression that there was a 6 month window before and after the 4 year date to take care of the maintenance. Following that line, could someone legally jump the rig for 4 years and 5 months after the date of manufacture? Quote No it will not give you an error code. Neither will a CYPRES1. But as already mentioned it's illegal to jump with an AAD that is over its scheduled maint. period.

Not having seen it, I'd guess about 500 for the reserve and $500-700 for the container depending on how well preserved it is and whether it has lots of bells and whistles and looks pretty new. If it looks like a 13 year old container, then closer to $500 even with the bells and whistles. Drew is right about the span-wise reinforcements in that you would rather have a reserve with them than without them. However, Tempo reserves have been time tested and have done very well over the years. It is not the best reserve you can buy but they do work. If money is a concern, I wouldn't shy away from one. Do what you have to to get in the air then you can wheel and deal your way into better gear. There are certainly better technologies out there but if your rigger says it will save your life, believe him. If money is less of a concern, go with an Optimum. In the last month I've jumped rigs with a '97 Tempo 150, '03 PD 143 and '11 Optimum 160. I had no hesitation at all to jump any of them.

I don't use Cypres silicone very often but one afternoon I played with the idea of whether I could create a hard pull scenario if there was silicone on the very top of the loop. In short, I couldn't. To be fair, I didn't try very many times to do this and was leery of putting my rig through that more than those few times. I never came to any real conclusions other than the thought that it has some effect in the moment and that I didn't know much beyond what I'd seen that afternoon. Has anyone played with this? If so, does anyone know if the effects of the silicone can wear off so that it could be a pull within the limits at the time of packing but get harder to pull later?

We've got Bill Harris here in Hawaii. He's going to be 82 in December. He's still active and makes at least 100 jumps a year. In his spare time he swims, does acrobatics on trampolines and flies gliders.

Funny you mention that. Recently I was trying to wheel and deal my way into a Sabre 2 170 and have not been able to make this work... for cheap of course. Yes and no, IMO. There really isn't a lot of gear out with big enough main and reserves for beginners. It's going to command a premium. And it's going to go fairly fast. Try finding a Sabre2 170. Same situation (I know that one from personal experience).

Pretty much all of the major canopy manufacturers have a demo program. For a small fee or maybe just shipping, they will send you a canopy to try out. It will give you an idea about how these things fly and what works for you. As an added bonus, the manufacturers will just talk with you about what your needs are and try to steer you in a direction that will meet those needs safely.

This is definitely a discussion that your local rigger needs to be a part of. That being said, if we break it down this is what I see: $800 for a 10 year old reserve $1500 for a 10 year old Javelin $1500 for a 10 year old Spectre. Assuming the gear is in the kind of shape the seller says it is in, that still seems a little high... In the ball park but a little high. If you and your rigger decide that this is the gear for you, make him an offer. This is probably great gear but there is sooo much gear out there waiting for a new home. Don't get sucked into the idea that this is the only gear for you. There are lots of options. Putting up an ad in the classifieds saying that you are looking for a particular component will bring all kinds of replies. You can build the perfect rig for where you are in your skill level.

Mine did that too. It was a problem in the first visors they put out with the new helmet design. Cookie will replace it. Send them the picture of it and just talk with them. I bought mine through Chuting Star and they had a replacement in the mail to me in no time. While you are waiting you can remove it, wash it in warm soapy water and dry it with a microfiber towel. The stuff that is crackling off is the anti fog coating. When you wash it off fogging will be an issue but some RainX anti-fog will work as a short term fix. .

We've been feeding the troll. . the only info that the person lists is 150 jumps and military experience Would you not agree that if it's a 120lbs person, a OP143 would not be a terrible choice ? carriage------- horse

A very good point! His question was about where, not whether he should buy one. To the OP: Since price is going to be about the same across the board for the canopy, I'd go for good service. For the record, I got mine at Chutingstar as well. weird, i dont recall him asking about wingloading or safety advice.........

Except that everyone who answered his question was probably right.

I'd do a tandem in each category. You might find that you like one more than another. The problem with hang gliding and powered paragliding is that they are VERY gear intensive. You can't just have that thing in the back seat of the car. If you want to go hang gliding, you have to work out some logistics. They are huge and you probably are not going to be landing where you parked your truck. Powered paragliders are smaller but still not going to fit in the back seat. If you do go with a powered paraglider, GET REAL TRAINING, lots of it. Everybody thinks that because they can fly "X" (fill in whatever other air sport you like) that they can just step in to powered paragliding. There are a lot of broken people and people who had nasty scares because they missed a step somewhere. I'm not saying don't do it, just do it under an instructional program. All of these sports grow new participants because the mentors are there to impart safety aspects that the new folks might not have thought about. Of course that goes for the rest of your options as well but lack of training has been a big problem in the powered paraglider world. My vote is for skydiving or paragliding. I do both but have had a hard time keeping current in both.

Brian's Response: Hard pull? I have been packing my pilotchutes this way for more than twenty five years, and I have never had a hard pull. I even use oversized F-111 pilotchutes due to a high frequency of hop-n-pops. Further, I have never heard of anyone having a hard a hard pull from this packing method. You mentioned that you have been packing this way. Have you ever experienced a hard pull from this method? Anyone? I say, always go with your gut. If your instincts have been telling you to pack this way, keep doing it. If you have a hard pull, let me know. Unless you have a cordura pouch, your risks of a hard pull are very low regardless of how you pack, due to the elasticity of the spandex. Don't let others dissuade you from what your gut is telling you, ever. Even if you are wrong, at least you are honoring your instincts. My 2 cents... I have a theory about one of the ways the hard pull fears got started. When I was a beginning packer I was packing for a guy who had pull out rigs. They were really tight. I had a pull out at the time but the container had lots of room in it so I had not really thought much about this. One day I packed him a total. When he got down we figured out that I did not leave him enough slack in the bridle to actually extract the pin. In my rig it didn't matter because my pack jobs were not as tight and allowed for movement... or I just managed to pack him the perfect storm. Either way, it was a lesson learned. Fast forward to today's discussion. In the method we are talking about, the bridle looks a bit like the pull out bridles but the mechanism is entirely different. The pull is from above and there is never a chance that my scenario could happen. My suspicion is that many of the fears we are seeing are from people who learned good info about how to effectively pack pull outs but trying to apply it to the throw out system... or more likely, applying the lesson to the wrong scenario because it looks a little like what we remembered.

I packed one on Sunday that way. It works just fine. Pretty much it is the same closing sequence for all of these containers. There are a few exceptions but in general it is the same across the board.

A good rule of thumb is to watch how the more experienced people handle their gear. If you don't see many people flat packing, that's a clue. Watch the packers. Later, offer beer or some cash to someone who is both good at packing and good at teaching. They may or may not accept anything for it but it is good form. The next step is to start packing at home in your living room over and over. You'll figure out your sticking points. Then do it under adult supervision. Also, rely less on the internet and more on local talent to get you where you need to be with your learning.

It is supposedly lower bulk than colored canopies. The theory is that the darker colors are bulkier than lighter ones. I don't think anyone has been able to accurately measure out how much more bulky colored fabrics are but I think the general consensus is that it does pack marginally smaller... Marginally. Why?

Chest mount reserves can be smaller but can also be as big or bigger. There really isn't much to a chest mounted reserve container. It is 4 flaps, a deployment system which might or might not have a pilot chute, a canopy and some risers. They are not trying to make it comfortable or flat against your back. A back style parachute also has the harness, a cutaway system, the deployment system, padding (maybe) and is usually meant to be wide and flat for comfort. There is a lot of other stuff in there besides canopy which makes it look big as compared to a chest mount.