UDSkyJunkie

"I think I need to work on my arch and be more careful who I jump with before I try weights" While both of those are a good idea, I think some people make the mistake of believing that smaller people need to "learn to fall faster" or "get more experience" before they start to wear weights. The truth is that some people simply fall so slowly that weights are necessary both for them to fly well and to fly safely. I am, at 5'7" and about 130 lbs, very small for a guy, so I feel your pain. The first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is buy a skin-tight jumpsuit with a nylon front... it makes a HUGE difference... but sometimes that just isn't enough. If you regularly experience any of the following, you probably need to wear some weights: -you can get down to and stay with the formation, but only in a hard arch -you're OK as long as you're holding onto someone, but as soon as you transition to the next point, you have to really work to stay down -you find that every time you try to make a turn or move forward, it makes you start to float Weights can dramatically improve your flying, while being completely "invisible" from the saftey side of things, as long as you work with them gradually, and take care not to overload your canopy (10 or 15 lbs can really affect performance, especially on the smaller canopies that smaller people tend to fly). I wore 6 lbs of weight and a really tight jumpsuit right off student status, just to be able to fly with anyone. I learned to fly well fairly quickly, but I would have a lot of "glitches" that I couldn't explain... most of them could be described by the list above. After looking at a lot of videos, I started to hear several people say that it appeared that I was having trouble staying with the formation, and maybe I should consider MORE weight. I tried it, a few jumps at a time, in 2 lb increments, and with each addition I could feel that the flying was easier. By the time I got to 14 lbs, it seemed like all the "glitches" had gone away... in just a couple dozen jumps I appeared to make a gigantic leap in flying skill... of course, I didn't really get that much better, it was just that I could take all the effort I was putting into falling faster and use it to fly better. Not only that, but I wasn't crashing into people from above, so I felt safer, as well. To underscore all of this, about a year later, I joined a 4-way team of fast-falling jumpers, all with exit weights around 200-250 lbs, and all the problems that I had gotten rid of came back. This time I recognized them, and started to increase again... I found that I needed 18 pounds to fly with that team... for the whole year, I wore 18 with the team and 14 with anyone else, and it worked beautifully! Anyway, back to the point: you can only do so much to fall faster, and it's never really too early to try some weights, just take it slow, and watch how you load your canopy... that 18 lbs changed my wingloading from 1.11 to 1.24; not something you would want to do overnight. And you might not need nearly that much... my 18 pounds is a pretty extreme case. If you do decide to invest in weights, you will need to consider what kind to buy... I personally recommend a belt over a vest, as I find them more comfortable and they often can carry more weight. One of the best belt designs out there is the LeadBelly, which you can find in the gear section of www.4-way.org. It can carry up to about 20 lbs and is so comfortable you almost won't notice you're wearing it, especially if it's outside of your jumpsuit. They run about $80-$150 including shipping, depending on how much weight you need and wether you're willing to sew the weights up yourself. I hope this helps... sorry to be so long-winded. Blue Skies! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Yeah, I'll lend out my rig to someone as long as I know them and am reasonably certain they would fix a problem should one occur. I think it's only fair, because I've borrowed a LOT of gear from others to try out different canopies. My only restricition is that I tend not to let other people pack it, even if they are jumping it. Call me paranoid, but I know my gear, I'm my own rigger, and have been packing more and longer than most people with five times my jumps. My theory is that if I pack it, I won't have to worry about a malfunction, and in the unlikely event that it happens anyway, it's not their fault, so there won't be any arguments. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

hmm... I stand corrected. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

The outside lines (1 and 10) and steering lines change the most, due to shrinkage from friction with the slider grommets. To my knowledge, there is no manufacturer that recommends mixing different types of lines on a single canopy, nor do I think it likely that you would find a rigger who would be willing to do it. Since spectra stretches more during opening than vectran, a mixture of the two would make the stress on the lines unbalanced, with the vectran taking a much higher load than the spectra. Add to that the fact that those same lines would be experiencing the greatest abrasive stress (due to the slider), and that they show relatively less visible wear than spectra before breaking, and it sounds like a great way to increase your chances of busting a line on opening. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Oh, one note I forgot to add... whoever told you that there is no reason to buy a cypres is not telling the whole story... consider: 1) getting knocked unconcious is very rare, but it DOES occur... you could get kicked in the head or have someone land on your burble, whatever. 2) true, you SHOULDN'T ever need the cypres unless you are unconcious, but look at the record of saves, and you'll find a lot of people who are alive today only because their cypres saved them, and almost all of them were concious at the time of firing 3) also true, the cypres can lead to two canopies out, but only if you are way too low in the first place. it fires at 750 feet, which is only about 4 seconds before impact. It also only fires if you are decending at a rate of more than 80 mph... so the only way it should fire is if you are either in freefall or a high-speed malfunction (total or pilot-chute in tow) at that altitude. 4) to date, the cypres, unlike some other AAD's has an astonishing ZERO misfires! A few cases were thought to be, but all of them have been proven false. All this being said, I would like to say that the decision is, in the end, a personal one, and I would never tell anyone they have to use one. I certainly encourage it, though, and I have always and will always use one myself. To quote a fellow jumper: "I hope that my cypres never has to fire, and the money I spent on it was wasted, but if it ever does, I'll sure be glad to have it!" Blue Skies! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Assuming you have your local rigger inspect everything, and he says it's in decent condition, then you're getting a pretty good deal. The Talon, Raven, and PD 170 are all excellent gear... not exactly the latest and greatest, but nothing wrong with them. My own first canopy was a PD 170 with approximately 500 jumps, and I was loading it about 0.9/1. It performed well, landed soft, and opened more consistently and on heading than anything else I have ever jumped, all of which were perfect for me until I hit about 100 jumps. If the canopy wasn't abused, then it shouldn't (which isn't to say "won't") be baffed out by 500 jumps, particularly if it was jumped in England (my assumption since the price is in pounds), where it would not be exposed to extremely harsh sunlight or desert conditions, which can shorten the life span of a canopy dramatically. Also, realize that even if you decide after 100 jumps that it's time to move on, it doesn't mean you've lost the whole $1300. The reserve would still be good, so why replace it immediately? The cypres will be good for 4 years, no matter how long you use everything else, so it's cost is irrelevant. When I moved on, I was able to sell my 170 for $350 (even though it was bright pink), although it took a few months. Chances are, you can pawn off the canopy, and maybe even the ugly Talon, to another up and coming jumper who can't afford the best just yet. I hope what I've said is helpful. Blue Skies! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I am a (happy) owner of a Sabre 135, and have been a professional packer for 9 years. My experience with the sabre is that each individual canopy has it's own personality. Some, like my own, open consistently and sofly with a reasonably careful packjob and a couple tricks to slow it down, while others slam the jumper every time, no matter what I try to do to fix it. The best advice I can give has already been given... try to get ahold of that canopy and jump it a few times. If you don't like the first couple openings, talk to a rigger or experienced packer to see if they can give you a few tips. Also try to be aware of your body position before opening. When I first bought my Sabre, I remember pulling while almost still in a track, and DAMN those openings were quick! As soon as I realized what I was doing, I stopped, and the openings suddenly became much more comfortable . Anyway, bottom line: get a few jumps on the canopy, and if you like it, go for it. If it slams you at first, try a couple tricks... if it's still slamming you, well... time to look for a new canopy! Blue Skies, and good luck! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."