Lau

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  1. Lau

    Swift 2

    Still very easy to reach the risers. If you flew the Swift 1, the 2 is a huge upgrade. It feels really well balanced, easy back flying and very forgiving when learning new tricks.
  2. Yvan, very disappointed to hear this, specially on a forum. You might have forgot to mention that I accepted your wire transfer, and personally delivered the suit to your shop so that you could escape some additional charges. In addition, as your dealer I offered you a complimentary coaching session - that you never followed through with. I think it would be fair to say you got good pre and post order service. The fit looked great when you tried it on in front of me, but perhaps an oversight on my part- though doubtful. I'm sorry you didn't like the fit, but even more disappointed after all of our exchanges you never mentioned this to me. It could have been an easy fix (free) and only taking a few hours. *edited to add: Another few details you also forgot to mention is that I also offered you a sky rig to use, the use of a demo Swift 2, and between Roch and I, hours were happily spent gently advising you how to more safely start your BASE adventure.
  3. Could you tell us what lens/es you used and your thoughts on them? thanks
  4. Lau

    A2 or C2

    Hi Jeff, I love both suits. I prefer my A2 for BASE and the C2 for skydiving. Feel free to get in touch if you want details cheers Laurent
  5. Hey Tom, was discussing this question yesterday. Did you ever get an answer? - Laurent Frat
  6. Psyched on hearing all the good feedback on this parachute. I just received mine, and really looking forward to more consistency in my skydiving openings. The jumping conditions at the Brevent have been so good this winter I've been having a hard time motivating to travel to a dz. You feel bad for me don't you.
  7. nice review, thanks. Looking forward to putting mine out in the air.
  8. Strange, I have no issue with all of my 4 Squirrel suits when paired up with my Vector 3 and a Wings container I borrowed.
  9. hi everybody, sleeve choice - great topic and seems to come up a lot. Personally, I'm strongly biased towards a sleeve that allows rapid deployment of the arms. As said before, subjectivity is rampant and preferences are often personal. Since this thread is about beginners, our intentions should be to help them come to their own personal preference and this is where video is a particularly strong tool. I'll start it off with this one: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXm4EiWGa1c This beginner jumper clearly has a breakdown of mental and physical performance after deploying. Ineffective and indecisive hand movements bleed precious seconds and his outcome was decided only by luck.
  10. Just wanted to chime in on the durability of the suits and other benefits. I put a little over 200 ws BASE jumps on my Squirrel suits this season and they hold up nicely. I've had a verity of PF suits and I definitely wouldn't say they are more durable Also, what should be mentioned here is the RAD rapid arm deployment and what a benefit it is for beginner to advanced pilots. You throw out your pic, punch out your arms and can have your hands high on the risers instantly. This is a huge benefit for riding out line twists, working with malfunctions or starting your emergency procedures promptly.
  11. Thanks for the info Ken. I have more wingsuit base jumps than skydives and would like a seven cell with similar characteristics to my base gear for training in the skydiving environment. I have heard some positive feedback about the Raven but am open to other suggestions
  12. Hey all, I'm shopping for a used Raven, to use as a main, to fit in my Vector 348 and I am not sure what size will fit in there. Any help is much appreciated cheers
  13. Here's my experience with the Colugo so far: Comfort: Immediately I noticed how easy it is to don this suit. No squeezing into a tight awkward position, there is plenty of room for winter clothes and equipment, and performance doesn't appear to change with footwear (boots vs shoes). It was very quick and easy to install the container and the innie / outie zipper system left me very confident that I would be able to reach my emergency handles in the case of a malfunction. Small details such as the nut sack and chest pouch are small additions that make things like phone access, sunglasses and stash bag storage easy and convenient. Gear or clothing storage doesn’t seem to affect the performance or comfort of the suit. These features will be really appreciated on those big mountain jumps. First impression, post skydiving: Since most of my BASE and skydive experience has been in suits that have a cut and position much different, I was prepared for a considerable learning curve. I expected it to resemble the characteristics more like that of a different manufacturer. The Colugo, in my opinion, is NOT a copy or modification of a different suit. The center of gravity, initiating dives and turns, gripper inputs, and basically everything feels very different from my experience flying suits of similar surface area. Most importantly, the pull and RAD system (rapid arm deployment) is clean and confident inspiring. The plan for my first skydive was to have a nice stable exit and practice my pull, as with all my first jumps with new suits. The pull, as advertised, is very clean and fast. Not once did I grab wing or double dab to find the pud. Initially pulling symmetrically with the arms, then later asymmetric with one arm (as is conventional thought to reduce altitude loss during deployment). However, since the suit stays inflated during the reach, it will take me more time with the suit to establish if an asymmetrical pull is even beneficial. The punch out system never worked adequately for me in suits from other brands. In the Colugo I had my hands on the risers before the slider hit the stops and felt no need to unzip my arms prior to landing. It should also be mentioned that this is a demo suit and built for arms of smaller dimensions. The RAD system was a major selling point for me and basically I am very VERY happy with the results. The learning curve: I was very surprised how quickly I felt comfortable in the suit. I anticipated considerable skydiving practice prior to bringing it to the mountains, but this was not the case. The suit feels so balanced and intuitive, I feel confident suggesting it to people coming from smaller suits with adequate skydive training and experience. The performance, start arch, turning and diving: Since the suit has such positive inflation, during my first exit I was hesitant to release the leg wing prematurely in fear it would put me head down. Even with this conservative approach it started faster than the suit I have over one hundred base jumps with. During my second exit, I D arched after approximately 2 seconds and I experienced the amazing potential this suit has to start really fast. I am still learning the optimal aoa and body position for glide performance and need more time to make a thorough assessment. However, I was immediately impressed with glide performance and look forward to even more with subtle adjustments. Another surprise was how this suit dives and turns. The wing feels SOLID at very high speeds. No hint of wobble, flapping, or wing deformation whatsoever during dive or recovery arch. Very simply, the turning in this suit is sharp and precise without being twitchy. Honestly, I didn't expect it to feel as precise as it does due to its large surface area. I never felt like I was fighting the suit, that it wanted to flip me on my back or that I would loose control. With nothing but love and respect for all wingsuit manufactures out there, I feel like this suit is a positive addition to our community in terms of performance, comfort and most importantly safety. Thanks to Matt Gerdes, Dan Vicary, Sean Leary , Nicola Martinez , and Scotty Bob for the help and advice. - Laurent Frat
  14. good stuff Charlie did you need Paralog to overlay data?
  15. hey, I am interested in modifying my ws to have a zipper/velcro hole in the belly area for a gopro. Camera would be mounted under the suit with only the camera and extension arm exposed. Has anyone done anything similar?