theplummeter 15 #1 June 6, 2015 Hey all, I recently downsized to a Crossfire2 139 for for canopy coaching and non-wingsuit jumps, but do not wish to jump it with a wingsuit. I have saved up and am planning to order a wingsuit specific canopy in the 170 size range, and can't decide what to purchase. I previously owned and disliked a Pulse and would prefer to stay with something 7 cell. After a cutaway last season I jumped a rental Storm 170 from Mile-Hi and loved the canopy. The openings were stellar and the flare was good, but I wasn't doing wingsuit jumps with the canopy. I have never jumped a Spectre or Omni, but have heard good things about both. I also haven't tried a Sabre1, but I think I'd be happier with a seven cell, and a 7 cell 170 would pack easily into my container. I'm wondering who here has been in the same situation, what you ended up doing, and how happy are you with your decision. I'll order a second set of risers and pilot chute and hook up whichever canopy applies to the jump I'm doing. I also gave some thought to just switching altogether, but find myself unwilling to give up the Crossfire. It's just too good to part with. Overall, I'm open to suggestion. Is the Epicene really worth looking at, or should I wait and see how they wear? Is there a canopy I have overlooked? Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #2 June 6, 2015 I made over 2500 WS jumps under a Sabre2 before I got my Storm 120's. I love my Storms. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnmatrix 21 #3 June 7, 2015 Everyone I know who has a Storm raves about it being the best canopy for WS. I jump a Sabre2 and am happy with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WickedWingsuits 0 #4 June 7, 2015 For 7 cell new the Storm is very popular, for cheap & used a Spectre works. For 9 cell new I see a lot of Sabre2, Pulse and Pilots. For cheap & used a Sabre works. There are other Wingsuit acceptable canopies out there but I think the above accounts for most of what I see or talk to people about. You probably want to pickup something compatible with your non-Wingsuit canopy.Summer Rental special, 5 weeks for the price of 4! That is $160 a month. Try before You Buy with Wicked Wingsuits - WingsuitRental.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gzimmermann 0 #5 June 7, 2015 theplummeterHey all, Overall, I'm open to suggestion. Is the Epicene really worth looking at, or should I wait and see how they wear? Is there a canopy I have overlooked? I changed from the Storm 150 (about 350 jumps) to a Skylark Skipper 160 (about 120 jumps) 18 months ago and have not regretted it. The glide is much better and brings me back from longer spots easily. Unlike most others here I was never really happy with the Storm's openings and flare. It was more fun to fly though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Freeflaw 0 #6 June 7, 2015 I have chopped my Storm 5 times in the last 200 jumps flying big suits. 150 at a 1.3. Florez has had similar luck at a similar loading. I am happy if 50% of my deployments do not have linetwists or something scary/annoying happen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gzimmermann 0 #7 June 7, 2015 Haha... Now it shows up finally. I have had 3 chops. 1 was a step through from a packer, documented. 2 were questionable if it was body position or my packing skills... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jbag 0 #8 June 8, 2015 I'll show up with some spectre love. Been flying a specter 135 and have had good consistent openings. The landings have been nothing but great!IHYD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
granpasc 0 #9 June 8, 2015 If somebody says he has never opening incident, check discretely his ending video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WickedWingsuits 0 #10 June 8, 2015 FreeflawI have chopped my Storm 5 times in the last 200 jumps flying big suits. 150 at a 1.3. Florez has had similar luck at a similar loading. I am happy if 50% of my deployments do not have linetwists or something scary/annoying happen. I chopped a Pilot twice and a Storm once, but to say it was the canopies fault would be stretching the truth as it was certainly my suit choice and opening style. I switched to free packing my storm now and so far, so good. The d bag causes more problems than the canopy, in my opinion.Summer Rental special, 5 weeks for the price of 4! That is $160 a month. Try before You Buy with Wicked Wingsuits - WingsuitRental.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dhbiker517 0 #11 June 8, 2015 I prefer $300 sabre's for wingsuiting. My 135 @1.5 has a pocket slider on it and it opens perfectly every time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elias123 0 #12 June 9, 2015 I actually heard from at least 3 people that the Storm they fly (or flew) with wingsuits opened in twists quite often. A good friend and ex-teammate of mine even had 3 chops on one in less then 200 jumps. Then again I also know other people who jump it with wingsuits and who always have supergood openings. For me personally, I jumped a Storm 107 for a while and always had very unreliable openings. Never really onheading and when it opened in linetwists it usually was so high that I could not fix it and had to chop. It might or might not have had something to do with the fact that I am a light person. I have flown an old Spectre 120 with about 2500-3000 jumps on it for the past 1000 ws jumps and it always opens good. I might have had maybe 1 or 2 (not so serious) twists in the past 500 flights. Can't really go wrong with a Spectre in my opinion. I already have another one laying around for when my current one blows up over my head or when the lines need replacing. I have a friend who jumps an Epicene and he really loves it. Opens and flies great, but a rigger told me that you won't be able to do as much jumps on it as you would on a normal new ZP canopy. Also not the cheapest 7 cell out there. Just my 2 cents."In a mad world, only the mad are sane" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xenomorph283 0 #13 June 9, 2015 anyone have any info on PD's new canopy design that is supposed to be made for wingsuits? curious about it bu they never give out information easily Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
q1w2e3_89 0 #14 June 9, 2015 My Storm 170 opened on heading 40% of the time and in twists 10-20% of the time. I never got close to having to chop, but I definitely won't say that it is a great canopy for wingsuiting. Glide ratio can be a real pain in the ass. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alygator 2 #15 June 9, 2015 Twists don t come from the canopy but from the body position. Canopy model just change the way you ll deal with. If you have too much trouble, return to smaller wingsuit and/or bigger canopy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
q1w2e3_89 0 #16 June 9, 2015 I agree, but IMO a good wingsuit canopy should be forgiving enough to allow some room for error in body position. I got caught by surprise a little too often with the Storm. All those problems went away after I switched my canopy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lyosha 50 #17 June 9, 2015 q1w2e3_89I agree, but IMO a good wingsuit canopy should be forgiving enough to allow some room for error in body position. I got caught by surprise a little too often with the Storm. All those problems went away after I switched my canopy... What canopy did you switch to? Also: can the people that say they have issues with the storm please note their wingloadings on them? I'm curious if the thing performs very poorly when overloaded. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 74 #18 June 9, 2015 Im coming up on 3000 wingsuit jumps on storm canopies without a single cutaway or any situation thats even close. That includes one Storm canopy with over 2000 jumps on a single lineset. I would not recommend anything else personally. Packing and opening skills may varyPD is not advertising a new canopy before they finish the intensive (sometimes spanning more than one year) testing process. But they seem in the final stages of testing the new wingsuit beasty, so for sure more information will be coming out on that soon. JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccordia 74 #19 June 9, 2015 Quote I jumped a Storm 107 for a while and always had very unreliable openings. I don't think under 120 is a great size for wingsuit, regardless of make, brand or design. At that size, any minor twist turns into violence and mayhem quite quick...JC FlyLikeBrick I'm an Athlete? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkycndo 0 #20 June 9, 2015 xenomorph283anyone have any info on PD's new canopy design that is supposed to be made for wingsuits? curious about it bu they never give out information easily Saw it being jumped at Davis last year. When I asked JayMo about it just last month, he said it is still being test jumped and no date for release. I like that PD puts a lot of effort into a new design before releasing it to the public.50 donations so far. Give it a try. You know you want to spank it Jump an Infinity Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #21 June 10, 2015 FreeflawI have chopped my Storm 5 times in the last 200 jumps flying big suits. 150 at a 1.3. Florez has had similar luck at a similar loading. I am happy if 50% of my deployments do not have linetwists or something scary/annoying happen. I had couple hundred jumps with Cobalt 135, WL 1.6-1.8, than about 100 jumps on Crossfire2 129, WL 2.0+. I prefer to pull from 1100-1300m so I can deal with whatever comes. I had 2 cut-away from line-twist on my Cobalt. One of them my own stupid fault, deployment position, my other is still unexplained. I pull from flight and pack bridle to pin. I jump big suits: X-Wing and Barracuda. There was a time I had line twist quite frequently. I have noticed that the very same caopy opens more clear, less linetwist per jump if the container fit is on the loose side. I have changed couple things since than. I got WS mod: open/dynamic corners and I leave at least 75-100cm lines free packed on the bottom of the container. I don't have too often line twists anymore: 1 out of 20 or more jumps. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,026 #22 June 10, 2015 I've jumped Stiletto, Spectre and Storm with WS. Stiletto was a very poor choice! Others were fine.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydave89 19 #23 June 10, 2015 Recently chopped spinning twists on my Sabre1 120 in my Havok. Just bought a Spectre 107 and I'm way happier with the openings. (WL around 1.7) Although I have to add - I was deploying in full flight with the sabre, and on the cutaway I felt hesitation so I looked to check and it opened really offset. That said - it spun up way faster than my spectre does or even can, I imagine. Quite happy with having a 7 cell. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theplummeter 15 #24 June 11, 2015 Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up buying a cheap used Spectre 170, and the money I saved vs. a new canopy will more than cover a pilot chute, d-bag, and risers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pendragon 1 #25 June 11, 2015 Although you've got something now, I was going to mention the Safire2. Many options people give aren't that fun if you're into HP landings. My wing loading is 1.6, and I've used it on c. 600+ wingsuit jumps up to my current large(ish) suit, an Apache Scorpion. I like to swoop when I can, and it planes out of a 270 nicely; I previously had a Pilot and it recovered too fast. Occasionally I've had line twists, and it's been stable enough for me to kick out at my leisure.-- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
