Mirage G4 or Infinity

[heims 0]

I love my Mirage. My first rig was a G3 and my latest rig is a G4. I have always had AWESOME customer service from Mirage and have NEVER had my rig come open without my asking it to. My G4 fits like a glove (and I've gotten lots of compliments on how great it looks too.) If money isn't an issue, you can't go wrong with a Mirage.

[grega 0]

Wow, so many of you for infinity??

Well i haven't seen any infinity yet, so i can't say about features or manufacture quality or design. But what i saw on the pictures, my mirage g4 is at least 10 times better looking than any infinity .

So yes i'll vote Mirage G4

"George just lucky i guess!"

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

Wow, so many of you for infinity??

Well i haven't seen any infinity yet, so i can't say about features or manufacture quality or design. But what i saw on the pictures, my mirage g4 is at least 10 times better looking than any infinity .

The price is pretty good on the Infinity and I've run into it a lot renting non student gear. Unfortunately, all the ones I've used have the shoulders in right over my bones.

[GraficO 0]

Koz... maybe I should have prefaced that statement or chose different words.

I look at containers as doing a specific task. From a purely construction point of view, instead of saying the Mirage is over-done I probably should have been more specific in saying this:

The design of the Mirage, because of the flap patterns and the design of the main riser covers among other things, they choose to produce increases the parts count that goes into the rig. Many of those are purely cosmetic and not necessarily functional. Higher parts count equals more sewing and construction time that has to be compensated for hence a higher priced rig.

Both Infinity and Mirage are bullet-proof rigs but the advantage from a construction point of view is that Infinity is more simple to make. Both rigs have more than adequate shoulder riser protection, both have reserve side internal riser covers, both have main closing flaps that stay put regardless of body position in the air and both a very popular with a broad spectrum of skydivers for those reasons.

Point here is that the features compared above have been streamlined and functionally simplified on the Infinity and/or integrated with other parts which cuts down the need for more parts and more sewing. Whether or not the Mirage or the Infinity is better than the other is aesthetics and what you consider a better rig.

A perfect example is the differences between the Mirage Riser and the Infinity riser.

On the Mirage riser there is a grommet for the closing loop of the 3 ring AND a separate part for the hard housing for the extra cutaway cable. Infinity has streamlined the design of most risers available including the Mirage risers and made both into one part but combining the hard housing with a grommeted end-fitting that also serves as the grommet for the 3-ring release. Less parts, less sewing, less expensive... same functionality.

Another example is where the Infinity has combined the reserve L & R closing flaps as the secondary internal riser covers. At last I saw, the Mirage had secondary riser covers that were extra parts sewn into the seams of the reserve flaps/sides. Again it's a matter of parts count and sewing as opposed to streamlining the same idea.

With all due respect to Justin and Jeff Johnston (Lead designer of the Mirage) Mirage has for the most part just ADDED features to the original rig instead of INTEGRATING them. The end result is ultimately a higher priced rig strictly because of the way it is constructed, the parts count, the complexity of how the features are added and the sewing time to make it. It is not because it's features are any better than Infinity or Javelin or any other rig on the market for that matter Jeff just chose to make the Mirage the way it is. Kelly at VSE on the other hand took a completely different approach to accomplish the same tasks and did it better, more cost effective and that is transferred to the customer buying the rig.

From the aesthetic point of view, everybody has their own idea of what looks good. Some think the way the Mirage looks is absolutely the most beautiful thing they've seen on the planet, while others think the Jav or the Infinity or the Vector is gorgeous. So if you are willing to spend another $500 on a rig for the aesthetics... go right ahead... it's your backside.... personally I would rather go jump and spend the $500 on tickets or tunnel time.

GraficO

GraficO

"A Mind is a terrible thing to taste."

[pilotdave 0]

To sum up what he just said in my own words: Mirages are for metrosexuals (fancy boys). Especially purple ones.

No offense to the fancy boys mirage owners reading this.
Dave

[mattjw916 2]

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[BMFin 0]

If you are not buying a >150 sqft. Get the G4. Its the best there is. perioid.

[MWGemini 0]

Why the caveat of greater than 150 square foot canopy size? I'm looking at getting a G4 M4 and putting a 170 in it. I've seen numerous G3s and a few G4s with 170s in them and haven't heard a single complaint from any of their owners.

Thanks,

Mike