Sabre2 vs Safire2 vs Pilot vs Nitron

[Elisha 1]

...and other comparable 9-cells. So which is the best? What do you like and why?

I think a Nitron was mentioned as being probably more high performance the the other 3, but the Nitron I jumped was a 170 and therefore still <1 wingloading, so probably not so advanced. Anyways, compare away...

[AggieDave 6]

I would agree that the Nitro is a bit higher performance canopy then the other canopies listed. I would place it inbetween a Sabre2 and a Stiletto in terms of "performance."

As for the other 3, all of them are great canopies and all 3 have their pluses and minuses. Personally I would choose a Sabre2 for various reasons that I've listed previously; however, I would implore you to demo the Sabre2, Safire2 and the Pilot to find which canopy you actually prefer. You'll find the manufacture contact info in the Gear section of this site.

Its your $1500, find the canopy that you prefer that's in your skill range and of the proper size for your ability and jump numbers.


EDIT:

Sorry, I was talking about the Nitro, I misread your title and didn't see that you said Nitron, I have not jumped the Nitron and couldn't tell from personal experience about the canopy.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Elisha 1]

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Its your $1500, find the canopy that you prefer that's in your skill range and of the proper size for your ability and jump numbers.

Dude, I think they all cost more than that! Well, acording to paragear.com anyways. Since I just got my first (used) stuff, I'm not buying in the near future without some type of cash inflow, but keep the comments coming.

[AggieDave 6]

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Dude, I think they all cost more than that! Well, acording to paragear.com anyways.

The only one (according to Square1) that costs $1600 or over is the larger Sabre2s, the rest were $1500 or less and the canopies I've bought from other dealers brand new have all cost me less then what Square1 lists (no sponserships).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[freeflygirlz 0]

The Nitro and the Nitron are the same canopy. The Nitro is for the european, Nitron the US market.
I also would not recommend the Nitron until you have about 300 jumps, it is a high performance canopy.
All the others are very nice canopies, although Sabre 2 might open a bit harder than the others.
A canopy you might want to consider is the silouette. Its a zero P / F 111 mix, therefore easier to pack. It flies similar to the Pilot.
Go and demo the canopies, but make sure to use the same size, otherwise its hard to compare.

[indyz 1]

Having jumped three of the four at roughly smilar wingloadings, my preference in order would be Sabre2, Pilot, Nitro. I have the least jumps on the Nitro (3) and the most (15-20) on the Sabre2, with about 6 on the Pilot. My windloading was probably quite a bit higher than what you are planning on (1.4-1.5).

They are all fine canopies. They all open well, fly well, and land well. I felt that the Nitro opened the best (softest and on-heading) but with only 2 terminal jumps on the canopy, it could be a fluke. The Pilot seems to snivel much less than the other two, but doesn't open hard. I've had heading issues on the Sabre2, but nothing major and it opened plenty softly.

I would be happy to jump any of these canopies full-time. If money were no object I'd buy a Sabre2. If I was on a budget, the Pilot would be the easy choice. The Nitron is fine but nothing exceptional (although I'm sure others will disagree with me).

[phoenixlpr 0]

I have a Pilot. I had 90+ jump with it. I like it.

[mr2mk1g 10]

I've flown the first three but not the last. They are very similar indeed. I would say the safire2 and pilot are more similar to each other than to the sabre2. Of the three I decided to buy the safire2.

I ended up buying a pilot as an interim because I got an amazing deal on a second hand but brand new one. I still intend to buy a safire2 but it can wait till I downsize next in another few hundred jumps... assuming there's nothing I like even more out by then and I don't choose to go eliptical instead of downsize.

The sabre2 I would happily fly if I'd found a killer deal on. I distinctly preferred the other two over it though... not that it's in any way a bad canopy - I just preferred the other two.

If I were you I would demo each of them and try them all. The difference between these canopies is so slight that it really does come down to a subjective decision regarding how you want your canopy to open and fly. They are all (well at least the first 3 I know about) fantastic canopies and you would enjoy any one of them.

[hipgnosis 0]

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The Nitro and the Nitron are the same canopy. The Nitro is for the european, Nitron the US market.

Nitron is put out by Precision, while the Nitro is distributed in the states by High Performance Research (hiperusa.com or contact the dz.commer beezy).


Bill

[hookncrater 0]

Yes, and there are minor manufacturing differences between the two... if you do a seach beezy has listed the differences quite extensively.

They are not identical canopies. Close, but not quite. Plus, Precision offers a 170 which HiPerUSA does not.

________________________________________________________________________________
when in doubt... hook it!

[freeflygirlz 0]

In Germany there are 2 manufacturer and both produce and sell the same caonpy, the Nitro.
Its HiPer (www.hiper.de) and the other one is Profile Research (wwwpara-leasing-nord.de).
Besides a few details they are both the same canopies. HiPer and HiPer USA belong together, Profile Research sold the right to sell the canopy as Nitron in the US-market to Precision.
Thats the way I was told it and I was in contact with both german manufacturer.
blue skies

[BlindBrick 0]

I've jumped a Sabre II and a Safire II under identical moderate wingloadings. Contratry to a lot of peopel who say that are essentiallyt he same, both canopies have distinctly different personalities.

IMO, the Safire II is significantly more agile and responsive(both on toggles and risers), though the Sabre II had a slightly longer recovery arc. Packing and openings, the Safire II won hands down.

Landing was where the Sabre II stood out. In my mind, the flare isnt' stronger than the Safire II, but with the flare coming much earlier in the toggle stroke, you see results a lot quicker. Seems like that would make it just a little more friendly as a transitional or student canopy.

So overall, two good canopies. To me the difference is between choosign a Sabre II if you want a solid depndable "no frills" canopy where as the Safire II is for those willing to fly a little more technicallyy in exchange for better performance.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[aubsmell 0]

Because I work for a manufacturer, I'll keep my opinion to myself. (everybody knows what opinions are like!)

but I will tell you you can demo one from Aerodyne 3 ways:

1. send Sandy an email s.kimball@aerodyne-int.com and she can arrange to ship you one right to your house.

2. Go to our website, look under demos, see if there is a Aerodyne Distributor near you who has the make and model you want to try, and you can link up with them to try it.

3. Take a look at our calendar and see what boogie our reps will be attending and cruz over to the tent at that event, and we'll either give you a fully loaded Icon to jump with your choice of canopy, or just put your canopy of choice in your rig.

My candid advise to you would be to jump them all then buy the one you like, remember it's your toy, and your the one who has to play with it most....

Regards,

Aubrey

"Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

[Elisha 1]

Thanks Aubrey. If you are going to be at the NCFF/Byron Boogie and have anything in the 130-150 range, I might take you up onto that offer.

[white_falcon 0]

I have been dealing with you very issue, except i have only been considering 3 of the canopies listed.

I have demoed the Sabre II and the Pilot and for my money ( and the one I am prepared to purchase) the Pilot is hands down the better canopy (now make sure to look at my jump #'s)

Initially, I had a problem w/ the pilot because I couldn't land it but I liked the way it flew from the beginning (more responsive in the turns, lighter toggle pressure, shallower glide path) than the sabre, but dammit, I couldn't land the dam thing. Then all of a sudden, it was bam, bam, bam, bam, one soft stand-up landing after another.

Don't get me wrong, I LIKED the Sabre II, I just liked the Pilot better and its ME flying it.

That's MY $.02 and whatever you but, I hope you enjoy it.

Scott

[tdog 0]

I know we are only half way thru the year, but last Christmas I got one of the canopies you listed as an option brand new - "off the shelf" for about $1100 with shipping, maybe a little less... The end of the year sales really do save money...

[aubsmell 0]

Aerodyne will be represented there for sure... if not me personally, someone will be there with a pilot 124, 132, 140 and 150.

Bonnie from Gravity Gear has a couple of those sizes available all the time for demo... check with her too.

Aubrey

-

"Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

[DancingFlame 0]

I'vw flown all four canopies. Though, I've jumped Pilot only 3 or 4 times.
Nitron is fully elliptical canopy. Spinning malfunctions on ellipticals are much more dangerous than on lightly elliptical canopies. So I would never recommend Nitron for anybody with less than 300 jumps.
Sabre2 is a good canopy with strong flare. One can get decent swoops even on lightly loaded Sabre2. However I disliked openings (those two I demoed tended to dive and turn 90 degrees after opening). Good packing and body position might help with that.
Safire2 opens like a dream. Flies as good as Sabre2 but has different flare. I would say it's easier to find 'sweet spot' on Sabre2 than on Safire2. Oh and I must say I'm a Safire1 fan. In my opinion it opens as good as second version and flies a lot better. Longer recovery arc than on Safire2 and Sabre2 as well. Pity that Icarus stopped pruduction of older Safires.

As I've said before I've jumped Pilot only 3 or 4 times so I can't tell much about this canopy. But all those openings were perfect. I liked the way it flew. It is a canopy that will get you from the longest spot. It swooped well too (however Safire1 did that better).

You can't go wrong with any of those. Choose one and enjoy the ride.

[Elisha 1]

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Nitron is fully elliptical canopy. Spinning malfunctions on ellipticals are much more dangerous than on lightly elliptical canopies. So I would never recommend Nitron for anybody with less than 300 jumps.

It may be, but too late - I think I've jumped a 170 around 5 times now - when my jump total was in the 40-50 range. I landed fine on most jumps, but as I said before, my WL was only about .91. This was a rental at a boogie.

Back to topic...I just chose those 4 since I thought they were the most analagous and from 4 different manufacturers (all being 9-cells and I guess except for the Nitron, intermediate types).

[billvon 2,991]

>So which is the best?

Pilot is a better intermediate/wingsuit canopy. I have a Pilot 150 that I use for wingsuit and bigway jumps.

Nitro is a better HP canopy, if landing fast is your thing. Longer recovery arc, more stable than some other ultra HP canopies (like the Xaos.)

Safire2's not bad. I had a Safire 1 for a while, which I didn't like at all. Then I got the brake line mod and liked it a lot more.

[CieloDiosa 0]

my choices were between a sabre2, safire2, and a pilot. although i liked allllll 3, especially the safires awesome openings, i went with the pilot150.
i highly recomend demo-ing all 3 before buying.
everyone has their own opinion.

~boogie ho!!
pull before impact!
L.A.S.T#14, PMS #309, Ci EL O DI O SA

[Elisha 1]

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>So which is the best?

Pilot is a better intermediate/wingsuit canopy. I have a Pilot 150 that I use for wingsuit and bigway jumps.

Nitro is a better HP canopy, if landing fast is your thing. Longer recovery arc, more stable than some other ultra HP canopies (like the Xaos.)

Safire2's not bad. I had a Safire 1 for a while, which I didn't like at all. Then I got the brake line mod and liked it a lot more.

What does that mean 'wingsuit' canopy?

[Praetorian 1]

You forgot the LOTUS, everyone forgets the lotus, it flies a lot like a sabreII, slightly less rounded... but its got Air locks .. ask those who fly them .. they are not just a gimik! I don't have a lot to compare but I have expreience with SabreII and my Lotus... I like the lotus better, stronger flair more precise turns (but maybe a tiny bit slower turn rate)

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[kelpdiver 2]

anything different about packing the lotus? It's about the same price for me as the others, so it's in the mix. But it would be nice to find one to demo first before winter when I decide.

[dragon2 2]

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Quote

>So which is the best?

Pilot is a better intermediate/wingsuit canopy. I have a Pilot 150 that I use for wingsuit and bigway jumps.

Nitro is a better HP canopy, if landing fast is your thing. Longer recovery arc, more stable than some other ultra HP canopies (like the Xaos.)

Safire2's not bad. I had a Safire 1 for a while, which I didn't like at all. Then I got the brake line mod and liked it a lot more.

What does that mean 'wingsuit' canopy?

A canopy you use when flying a wingsuit (BirdMan suit etc, see wingsuit forum). Usually these canopies open straight and not too hard, are stable, handle a couple linetwists well etc because if you get twists you need some time to get out of your wings before you can reach up and kick to deal with them. Ie if you do wingsuit with a tiny Velocity, while possible, you'll probably have probems sooner or later. The best wingsuit canopies are Spectre, Triathlon etc, because 7 cells are the most stable, but the Pilot makes a very nice 9 cell wingsuit canopy..

ciel bleu,
Saskia