Sabre2?

[adrenalinejunki 0]

I have been wanting a Safire2 189 but can't seem to get it without waiting 3 months or so. What does everyone think about the openings of the Sabre2? Have they completely fixed the opening issues that they had with the Sabre 1? I have a Sabre 1 now and have decided not to jump it anymore because of the openings. No matter what I do it still slams me.



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What's the worst that can happen?

[tr027 0]

Did you check to make sure the slider is sized to the most recent specifications? If it is, and packing methods don't solve it I would say just go up a slider size, while maintaining the same aspect ratio.

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

[tso-d_chris 0]

The Sabre2 openings are considerably better than the original Sabre openings.

Please be aware that any canopy can open hard from time to time.

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[beowulf 1]

I have over 500 jumps on my Sabre 2 150 and have only had maybe 2 hard openings that I can think of. I pack it like the manual says, that is I leave the nose hang and don't roll or do anything with it. I tried rolling the nose once and it took waaay too long to open. I have been very happy with my Sabre 2.

[slayer152 0]

I have been jumping a Sabre2 190 for about 70 jumps now. i really don't have much to compare it with other than a spectre and a student canopy, but i love the flight and the responsiveness is awesome. i have it loaded at 1.2:1, and i can make it do what i want so far. the openings are awesome, 95% have been soft and on heading. the only ones that weren't were due to fast packing and trying to make a quick call. so those were my fault. even the slammers weren't all that bad. the only thing with the sabre2, as discussed in the gear review section, is the consistent end cell closures, which is not a big deal at all..a tug on the rears and all is well.
IMHO the sabre2 is an excellent canopy and being semi-elliptical it'll perform very nicely with the right input.

_______________The only thing in life that doesnt take effort is failure________________

[mattjw916 2]

Sabre2s definately open better than Sabre 1s but not nearly as good as a Safire IMO. You might want to give the Fusion by Precision a try too. It's basically a mellowed out version of the Nitron which is my favorite canopy so far by a long-shot. Their delivery time is about 5 weeks for custom colors and Art from Skydivestore.com is a real pleasure to deal with. Not to mention the fact they are cheaper too...

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[outlawphx 1]

The only thing similar about the Sabre I & II are the names I thought the openings on my Sabre2 were great.

[Rdy2skydive 0]

I put 150+ jumps on a Spectre before jumping my Sabre 2. I've found my Sabre 2 to be very sensitive to body positioning on opening - the Spectre is far more forgiving. I've had some great openings on my S2 but I've been slammed really hard a few times too. However, it's a lot of fun to fly.

[monkycndo 0]

I have been jumping a Sabre1 170 and have not been slammed. I just tried a Sabre2 150 loaded at 1.3. Loved it. The openings were nice and about the same as my trusty 170, soft and mostly on heading. Loved the landings, smooth and a little swoopy. So I just ordered one this Sunday. Can hardly wait until it is delivered.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[pilotdave 0]

I must have over 500 jumps on my Sabre2 135 now and I love it. Never had a really hard opening, but almost all of them are off heading. Doesn't seem to matter who packs it, and I have trouble believing I've only had a handful of openings in the proper body position. I'm just so used to getting swung around at the end of every opening that it doesn't even bother me... I just grab a rear riser and put it back where I want it. Always happens just as I'm thinking "wow, on-heading!" Then whooosh and I'm pointing in a different direction. Openings are nice and soft, but not excessively long (probably 500 feet usually).

Course mine might be out of trim or something. Lines are still in good shape, recently checked by 2 different riggers, but I don't think they checked the trim.

But I just love the way it lands. So easy to get it right... just fly it to the ground. Not like a spectre that I've found requires a lot more timing to get a nice landing.

Dave

[Darius11 12]

Have about 100 jumps on my Saber2 230 Wl about 1.35.

Love it. Soft openings mine takes a very long time to open 700-1000 almost always but I’ll take that over getting slammed any day.

The flair especially the bottom end is just amazing.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

ADjunkie,

I've got probably over 1000 jumps on original Sabre's and probably 600ish jumps on a Sabre2.

Yes, the original Sabre can give you some pretty brutal openings sometimes. Like someone up-post said, get with your local rigger and contact PD to see if the orig Sabre you have has the proper sized slider for the size canopy... you may want to also take a look at the line trim depending on how many jumps the canopy has on it with respect to when it was re-lined last... or are the lines original??

What I found works for me on my original Sabre (yes, I still jump it sometimes, its in my back-up rig) is to make sure you qarter the slider well, roll the nose tightly, put the nose into the middle of the pack job, but DO NOT shove it to the tail, make sure the fwd quarter of the slider is out in front of the nose and not rolled in with it, roll the tail tight, make sure you don't loose control of the slider placement when you bag the canopy and tight line stows (I prefer rubber bands)... not really much of a trick to it, just good packing. ... ummm... and don't dump in a track or head-down unless its to avoid bouncing...
Question to you... is your profile up to date? Are you really jumping at a wing loading of almost 1.4:1 with less than 200 jumps? What size Sabre2 and/or Safire are you considering and what wingloading would that put you at?

[JeepDiver 0]

I've been very happy with my Sabre2 although I've only but 40+ jumps on it since getting it new.

[johnny1488 1]

Who quoted you the 3 month time?

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

Quote

Who quoted you the 3 month time?

Maybe it was for a custom color canopy that they quoted him that?


My favorite colors are always "In Stock"

• Quote

[johnny1488 1]

Yes, as far as I know the quotes custom delivery times should be a bit quicker than that.

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[adrenalinejunki 0]

Profile is up to date. The Sabre was my first canopy and I have gained weight since then. My weight with gear is around 250 lbs. I am trying to get a Safire2 189 and have always jumped a Sabre 190. Not wanting to downsize any I just want better openings because I am such a shitty packer..... Icarus said it was 12 weeks to get a custom canopy but that was a couple months ago. I still plan on keeping the Sabre and putting together another rig for myself, but I just don't want it to ruin another vacation for me like it did at WFFC last year. It slammed me so hard on my 4th jump of the week that I was briused so bad I did'nt get to jump again for almost a month. I have the money to buy a new canopy now and plan on doing so. I just wish I could find an "in stock" Safire2 189. I will give PD a call and ask about the slider. Thanks for the info!




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What's the worst that can happen?

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

Go to PD's website... store... canopies...

http://www.performancedesigns.com/store_files/canopystore.asp


... and take a look at their stock list. Talk to your local dealer... as I don't think you can buy directly from PD, I may be wrong... or Call Ralph... hunt around and see what kind of a deal you can get... the last time I bought Canopies, I did the Call Ralph thing, he qouted me a price for what I wanted, I have him my 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice by Serial Number off of PDs stock list, gave him my Credit Card #, he did the deal with PD and had the Canopies drop shipped right to me, I had them within 3 days. If you've got the money to buy now, the stock list at PD or any similar list any manufacturer has is the way to go... just find some colors you can live with.

[uponone 0]

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Yes, as far as I know the quotes custom delivery times should be a bit quicker than that.

It took that long for me and I just got it last month. No complaints though, they told me it was going to take that long.

Basically both the Sabre 2 and the Safire have a pretty mellow opening with the Safire being slightly more mellow. IMO you should be choosing based on the way the fly, not the way they open since the openings aren't rough on either.

[spanky39154 0]

I've just recently started jumping my S2 135, but had the same prob with a 150, tip i got from an instructor at DZ who also jumps S2 is to keep feet together on deployment, seems its a bit of a pendulem effect that causes the turn at the end of deployment.

This has helped me and some others but not everyone, worth giving a try!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large Groups!!

[outlawphx 1]

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I've just recently started jumping my S2 135, but had the same prob with a 150, tip i got from an instructor at DZ who also jumps S2 is to keep feet together on deployment, seems its a bit of a pendulem effect that causes the turn at the end of deployment.

This has helped me and some others but not everyone, worth giving a try!!

Mine did that at first, but then it settled down after about 30-40 jumps. I don't know if my body position got better, or I was flying the opening more in the harness...

[Spatula 0]

Just a general question for all S2 owners here...when packing ...how many times or how tight do you roll the tail when you wrap it? Hope that makes sense....and is this a direct factor in slowing the opening or just keeping "things" tidy in the pack?

[beowulf 1]

I don't roll the tail very tight and not very much at all. I actually would like it to open a little faster. But don't want to mess with the slider.

[hineshpatel 0]

My first canopy was a Sabre2 170 (from new) and the openings were lovely! Nice and soft and mostly on heading (I learned to pack on this canopy too!).

Subsequently, I've done 15-20 demo jumps on a Sabre2 135 and a few of the openings have been harsh. I've also demo'd the Safire2 149 & 139 and found their openings to be far more controlled, consistent and easier on the body...

I love the way the Sabre2 flies, lands and has greater toggle pressure in comparison to the Safire2. However as I tend to jump lots in a short space of time I've put my order in for a Safire2 simply as the Sabre2 135 left me feeling sore after 2 full days of jumping.

Hope my experiences help

[outlawphx 1]

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Just a general question for all S2 owners here...when packing ...how many times or how tight do you roll the tail when you wrap it? Hope that makes sense....and is this a direct factor in slowing the opening or just keeping "things" tidy in the pack?

I never rolled it much. The main thing was making sure the slider stayed up against the slider stops while packing.