Any reason to not have mostly black canopy?

[doorgirl 0]

I'm playing with canopy color combinations, and I don't know if anyone has any good reasons for avoiding mostly black canopies. I'm toying with the idea of a Spectre with the two end cells magenta and the rest of the cells black.

*Finding the canopy: I think that bright pink will stick out like a sore thumb near any DZ, and putting it on the endcells probably makes it more likely to actually be facing the plane or ground-based searcher. And it makes it less appealing to the local bulls since pink is only part of the canopy.

*I've seen plenty of guys in the last couple weeks with canopies with pink in them, so hopefully it's not too girly when I sell it years down the road.

[GravityGirl 0]

Black fades faster than white. (But Neon Pink fades even faster).

Black is hard to see. (But that Neon Pink will help with that).

What does your rig look like?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[Kimblair13 0]

Black = Boring

[Spatula 0]

We have a few all black canopies around the DZ here in VA. Only thing I'd suspect is it will fade quicker than other colors. Could be wrong though.

[TALONSKY 0]

As stated above, one thing to keep in mind is if you have to chop ( how easy is it to stand out from everything around it when you are looking for it). I personally would go a different color.
Kirk

[Spatula 0]

unless your a ninja!!?!?

[doorgirl 0]

Its a wings with:
black on the sides, reserve PC and flaps,
teal on the reserve flaps, stripes B&D, piping and logos,
and purple on the top reserve flap, reserve PC piping, stripes A,C,E, main closing flap and the mudcovers.

I thought that PD had a teal, but realized a bit too late that I was mistaken or my screen has really inaccurate colors. Jade and Turquoise both seem different that I remember.

Is the fading problem a fade to grey in 5 years or 2 yrs sort of problem?

[doorgirl 0]

or a pirate... saw a cool thread on jolly roger canopies somewhere on here...

[skybytch 273]

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I thought that PD had a teal

PD's jade is as close to teal as they get. It's not an exact match for teal cordura but it's close. Their turquoise is a bright blue (good match for electric blue cordura).

I have a black center cell on my main. Jumped mostly at Perris, it has faded quite a bit in about 300 jumps - it's not grey but it's definitely not as black as it was when it was new.

[doorgirl 0]

Thanks!

I'll play around with combos using Jade. Should I stick to 3 or less Jade panels so that I don't blend into the sky?

[BenHall 0]

A mostly black canopy might be a little more confusing to pack at times, but that's pretty much the only downside, and not a big one at that.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Black material absorbs more light than other colours, including UV. It may deteriorate faster. Strong was making the case for white top skins on SET 400's.

[Kimblair13 0]

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unless your a ninja!!?!?

OK, but ONLY if your a ninja!

[marcin 0]

I believe it is really dangerous to have black/dark canopy. Almost invisible in peripheral vision.

There were a few team black canopies at our dz and I remember a few close calls few years ago.

Unless you like to be a practice target and danger for yourself and others stay with nice bright colors

[Remster 30]

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Jumped mostly at Perris, it has faded quite a bit in about 300 jumps - it's not grey but it's definitely not as black as it was when it was new.

Ahhh.. Perris.. and Eloy as a matter of fact.. Only a question of time until the freaking dust makes your white look dirty, and your darks look faded...

Remster

[bob.dino 1]

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I believe it is really dangerous to have black/dark canopy. Almost invisible in peripheral vision.

That'd be my concern too - how easy you are to see under canopy.

[ntacfreefly 0]

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I believe it is really dangerous to have black/dark canopy. Almost invisible in peripheral vision.

Not sure about peripheral vision, but I hate it when people have green canopies that blend into the ground when you look down.

I prefer 'unnatural' patterns or something that makes the canopy easier to see whether it be from below or above or peripherally.

Blues,
Ian

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu

It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

[skyfreek 1]

i had an all black canopy years ago. faded to a charcoal, plus the odd time i packed outside, it was super hot tolay on. i was also told it was hard to see in the air by other canopies

[BIGUN 1,307]

Consider the center cell black and all the rest magenta. WHen you're packing, you always know which one is the center cell and you still get the colors you like.

Having said that; it's your canopy, you're the one paying for it. Get what you want.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[Carver 0]

I have the same clour canopy exatly and I asked the same questions when I bought it.

It was explained to me that white is the only colour that will not fade as coloured canopies are stained from a white base. So any lighter colours will fade back to white quicker than darker ones.

Any thoughts on this?

Never try to skip a stage of natural progression...

[packing_jarrett 0]

also wouldn't all black canopy pack up bigger. It would be heavier too.

Na' Cho' Cheese

[tdog 0]

I have about 300 jumps on my current canopy at Perris, Eloy, Zhills, Mile High, Etc... Eloy will make any canopy other than light brown move towards light brown in color... That dust is amazing, they should turn it into glue... The other DZs are not so bad...

That being said, I don't think I am going to be worried about fading on my next canopy choice... I know they will pick up dirt and look dirty after a few jumps... Part of life, like death and taxes...

Instead.... In priority...

1) The easiest to spot from the sky (looking down, looking across)... Planes and skydivers should see me as best as they can.

Then, far down the list...

2) Dirty Factor

3) Find when chopped factor

I personally would get an all black canopy, I think it could be fun, especially with gray or white insides or something... But if people say they are hard to see - I would then choose something else.

[FrogNog 1]

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Black material absorbs more light than other colours, including UV. It may deteriorate faster. Strong was making the case for white top skins on SET 400's.

The black dye will absorb more visible light than other colors. Whether it absorbs more UV light is not really related to its color as the human eye can detect. (It could be coincidentally related, but we can't see UV so we can't visually tell.) Except for colors that have no blue in them - if we assume a dye's absorption spectrum does not have hard on/off lines, we can assume dyes that absorb blue or violet light will absorb some amount of ultraviolet, as well.

But the fact that dyes absorb light can actually help protect fabric, because it means the light is absorbed by the dye instead of the fabric. If fabric deterioration is caused by the nylon absorbing light (at any frequency), having some of that light get stopped in the dye would be good.

If fabric deterioration is caused by heat, though, keeping the fabric cooler while packing would be the goal and undyed fabrics would be better. I'm not sure what damage nylon gets from being warm to the touch, though.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[FrogNog 1]

Someone at my home DZ has an all-black canopy and that thing is sexy. Makes me want one every time I see it landing.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[ematteo 0]

Super stealthy for night jumps - sneak up on your friends, they'll never see you coming!