Spectre or Sabre2 for beginner

[Deuce 1]

Virtually all my sport jumps are on Spectre's. I really think it's the most versatile canopy out there, and checking the list of hardcore camera fliers, I'm in good company.

That said, I was telling the story of my first reserve ride this weekend, and it was because my Spectre violently spun up on deployment. It was funny because as I looked up at the mess and the sky-ground-sky-ground view I thought to myself, self "SPECTRE'S AREN'T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!!!!!" There are frame grabs of it somewhere in here.

And when I downsized from a 170 to a 150 I crashed so bad most folks were surprised I didn't break both my femurs. (Thank God for mud).

So, the main difference at the same wingloading is that a Sabre will glide a little farther and swoop a little longer, but a Spectre sinks a little faster and is easier to put into tight landing areas.

Spectres also have a reputation for softer openings in general, but can also break your neck if not packed properly.

There is no such thing as a safe or "safer" canopy. Some are more demanding than others, but they all will kill you if you don't operate them correctly.

And then again, you can get killed under your parachute doing everything right.

It is not a roller coaster ride.

[SWATcop 0]

I finally got to jump my Sabre2 210 today and I like it a lot. Actually I put three jumps on it. I wound up buying one never having jumped one before buying (sent the demo back to PD unused) but I am very happy with the canopy. It still feels big to me, I think I could still fly and land a 170 like my old canopy with no problems but I am going to stay conservative.

Kevin

Muff Brother #4041
Team Dirty Sanchez #467

[SlashDog 0]

Well, after consideration, I decided that I should go with the Spectre 190. I picked it up used in a beautiful wings container. I'm at about a 1.1 wingloading, which is smaller than I thought I would be jumping at this point but I am loving the ride and have had great landings. It's really easy to put it down where I want it. I'm going to stick with the 190 for a while. I definitely plan to demo a Sabre two next summer though! I figure that I will really appreciate the glide after a few hundred jumps on the Spectre. Thanks for the advice everyone!

[dragon2 2]

LOL yeah the one time I had to cut away my spectre because it was over the horizon with a few twists and I was lowish already, I actually yelled at it while pulling the cutaway: "Hey! You're a SPECTRE! Don't do that!"



That was one of the few jumps without camera though

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Hey Spencer,

I recently bought a Spectre myself. I was jumping the Sabre2's for a while and I loved them. I loved the canopy, then openings and the landings, but the thing that bothered me were the end cell closures. I know they are normal or accepted, but I didn't like it. My Spectre flies great, lands great opens great and is a blast to fly. It'll whip me around like a rag doll. My last jump I dumped at 5000 ft and tried some hard turns. I managed to put line twists on the canopy from the turn. It took, forever to stall the canopy and it had a very noticeable stall. I love the flare. The flare on the Sabre2 I felt was a bit longer so you could hold it onger and stop the canopy. The spectre to me, seemed swoopier. I flared and at the end of the flare I had to take a couple steps. Nothing major, I'm still adjusting to the canopy.

I think you'll enjoy the Spectre, I know I am. The openings are nice and soft, but looong! My first 2 jumps seemed to be josting me around in the harness, but when i jumped on a day that wasn't so windy, I didn't have the same effect at all. I love it! I plan to keep mine for 1000 jumps if I can!

Chris

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[Elisha 1]

Why do so many people seem to make their canopy choice so much on openings? (I'm not just picking on you, Chris-Ottawa) Unless you fly camera/wingsuit or have some health issues, it seems like most of the recent designs open rather similar to each other. The opening is such a short time of the usage of the canopy.

Closed end cells or hung up slider? BFD. Just use your rears or brakes to clear them.

Shouldn't the primary reason be flight characteristics and landing? Who cares if you prefer the opening of a Pilot over a Sabre2! They both open similarly, but which one do you prefer flying and why?

Rant done. Of course, I guess me and my 175 jumps probably doesn't carry any weight (yeah, I'm not all that heavy either).

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Honestly, that's not what made my choice in main. If I had to make a choice, best opening canopy by far i've ever jumped was a Pilot. Absolutely amazing. I enoyed the Spectre, Sabre, Pilot and even the silhouette for flight characteristics. The Pilot was VERY responsive, followed by the Sabre, then the Spectre. However, for what I need It's a method for me to get from 3k to 0 safely. It's all about preference, I personally didn't like the Sabre's End cell issues, that's just me though. In no way would it stop me from buying a Sabre2, I'd love to. If you offered to trade my Spectrew for a Sabre2, I would not even take a second to think about it, but I still love my Spectre.

The Sabre has a VERY impressive flare as well!

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[bob.dino 1]

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Why do so many people seem to make their canopy choice so much on openings?

Opening is the scary time. A hard opening bounces your chin off your chest, and the slider zipping down the lines pops a brake. You're seeing stars and the canopy is diving into spinning linetwists that you can't kick out. Your dytter flatlines and you're still having difficultly grasping your handles because you're dazed and the harness is distorted from the g-forces. You have a hard pull because you don't have hard housings in your risers and the ground's coming up real fast. Finally you chop and almost simultaneously punch out the reserve. Less than ten seconds later you've gotta land. Good luck.

I'd prefer not to end up in that situation so I choose my gear, including my canopy, to help minimise the likelihood of it occurring.

[br0k3n 0]

Yeah my first canopy was a spectre 170, great canopy.. You could stick at least half a dozen line twist into it and it would still fly straight, giving you plenty of time to leisurely kick them out.

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--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[mjosparky 4]

Quote

Quote

Why do so many people seem to make their canopy choice so much on openings?

Opening is the scary time. A hard opening bounces your chin off your chest, and the slider zipping down the lines pops a brake. You're seeing stars and the canopy is diving into spinning linetwists that you can't kick out. Your dytter flatlines and you're still having difficultly grasping your handles because you're dazed and the harness is distorted from the g-forces. You have a hard pull because you don't have hard housings in your risers and the ground's coming up real fast. Finally you chop and almost simultaneously punch out the reserve. Less than ten seconds later you've gotta land. Good luck.

I'd prefer not to end up in that situation so I choose my gear, including my canopy, to help minimise the likelihood of it occurring.

That was a great description on how your life can go to shit is a hot minute. Skydiving is not for the faint of heart.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[kallend 2,026]

When I was involved in a canopy collision at Z Hills this year, and was knocked into line twists with collapsed end cells at approx. 100ft agl, my Spectre 135 kept flying straight ahead and instantly re-inflated.

I like a canopy that will take care of me when the shit hits the fan. All the rest is frills.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.