Dirty lines.....

[hudsonderek 0]

So i just bought my third second hand canopy, and for the third time I've gotten dirty lines, all the canopies have flown in trim, and open fine. One canopy had 120-something jumps on it, and the lines were dirty as hell. my most recent one has three hundred jumps and the lines are pretty dirty, the one in between had about 400 jumps on it and they were ugly as well. they seem to get a almost clay like grey substance on them. besides the 400 jump canopy the other two have had no "hairs" on the lines (little frays). why do these lines get so dirty so easily? how can you tell the difference between "dirty good lines" and dirty bad ones, other than if the canopy flies in trim? what's the policy on scotch guarding new lines? big no no? I heard someone saying when lines look dirty it's time ot replace them, but what if they're only a year old with 300 jumps on them?

[PhreeZone 20]

What material are the lines? Spectra, Dacron, HMA, Vectran? Some materials change colors at faster rates then others based on wear. Vectran starts out yellowish and turns gray fairly quickly.

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[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

So i just bought my third second hand canopy, and for the third time I've gotten dirty lines, all the canopies have flown in trim, and open fine. One canopy had 120-something jumps on it, and the lines were dirty as hell. my most recent one has three hundred jumps and the lines are pretty dirty, the one in between had about 400 jumps on it and they were ugly as well. they seem to get a almost clay like grey substance on them. besides the 400 jump canopy the other two have had no "hairs" on the lines (little frays). why do these lines get so dirty so easily? how can you tell the difference between "dirty good lines" and dirty bad ones, other than if the canopy flies in trim? what's the policy on scotch guarding new lines? big no no? I heard someone saying when lines look dirty it's time ot replace them, but what if they're only a year old with 300 jumps on them?

1. The previous owners claims may not be accurate - I bought one "300 jump" canopy which never flared like I wanted it to until I measured it and found that it was way out of trim (like 600 jumps).

2. Vectran starts out kindof grey.

[Guinness_fr 0]

Yup what they've said:
I guess you are using microline as a reference (shiny white even after many jumps) and comparing it to vectran.
Please do a search on this forum for differences between line types, and especially what to look for as signs of wear for each type (for instance microline will usually be replaced way before it is worn because of the canopy becoming way out of trim, whereas for vectran you must actively look for signs of wear, like checking if the inner fabric is dirty).

[BMFin 0]

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Yup what they've said:
I guess you are using microline as a reference (shiny white even after many jumps) and comparing it to vectran.

If hes talking about the cobalt listed in hes profile, it most likely has spectra lines. Also I doubt the other three canopies he had before were all vectran either..

If you doubt your ability to judge the condition of the lines why not just take it to your rigger and get his / their opinion on the condition of the lines ?

[hudsonderek 0]

I talked to a rigger, not one I usually use, and he took a glance at the lines and said it looks like they need to be replaced. the canopy itself is crisp as hell, and the tag and labels have nearly no wear at all, so I believe the jump numbers. It's a crossfire 2 129, I forgot to update my profile, oops.

[jeremy_o 0]

Perhaps you bought it from the a desert area? AZ, MOAB, Cali, etc I will always avoid gear from this area when buying online.

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[hudsonderek 0]

Arizona

[JonnyGuru 0]

Buy a new line set and have your rigger put it on for you... Help him install it and he might take some of the money off the price and you'll learn alot about canopies in the process...

Make the most of what ya got!