Best way to make a monarch open soft?

[FallloutboyDAoC 0]

Im hoping to get a monarch 155, but am wondering what the best way to pack it for soft openings is. Or as close to soft as it can get.

[councilman24 37]

Buy a spectre.

I wouldn't expect a monarch to ever open as soft as a newer canopy design. But they open like I would want. Which is hard to most people. Like a real parachute to me.

Enough smart ass remarks. I don't have any specific advice. Quartering the slider, making sure it's all the way up, rolling the nose, etc. Maybe adding a different slider but I don't usually get into that.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[FallloutboyDAoC 0]

Wut about psycho packing it?

[AggieDave 6]

Buy a Sabre1 so it'll open softer?

Talk to a rigger about some slider options, maybe a domed or pocket-ed slider?

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

[FallloutboyDAoC 0]

I'd like a sabre1 but theres not many 150's for sale.

The monarch has only 150 jumps on it and costs $500.

1 thing i'm also curious about, would hard openings significantly shorten the canopy's life?

And thanks for the advice about the slider. Im gonna talk to him about that. The ad says the monarch has a nice big modified slider with kill lines, so im not sure if anything else can be done.

[AggieDave 6]

I was being sarcastic about the Sabre1. PM RiggerRob or some of the other riggers that did these sorts of mods (sliders) when the canopy was originally produced. They will have a lot of advice. You can bribe them with a combination of beer and water soluble fiber for their water.

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

[diablopilot 2]

Put a slider pocket on it. There's a reason you can pick them up cheap these days.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[masterrigger1 2]

Put a domed Slider and new line set..(Technora even)
The Monarch usually goes out of trim pretty fast.
It is just like a Sabre 1.

Cheers,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[captain_stan 0]

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Im hoping to get a monarch 155, but am wondering what the best way to pack it for soft openings is. Or as close to soft as it can get.

I always got good results by rolling the L & R halves of the nose and stuffing these into the center cell and then rolling the tail up untill I have a nice, tight cocoon. I suggest you find someone locally who can show you these techniques.

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Wut about psycho packing it?

I have a friend who psycho-packs after treating the nose as mentioned above on his bigger Monarch 215. He swears by it, but the bigger Monarchs always seemed to open more softly anyway.

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1 thing i'm also curious about, would hard openings significantly shorten the canopy's life?

My theory is that faster openings can create more heat as the grommets slide down the lines more quickly. More heat will create more line-shrink, and reduce their life. Of course this is hard to prove conclusively. Judging from the service we get from these older, proven canopies, quicker openings don't seem to affect the fabric life badly--unless some newby packer packs your monarch the same way he packs a Spectre, causing it to explode.

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The ad says the monarch has a nice big modified slider with kill lines

Since the mid-90s, Monarchs have come equipped with very big sliders that have kill lines. And these still opened very briskly by today's standards. A truly altered slider will incorporate a dome or a pocket--both of these seem to be very effective.

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The monarch has only 150 jumps on it and costs $500.

Add $100 to this if you expect to replace the slider. My choice instead of the dome slider is a pocket, because this can be added to your current slider at a lower cost than replacement.

Quick openings aren't fully appreciated by many skydivers. I'm more comfortable jumping my Monarch for hop-&-pops under a low cloud ceiling or on a big-way where FF traffic might get "busy" right after break-off.

[skyblu3 0]

>>would hard openings significantly shorten the canopy's life?

Not just your canopies life. I had a Monarch 155 and put 100 jumps on it. In 100 jumps I was able to destroy a set of risers, bruise the crap out of myself, not to mention the unseen wear and tear on your harness.

THis canopy opens very briskly. Make sure you roll the shit out of the nose. Do small, very tight rolls, about 8 times around. Don't worry about symmetry. I used to find that if I could slow it down the openings were more likely to be on heading. Also, get large size rubber bands for your d-bag and double wrap them. The last thing you want is the slightest hint of line dump. Finally, make sure you slow down before deploying. If you are tracking from a formation stop your track and get as big as possible before releasing your pilot chute. Every little counts with this beast of a canopy.

[gearless_chris 1]

I had a Monarch 215, I always psycho packed it. The one time I had it pro packed it blew up. Roll the 4 cells on each side in nice and tight. The pocket slider would probably be more foolproof than packing tricks.

"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Has anyone got it H-modded?

[masterrigger1 2]

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Has anyone got it H-modded?

I've only done 2. I also put domed sliders on them. Both owned by the same guy.

Same results as the Sabre 1 - no issue openings.

Cheers,
MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com