Anyone with Triathlon 7cell 190-210ish?

[npgraphicdesign 3]

How is the 7c Triathlon? I have a chance to get a great deal on a complete rig (sans Cypres) that has a 7c Triathlon main. I've only used 9cell before, and with a grand total of 36 jumps, don't know enough about equipment yet.

So, what are the benefits (or disadvantages) of a 7cell over a 9cell? What are some of the opening/flying characteristics of a 7c Triathlon? Would love to hear some from those of you who own a 7cell Triathlon.

Thanks fellow skydivers!

Blue Skies
The Russian Rocket

[airtwardo 7]

I have quite a few jumps on a 190 tri...

Very nice 'middle of the road' canopy, well made, easy to fly, easier to pack and durable.

A 7 cell of that type doesn't have the forward speed of a comparable size 9 cell however it's has a more stable sink for better accuracy approaches and packs up a bit smaller.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

I have about 150 jumps on my tri 190.

It was my first canopy after student gear, so I really can't compare a whole lot.

As far as I'm concerned, it opens nice, flies nice and lands nice.

Loading it at 1:1 it still can crank spirals fairly hard, and (high altitude) front riser turns and dives are fun.

I have yet to get myself into trouble with it, and I've landed off a couple times with no problems.

It doesn't seem to pack much differently than a nine-cell (except you only count to 3).

I'm quite happy with it, although I will probably be downsizing in the not-to-distant future.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[phoenixlpr 0]

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How is the 7c Triathlon?

It the only one. There is no Triathlon 5,9,11 cell....

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So, what are the benefits (or disadvantages) of a 7cell over a 9cell?[

Try to search this forum for that...

[captain_stan 0]

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It doesn't seem to pack much differently than a nine-cell (except you only count to 3).

What's that all about?

[Slurp56 0]

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It doesn't seem to pack much differently than a nine-cell (except you only count to 3).

What's that all about?

I would imagine that he's talking about the number of lines to gather for each line group while flaking out the canopy.

________________________________________
I have proof-read this post 500 times, but I guarantee you'll still manage to find a flaw.

[captain_stan 0]

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the number of lines to gather for each line group while flaking out the canopy.

not according to my arithmetic.

[phoenixlpr 0]

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the number of lines to gather for each line group while flaking out the canopy.

not according to my arithmetic.

3 + 1 vs 4 + 1

[captain_stan 0]

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3 + 1 vs 4 + 1

I know we're getting off-topic here, but why would you not gather 4 A-lines, 4 B-lines, 4 C-lines, and 4 D-lines on both the L & R sides of your Triathlon when flaking a pro pack?

What do you mean by 3 + 1? Which of these is the "+1" line and what are you guys doing with it?

[d123 3]

I think that by +1 he's referring to the line that stays with the stabs ...in my head its also 3+1 when flaking.

Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls!

[captain_stan 0]

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the line that stays with the stabs

I don't think that qualifies as an answer. Why would a competent packer NOT group this one together with it's other 3 "mates" in the same row (A thru D) and on the same side (L or R)? Does it need to stay separate? Why? If so, where do you place these "other" 8 lines in the pack?

BTW, none of the A-lines are connected to the stabilizers. Are these exempt from the "3 + 1 rule?"

Yeah, I know. These are rhetorical questions. But it's just too good of an opportunity to make my point.

[d123 3]

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I don't think that qualifies as an answer.

I'm really sorry for answering your question. Maybe you're having a bad day and I felt in your rhetorical questions trap.
Consider that some rhetorical questions like "Is the sky blue?" contains the proper answer in them. Others like "Why don't you know this?" are designed to make people feel bad a lot more than teaching the right way of doing things.
3 + 1 is how I was taught to pack and it looks that I'm not the only one.

Anyway,
Blue skies.

Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls!

[captain_stan 0]

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I'm really sorry for answering your question.

I don't think you answered it. But regardless, threre's no need to apologize.

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Maybe you're having a bad day

I don't know why you'd think that. The question I'm trying to get answered is "What is the 3 + 1 method." Of the people who use the 3 + 1 method and posted in this thread, no one has explained to me what it actually is. Does anyone even know?

Why anyone would chose to pack that way is the rhetorical question, because I don't think anyone in this thread knows why they do. If this is some bastard version of a pro pack, as I suspect, I'm wondering why anyone wouldn't go the extra distance and flake out all of the fabric and organize all of the lines for a true pro pack. And if this 3 + 1 pack is actually more complex and time-comsuming than a true pro-pack, it's an even greater mystery to me. If you guys are gonna cut corners, it would make more sense to just trash-pack; it's faster and works quite well.

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Anyway,3 + 1 is how I was taught to pack

Evidently that's my answer.

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it looks that I'm not the only one.

I don't think I'd take much comfort in that.

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Others like "Why don't you know this?" are designed to make people feel bad a lot more than teaching the right way of doing things.

I'm not gonna take responsibility for anyone's feelings of inadequacy. You can't teach people something if they are convinced they already know it. Questioning an established practice and suggesting that there might be a bettery way is a means to cause people to think about what they do and why they do it. Those who are rational enough to believe there might be more to learn will seek that knowledge. At least on some level my questions about this 3 + 1 packing method are my attempt to learn something about it. Regardless of my bias, I may be surprised by the answers to my posts. But so far, I'm not.

BTW, If you are ever interested in learning more about packing, much information is available on that topic.

[phoenixlpr 0]

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I think that by +1 he's referring to the line that stays with the stabs ...in my head its also 3+1 when flaking.

We have a winner!

[phoenixlpr 0]

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At least on some level my questions about this 3 + 1 packing method are my attempt to learn something about it. Regardless of my bias, I may be surprised by the answers to my posts. But so far, I'm not.

I've thought zillions of student packing. X + 1 just give them more information where to locate the "missing" line on flaking. BTW, A lines are the and not to be counted.
So they suppose to find X pcs lines in the "middle" and 1 on the side.

[captain_stan 0]

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just give them more information where to locate the "missing" line on flaking.

What's the point of locating them if you're not going to organize and group them together anyway? Are you just making sure they didn't fall off the canopy during the jump?

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BTW, A lines are the and not to be counted.

You really lost me there.

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So they suppose to find X pcs lines in the "middle" and 1 on the side.

I wanna ask why you keep these lines separate from the others, but I already asked that and the answer was "That's how I was taught."

I think I'm getting the picture of how you guys are packing, so at least that part of the mystery is answered. Is it safe then to assume that the reason you all don't use the true pro-pack is that you weren't taught to do that?

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I've thought zillions of student packing.

Maybe someday they will want to learn to pro-pack. But more likely they will say "No, that's not how I was taught."

[phoenixlpr 0]

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What's the point of locating them if you're not going to organize and group them together anyway? Are you just making sure they didn't fall off the canopy during the jump?

First step is locating them, than organizing them.

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BTW, A lines are the and not to be counted.
You really lost me there.

You don't count them explicitly. You count them along the tunnels....

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I wanna ask why you keep these lines separate from the others, but I already asked that and the answer was "That's how I was taught."

I think I'm getting the picture of how you guys are packing, so at least that part of the mystery is answered. Is it safe then to assume that the reason you all don't use the true pro-pack is that you weren't taught to do that? Tongue

Lines are not seprated, that's just a hint where to find them.

[popsjumper 2]

Apparently, you are ranting against "that was how I was taught".

Sorry, dude. Unless YOU invented the process, everything YOU do was "how you were taught".

I fail to see the problem with "how I was taught" unless you are assuming that what you were taught was problematic.

In this case, 3+1 is not problematic IMHO.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[npgraphicdesign 3]

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How is the 7c Triathlon?

It the only one. There is no Triathlon 5,9,11 cell....

Quote

So, what are the benefits (or disadvantages) of a 7cell over a 9cell?[

Try to search this forum for that...

Oh that's just mean. Here I am, hoping for some help from fellow skydivers, and you just...threw me to the wind...

[ufk22 33]

The triathalon is a decent compromise canopy for a low time jumper. It doesn't do anything really well, just doesn't do anything poorly, other than the flair.
My experience on a number of different sized triathalon, you've got to time your flair almost perfectly to get a real soft stand up landing. Otherwise it's a good canopy to learn on. Some might even say that the flair characteristics make it a good beginners canopy, cause if you can learn to consistantly get good landing out of a triathalon, you can land anything.

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

[popsjumper 2]

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How is the 7c Triathlon? I have a chance to get a great deal on a complete rig (sans Cypres) that has a 7c Triathlon main. I've only used 9cell before, and with a grand total of 36 jumps, don't know enough about equipment yet.

So, what are the benefits (or disadvantages) of a 7cell over a 9cell? What are some of the opening/flying characteristics of a 7c Triathlon? Would love to hear some from those of you who own a 7cell Triathlon.

Thanks fellow skydivers!

Blue Skies
The Russian Rocket

So...back to the OP...

I have been flying my Tri 190 for 5 years and I love it.
I'm the conservative type so it fits my needs perfectly. I firmly believe that it's a great, moderate, canopy very suitable for young jumpers. My wing loading is about 1.05 or so.

Opening characteristics - Straight-up Pro-Pack suits this canopy well. I get dead-on-heading openings nearly every time and those times it's slightly off-heading, I can easily attribute to my own body position at opening.
Slider placement is a great measure for determining opening speed on the this canopy. With slider placement adjustments, you can get openings as brisk as you want them or as soft as you like.

Flight characteristics - Again, this is a moderately conservative canopy and you won't be getting high-speed toggle-whip turns with it but the speed is enough to excite you. Forward speed is noticeably slower than similarly sized and loaded 9-cell canopies. Long-spot recovery on slight rear-riser input is excellent in my experience. Plane-out for rear riser landings is very good. Front riser pressure is very stiff, though. Flare characteristics are good in that input stroke is not going to be overly-responsive to the point that you could easily plant yourself sideways on landing. However, you can get better flare power with similarly-sized 9-cell canopies. Later models of the Tri improved flare power with a brake line modification commonly called the 4.0 Mod. Slow, deep-brake flight is very stable.

IMHO, you can't go wrong with a Tri. It is a great canopy to have to learn all the skills necessary for flight, landing and obstacle-avoidance to prepare yourself for more radical canopies should you decide to go that route.

Re-sale will be no problem.

Oh...one other thing. You didn't mention DOM.
If it's an older Tri, it may be made out of ZP material commonly called "Gelvenor" (from the manufacturer's name). The Gelvenor material you will love because it is not that very slick ZP that is hard to pack. The Gelvenor is not slick and will not blow up on you and suck air like the the slick stuff that the newer Tri and nearly ALL of the other canopy manufacturer's ZPs are made of.

I would ask you to let me know the DOM because I would have been interested in buying it from you had you been in the U.S.A.

Hope this helps.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[captain_stan 0]

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In this case, 3+1 is not problematic IMHO.

If you read my posts, you'll see that I haven't disagreed with that; I'm just not sure what it means. Before reading this thread, I'd never heard of it. You can read in the thread that I've asked several times without getting a description of this procedure. From the answers I've gotten (or not gotten), I'm not even sure those who posted are all describing the same thing. Yeah, some people get defensive when I ask a question they can't answer very well, but I don't see how that makes it a bad question or how that constitutes a rant.

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I fail to see the problem with "how I was taught" unless you are assuming that what you were taught was problematic.

Actually I have been taught things that are counterproductive and even dangerous. And I've been taught to do things in very different manners by different people. In these cases when there is reason to question whether a technique is correct and appropriate, we have a choice. My choice is to try to learn more through research from more knowledgable and reliable sources, or even by reading different opinions on a forum and deciding for myself which makes the most sense. I haven't yet accumulated unough knowledge to lose interest in learning. I don't see how mindlessly clinging to the first thing we are taught as being a better option.

My students are welcome to ask me why I teach a specific method; I'm not threatened by that, and they deserve a good explanation. If I can't do that, I'm not a very good instructor. And if they are ever asked why they use a specific technique, I hope I've taught them well enought that they can give a real answer instead of the alternative (I won't offend you by repeating it).

[pilotdave 0]

CPI has a Tri 190 in a rental rig, so trying one will be no problem if it's an appropriate size for you. To me, it sounds a bit small. Take your weight with clothes, add about 30 pounds, and divide that number by 190 to get your wingloading (graphics people use calculators, right? ). If it's over about 1.1, that canopy is probably too small for you. Be SURE to talk to your instructors about each rig you're looking at so you don't get screwed by buying something that won't be good for you.

Dave

[Beachbum 0]

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Slider placement is a great measure for determining opening speed on the this canopy. With slider placement adjustments, you can get openings as brisk as you want them or as soft as you like.

Could you give us a bit more specific information on this aspect please? I've got a tri also (also loaded just barely over 1:1), and a few months ago managed to pack myself a real slammer, and never could figure out just what I'd done wrong. I always try to keep the slider against the stops. How much movement from that position does it actually take to have how much effect?

As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

[adobelover 0]

I have an older Tri 220 with the 4.0 Mod and a 2 year old 190. LOVE the Tri and will probably never jump anything else but I'm older and a conservative jumper...I agree with everything popsjumper said!

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Old age ain't no place for sissies!