voodoo dealers?

[AdamUSN 0]

Hi all,

I have a question about dealers. I am currently a student but I am looking to buy a rig. I have worked with Arizona Arsenal when they support us for military stuff. I talked with a couple of them and they suggested Voodoo rigs being extremely Freefly friendly. I have read many reviews and they seem great. Maybe Mirage is better but long wait times.

So what I'm looking for. Voodoo V4 with PD parachutes 170sqft. I don't know a lot, but I'm small and can fly 170 at the smallest. I called RI but I have not heard much. I am leaving soon to Afghanistan so I want to order so its ready when I get back. Any suggestions on who to go with? Maybe contact info? Also I want a cypress2, I believe they are the best from things I read and my life is worth the money of the 4 year check-ups.

Now as far as a main, what do I want? Saber2 or. One of the others?

Thanks all!

Adam

If you do things that don't make you appreciate life than why do them

[tetra316 0]

Go with Infinity. Can't beat their customer service or price. Any of the Sabre 2, Safire 2, Pilot, Triathlon, Spectre type canpoies are great to start.

[LaRusic 0]

I had my mirage g4 in 4 weeks, RI advertises about 12 weeks


last i checked mirage is one of the fastest delivery times if not the fastest.

love my g4

The Altitude above you, the runway behind you, and the fuel not in the plane are totally worthless
Dudeist Skydiver # 10

[DSE 5]

To answer your question, ChutingStar, Para-Gear, and Square One are all RI dealers. I'd have a hard time choosing any one of those over the other, but Mike at ChutingStar pays close attention to his customers in my experience (not suggesting the others don't).
The Voodoo is very FF friendly, and IMO, the most comfortable rig I've owned (I now own two of them). They cost a little more, you might wait a little more, but a Ferrari costs more and you don't often get to drive one off the lot. Call RI Mon-Thurs and ask for Kit. She'll make sure you know whatever you want to know.
What mains have you jumped? A Sabre 2 is a great main, so is the Silhouette, so is the Storm, but which one is for you needs to be determined by you, after demoing a few canopies. I've jumped nearly every canopy that PD offers and really like the Silhouette, Storm, Sabre 2, and Pulse. All fly very differently.

[pilot-one 0]

I would go with Infinity as well. As for your main the Pilot is, apples for apples, a more fun canopy to fly. In other words a 168 Pilot flies much more aggressive than say a Sabre 2 170. The Pilot has a much nicer opening as well. On heading and without end cell closure like the Sabre 2.

Just my two cents worth ........oh...I've attached a photo of my latest Infinity for your viewing pleasure.

[bclark 0]

I like RI products. Always have.

The first new container I ever ordered was a Voodoo.
I was happy with it overall. 2 things I immediately did not like. It did not come with any cutaway cable inserts in the risers. I had to pay for them afterwords. The Voodoo is advertised as a freefly rig. Mine came with a huge ( I mean HUGE ) RW style hackey that looked to me like a preemie waiting to happen. ( At the time a "freefly" handle was not offered as an option.)

Other than that, I loved the rig. The 2 issues I had were minor, but I feel like for what you spend on a new Voodoo, it should be fucking perfect on delivery.

Maybe these issues have been addressed. RI builds nice rigs, and I know that no rig is perfect.

The final reason I sold my Voodoo is, there is a very limited resale market for these rigs. Unless you live in Arizona, California or a few other places. It is damn hard to get a decent return on a used RI rig.

I was brought up on an "RI DZ", owned a Talon 2 before my Voodoo. My feelings now are that for the $$$, there are better rigs on the market that retain their resale value much better.

[airgord 1]

Quote

I like RI products. Always have.

The first new container I ever ordered was a Voodoo.
I was happy with it overall. 2 things I immediately did not like. It did not come with any cutaway cable inserts in the risers. I had to pay for them afterwords. The Voodoo is advertised as a freefly rig. Mine came with a huge ( I mean HUGE ) RW style hackey that looked to me like a preemie waiting to happen. ( At the time a "freefly" handle was not offered as an option.)

Other than that, I loved the rig. The 2 issues I had were minor, but I feel like for what you spend on a new Voodoo, it should be fucking perfect on delivery.

Maybe these issues have been addressed. RI builds nice rigs, and I know that no rig is perfect.

The final reason I sold my Voodoo is, there is a very limited resale market for these rigs. Unless you live in Arizona, California or a few other places. It is damn hard to get a decent return on a used RI rig.

I was brought up on an "RI DZ", owned a Talon 2 before my Voodoo. My feelings now are that for the $$$, there are better rigs on the market that retain their resale value much better.

There was a time when RI rigs had the riser inserts as an option (it was on the order form then), but it is standard on all of our sport rigs now and has been for the last 4 years. As for the "HUGE" hackey, all you needed to do is call and we would have done whatever we could have to make you happy.
RI is a small company and our products most specifically the Voodoo, are somewhat a "niche" rig but we do sell them all over the US, Canada and Europe, especially the UK. As far as poor resale value, I don't really understand what you mean by that, I don't see any of our stuff being "dumped" at bargain basement prices, unless it is really old.

[zxcvb 0]

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The final reason I sold my Voodoo is, there is a very limited resale market for these rigs. Unless you live in Arizona, California or a few other places. It is damn hard to get a decent return on a used RI rig.

You sold your rig because it is hard to sell? That makes no sense.

[Travman 6]

I had a Voodoo V4 with a Sabre 170 before downsizing to a 150 in a Mirage G4.
The voodoo was a great container. It was easy to pack and was comfortable. I find my G4 more comfortable, but both are second hand rigs and the G4 was built for a guy very similar in size to me (the voodoo I had to have the laterals adjusted).

[pilot-one 0]

Quote

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The final reason I sold my Voodoo is, there is a very limited resale market for these rigs. Unless you live in Arizona, California or a few other places. It is damn hard to get a decent return on a used RI rig.

You sold your rig because it is hard to sell? That makes no sense.

Of course it makes sense. The older it gets the more it depreciates. And in the case of RI I think in general the depreciation is compounded.
All the more reason to buy an Infinity or something more mainstream.

[Ronaldo 0]

I wouldn’t recommend a Voodoo to you only because of one particularity: Voodoos are well known for having a very narrow range of canopy sizes. In other words it looks good only with the canopies it was sized for. If you order a V4 now to fit your 170 then when you decide to downsize to a 150 the rig will most probably look weird and wrinkled. To have that nice curved shape design the container must have the internal volume precisely filled. Since you’re starting now you may end up downsizing quickly and getting disappointed with your choice. Check the Voodoo again when you have reached the canopy size you’ll be using for the major part of your skydiving career.
If you want to stick with RI I would suggest you check the Talon FS and FX as both share the same Voodoo harness and are also freefly friendly.
Contact Kit Sanders at RI, he was extremely supportive and honest even confirming this volume limitation for me.
Have fun!

Engineering Law #5: The most vital dimension on any plan drawing stands the most chance of being omitted

[bclark 0]

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Of course it makes sense. The older it gets the more it depreciates. And in the case of RI I think in general the depreciation is compounded.
All the more reason to buy an Infinity or something more mainstream.

Exactly! I put it up for sale several times, no one was interested. I finally sold it for less that I felt it was worth. Rigs that are popular in a bigger market will be easier to sell, and will retain their value better.

[airnutt 11]

after working with voodoos for quite some time, it is one of the best built cont. on the market, if you put a large canopy in a voodoo they don't always look good. i would rec a talon they pack up nice and look good