canopy purchase question

[stclaire2003 0]

I will be downsizing in a few weeks from a 210 to a 190 and before I order a new canopy to demo I wanted to see if I could get some advice.

Im new to the sport, 40 and female. My biggest concerens are having a canopy that is "forgiving" and also that it is has easy openings. I currently jump a 7 cel spectre and hear that I have the best canopy for thse 2 things.

I dont know enough about different canopies but the spectre takes a FULL 1000 feet of freefall to open. Thats just a really long time. I love that it never spanks me but 1000 feet seems like an eternity.

Is there any other brand (7 or 9 cell) that is known for soft openings AND tends to be forgiving for a newbie?

Thank you.

[rwieder 0]

Icarus Saffire 189^2

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[mrbiceps 0]

Get yourself a monarch if u want quick openings... Talk about knock the wind out of you.
You need to understand that u cant have a soft opening canopy that opens in 300 feet. I have been through this being a sabre 1 owner and was not happy with the quick openings of it so happily had a massive slider made up for it and now enjoy the 800 feet soft openings that it has.

[drdive 0]

Pilots are known for their soft openinga, and are forgiving canopies.

"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub"

"

[ChrisL 2]

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Is there any other brand (7 or 9 cell) that is known for soft openings AND tends to be forgiving for a newbie?

Thank you.

Aerodyne Pilot. 9 cell. Nice, soft, on heading openings. Not a radical canopy. Good for newbs and experienced jumpers alike.

__

My mighty steed

[davelepka 4]

A few things to consider - if your current canopy is really taking 1000ft to open, there's something wrong with it. Spectres were designed to open soft, but not 1000ft soft. The line set may be out of trim, or the slider may be the wrong size, but either way it's not quite right. That's not to say that the canopy isn't airworthy or is dangerous, but just not working 'as designed'. The point is that nto all Spectres will take 1000ft to open, and ones that do can be 'fixed' by a trip back to the factory.

With that in mind, do NOT buy a new Spectre 190 (sorry PD). That is a lot of very new, very slippery fabric that will need to be packed, and that's not an easy task for anyone. If you pack for yourself, you don't want that, and if you use a packer, they don't want that.

Stick with the Spectre, it's a great choice. Look for a used one with a few hundred jumps on it, and who ever packs your rig will be thankful. I know a guy with 3 Spectres, all with over 1000 jumps on them and they are still going strong, so one with 400 or 500 jumps is just getting broken in.

Involve a local rigger anytime you purchase any used equipment so they can properly inspect that it is airworthy, and that the price matches the condition. Don't be afraid of a canopy that needs a new lineset, as the purchase price should reflect the need for new lines. When you send the canopy in for new lines PD will check it stich by stich, and when you get it back it will be good as new, just much easier to pack.

[dragon2 2]

The problem may also be the pilotchute. My old spectre 135 opened sloooow as did my safire 135 (same rig), I then changed the pilotchute and hey presto normal slow openings on both canopies

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[virgin-burner 1]

Quote

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Is there any other brand (7 or 9 cell) that is known for soft openings AND tends to be forgiving for a newbie?

Thank you.

Aerodyne Pilot. 9 cell. Nice, soft, on heading openings. Not a radical canopy. Good for newbs and experienced jumpers alike.

must be your sucky body-position then..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
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