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IronMike

Am I wrong?

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I was hanging out with the RW crowd Saturday night, mistake #1:)
I have 390 jumps and have packed only one time for my A (kinda). I fucking hate it and wouldn't skydive if I had to do it myself.

I figure someone who packs all day, every day is going to do a better job than I ever could. I have no idea how to do it at this point, nor do I care to.

Mike

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You are absolutely, totally, 100% right! And I'm not just saying that because I don't pack either. ;)

Although, if there wasn't a really nice Skymonkey in Raeford, I wouldn't have known what to do, because there wern't any packers there. That IS a small problem with not packing, I almost screwed myself.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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worng? no its your choice but yikes I am just the opposite. I am afriad to let others pack my rig. Ive seen those movies where someone gets mad at me for talking to some hot blonde chick and they cut my lines!:o

I'll pack my own!
why dont you wanna pack your own?(hell if you got the $$ do pay all the power to ya!)

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I think packing is part of the skydive. You can't do it again until it's done (or you have another rig;)). It's one of the skills every jumper should have - how you gonna jump if there's no one to pack for you?

[edit] 390*5 = 1950 = new container anyone? :)

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I would give you shit in good fun but not honestly say you suck. Sure, I pack now but had my "A" way before I jumped my own pack job:ph34r: I did learn how to pack and practiced several times but never did jump it.

Chris



--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

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As long as you _can_ do it, and inspect your rig, canopy, lines and risers regularly, there's nothing wrong with getting someone else to pack for you. (You DO inspect your canopy, lines and risers even though you don't pack it, right?)

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I would never judge someone for not packing but like Andrea says, you might get left out in the cold if you don't learn.:S

On another point, I think everyone should be proficient at packing before turning it over to the packers. I don't like it either but I will not pay someone to pack until I fully understand the mechanics of the canopy (which I learn through packing it correctly or by experiencing a bad pack job where I know what caused the hard opening [:/] or malfunction). I'm also too cheap! :S If I want to jump more than 6 times in a day I will pay but other than that I can handle it myself. :)
Packing also makes me feel like my life is in my own hands! :)


Katie
Get your PMS glass necklace here

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>Kidding ...I do that on the grass after every jump....Untwist my brake lines too.

During one boogie at Eloy I used a packer. It took me about 2-3 minutes to make sure she wasn't overloaded, drop off the rig, stow the brakes, check the lines and get the dirt out of the canopy (she was too busy to do that.) I compare that to my usual packing time (7 minutes) and I realized I just wasn't saving that much time.

Then I was at Perris once and I took pity on a new packer so I let her pack my triathalon. After a few minutes she came over with a worried look on her face. "Uh, it's sorta missing two cells," she said. I reassured her that triathalons only had seven cells to begin with. After that I started wondering how much I was trusting people that I didn't know that well.

Nowadays I find packing to be more a ritual than a chore. Like checking the spot or doing a gear check, I don't even think of it as an annoying thing to do, it's just step 7 of the jump. But that's just me; I know some people who would rather have root canal than pack all day.

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I almost screwed myself.



(...struggling against the overpowering urge to take this and run with it....)
Nope....for once in my life, I'm taking the high road. :)
I've packed every rig I've jumped since jump #8 (except for 1 rental)....it's just part of the total experience for me. I use the time to review what I did on the jump, and think about what I need to do to improve on the next one.


Don

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I agree with Katie on this one. If you don't like packing, you can pay for the service. You do, however, need to have a clear understanding of how your gear is rigged to improve your knowledge and overall safety. I pack my own, for the most part, because it's the difference between 6 and 8 jumps in a day. During competitions or intensive training days I will, however, use a packer.
Hearts & Minds
2 to the Heart-
1 to the Mind-
Home of the Coconut Lounge, Spa, & Artillery Range

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I really love this question when it comes up. Cause I do know the rides and fees cost enough. But c'mon, I'm trying to get as many jumps in as I can when I can. I hate packing slippery @sshole canopies!! I envy the jumpers that are tying their stows while I'm still wrestling my shit into something that will even fit in by d-bag!!!

I have had weird 'packer' experiences, but I watch very closely on how they're putting other peoples stuff together before I give them mine... blah,blah.

I use 'em all the time, and tip... I think that helps,
especially if I'm doing numerous back to backs, they smile and ask if I need 'em when I come back...?
.
whatever...
.
--
I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

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I personaly like packing for myself ive yet to have a mal and ive had some nasty openings with other packers. i just feel more confident packing my own rig. but to each his own....:)

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
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10 minutes from hanger to ready to hit manifest vs up to 30 to wait on a packer since we only have 2.... I'll pack. Plus if I chop I have no one to blame. I've seen way too many people blame their packer for a chop that they could have avoided if they packed it themself. I hate people like that... >:(

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

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OOPS! sorry no offense, I only meant weird, I did one time blame a packer, I'll admit. One time!

But in reflection it was my fault cause I was lazy.

I'm willing to pay somebody I can trust so I can get the loads, keep my energy and concentration. On a busy day I'm using both rigs and I don't have time, energy or concentration to expend on my mediocre packing skills. I have no desire to excel as a packer. I can do it. I have done it (a lot). I will do it when I need to. especially if it were 30 mins between loads anyway.
.
with all do respect
.
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I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

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In my book if you know how and you don't like to and you can afford to pay a packer all the time, hey, go for it. On the other hand, if you have no idea how to pack at all you can't really do a valid inspection of your gear ,IMO, and you should re-learn enough to do that. Just the way I look at it.


Truman Sparks for President

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how you gonna jump if there's no one to pack for you?


I've never had a problem finding someone willing to pack for me, even at a small boogie in the middle of nowhere with no paid packers. I am way better endowed than Mike is though. ;)

I packed for money for a couple of years. Until the day my jump numbers exceed my pack job numbers (which should occur sometime during 2010 at this rate), I'm perfectly happy paying someone else to sweat while I enjoy a cool drink and a stop at the bathroom before the debrief - even if that means I can afford to do one or two fewer jumps over a weekend because I'm not packing for myself.

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Until last weekend, I had only done the packjobs for my A (they opened really nicely, though) and a number of practice packjobs when I got my rig. However, getting weathered again last Saturday meant I had time to go through my packing skills and get critiqued by our packers. So now my rig is packed up and I'm ready to jump it this weekend. I intend to pack for myself from here on out.

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