Reserve: repack or pencil?

[riddler 0]

Since this is the type of thread that could get us in trouble, I ain't askin' for names.

I got a repack coming up soon, and I know both get done, so I'm curious about the numbers. Personally, I'm still a beginner, so I pay for mine to get done every four months (cutways notwithstanding).

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[AggieDave 6]

It sort of depends on the situation. I get repacks, but every once in a while due to some sort of situation, it'll get pencil whipped. Never does it get pencilled twice in a row, never.

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

[lazerq3 0]

The way I see it ..pencil whipping the reserve is like going over miles on an oil change for your car...yeah it will probably be ok for a couple more thousand miles..OR it could F$ck your engine up right away....so why take the chance ... I mean yeah I've gone about 3weeks over my date, but I wouldnt go anything over a month....but thats just me...hey if you feel that that all the bumping and moving around and packing the main hasnt shifted or may have moved something in the reserve then whipp away....as for me repack $$ just comes with the sport and is something I have NO problem paying!!

jason

Freedom of speech includes volume

[AggieDave 6]

Money isn't a problem for repacks, I don't mind paying for them at all.

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

[Jessica 0]

I wouldn't pencil pack a reserve myself, because I'm not a rigger, and that would involve forging someone else's signature and breaking the law.

If I were a rigger, I'd consider it, if it were my gear and if the last repack were my work. I think it's a better idea just to get it repacked, though.

Skydiving is for cool people only

[Faber 0]

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Money isn't a problem for repacks, I don't mind paying for them at all.

Then it has to bee the time...You shoud find you a new reserve packer

Personaly,i do think that it will work,but im not sure that the insurennce will if not.. Thats why i pay

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[AggieDave 6]

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You shoud find you a new reserve packer

You know, I *am* looking for a hot blonde female rigger who is willing to help with my spring loaded reserve PC, since it keeps popping out...



Seriously, though, I have a different rigger now, so that point is mute. *shrug*

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

[Faber 0]

you migth also have to find a hottie to your main then

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[lazerq3 0]

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You know, I *am* looking for a hot blonde female rigger who is willing to help with my spring loaded reserve PC, since it keeps popping out...

Man do I know a hot little blonde in TX that fits that dicription that would love to help you out but damned if she isnt a rigger!! Owell I guess I'll tell her to forget it !!

jason

Freedom of speech includes volume

[skymick 0]

I find it funny that a few people are saying that they wouldnt go over a month past the 3month (or is it 4 in the US?) reserve repack cycle when in australia the reserve repack is every 6 months and we dont seem to be having any problems with it

[nacmacfeegle 0]

Hey Mick, its 4 months in the US, 6 months here in the UK also, we don't have any unusual problems with our reserves here either.....

Me? I pay for a repack, so if it gets pencil whipped, I would be having words with my rigger.
Besides, I kinda like to have someone look over the rig every once in a while.

--------------------

He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. Thomas Jefferson

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>Besides, I kinda like to have someone look over the rig every once in a while.

AFAIK that's the main point. A modern reserve will work just as well after being packed for a year, as long as it has been stored properly. As a matter of fact, Parachutes de France gives a (maximum)12 month packing cycle for their Techno-reserves.

[Dumpster 0]

I always get the repack - Sure, it may come at an inconvenient time, but It's not hard to make sure the coin is in your pocket. But it sure would be nice to have a 180 day cycle here in the states instead of 120! Anybody have any update on the status of that? I understand the USPA is lobbying for it, but haven't heard of any progress.

Easy Does It

[kingbunky 3]

same in canada, every 180 days. it works out well with the weather since we only have a 6 month jump season here. if we don't travel south in the winter (many from my dz do), you get it packed at the start of the season, get the whole rig looked over at the same time and you're good to go for the year!

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[skymama 37]

I will never pencil pack my reserve for one reason only, and that's my kids. Yes, I realize that it would probably be ok for my reserve to go past the repack cycle once in a while. But, I think it would be terrible if something happened to me because my reserve didn't work properly and someone had to say to my children, "Sorry kids, your mom decided that saving $40 was more important than her life. We could have caught the problem with her reserve if she would have gotten a repack." No way is that going to happen.

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

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

The whole idea behind the repack is not the repack itself, but the inspection. I agree with Skymama totally.

____________________
Say no to subliminal messages

[SkySlut 0]

Hypothetical question: PD has those 40 squares on the warning label of their reserves. Every time that reserve is packed, the rigger puts a slash in one of those boxes...if its been jumped they put an 'x'. IF something should happen to anyone, god forbid, whether the reserve was involved or not...the FAA is going to see that the marks on the warning label do not match the reserve data packing card. I would think that a situation like this would get the pilot, DZOs, S&TAs, plane owners, etc. into a potentially very uncomfortable position.

Any thoughts on that?

[Vallerina 2]

I've actually never had the chance to get a "pencil pack" done. I've technically only owned gear for 1.5 years, and every time I've had a repack due, I had to do something to my rig (put in a cypres, changed to a boc, replace riser covers, etc etc....)

I'll probably get the next one actually repacked, too, since I didn't get the chance to see the repack on my brand new gear yet. I watched and stuff a few repacks with my Vector, but none so far on my new stuff....and I'd like to...so....I guess this question for me really won't apply for 7 more months or so.

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[skygod7777 0]

i personally think that anyone that pencils in there reserve re-pack is stupid. if you don't think your life is worth 40 or 50 bucks, then do it, other wise get a repack. now, yes a 240 day repack cycle is fine for the packjob to open i'm sure, but a repack is also for an inspection too, as it has been said above. would if you really pissed some phyco off, and he or she decides to cut your risers on you reserve or something. and just out or luck you didn't have a reserve ride yet, well when you get it repacked you would find shit like this (now this is very far fetched, but it did happen to charlie mullins a while back from what i heard) or would if your rigger left in the molar strap. again, very doughtful.

hey, do what you want, this is jump my opinion


later

[goose491 0]

Skydiving is seasonal here in Ontario, and we have a six month repack cycle. Thus, a lot of people can get away with one repack a year! Do it once it warms up enough and you likely wont expire until winter. I've seen a lot of poeple pencil-pack if they expire and still have a few weeks of decent weather.... This makes sense to me. I've seen folks do it if they're pulling their rig out of the closet in the middle of winter to make a 'crazy-cold' jump... This does not.

Personally, I just got my rig last summer so I have not yet been faced with this decision. I'm pretty sure though, that I will continue to get my repacks done on time unless it's the "couple more weeks and that's it for the year" situation.

Just my $0.02CND
Nick

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[SkySlut 0]

I have personally seen the results of someone intentional f*ck w/ mains causing a potential reserve ride 3 times (Don Yarhling, Hunter Roberts & one of the british guys rigs') in Deland this year alone. There was also an investigation several years back in Deland for a person who was cutting the reserve ripcords and then putting them back together with an elastic inside the hard housing...virtually indetectable unless you really tugged on the cable itself to insure that it did move within the housing. No one was ever charged, but an investigation was done by "johnny law".

There are also incidents of ants and other pests getting into your rig causing problems. Heat can also melt your freebag to your reserve. There are loads of things that can happen to your rig that you wouldnt even think of. I saw an interesting thing the other day. A friend of mine sent his rig into get repacked and it was totally grounded. Apparently, he didnt have stainless steel 3 rings and was doing beach jumps. I guess at some point he had gotten the 3 rings wet and they started to rust and cut through the webbing of the harness. You had to look inside and underneath the webbing to see the rust damage. I would have never thought to have looked that closely, but Terry Pike said that if that had cut through the webbing the entire structure of the harness would have gone. So he had to send the rig to get a new harness installed. He is a very current jumper...lives and works at a DZ.

Just some thoughts.

[goose491 0]

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There are also incidents of ants and other pests getting into your rig causing problems. Heat can also melt your freebag to your reserve. There are loads of things that can happen to your rig that you wouldnt even think of.

If heard about a rig that had a Pepsi spilled on it. It was quickly wipped off I guess and the jumper was never made aware. Any ideas on what happens to a packed reserve combined with pepsi? Basically you get a plastic-looking brick. Buddy goes for a repack and a lump of melted, fused fabric comes out... It was not salvageble, you couldn't even unfold it! Good thing he didn't have to use it eh?

My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

[dterrick 0]

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...a person who was cutting the reserve ripcords and then putting them back together with an elastic inside the hard housing...virtually indetectable unless you really tugged on the cable itself to insure that it did move within the housing

Call me paranoid, but is this NOT part of the gear check you perform before you strap yourself to the container? I'd suggest it should be because if the Silver cable does nothing ... well ...

The check of 3's before jumprun makes sure nothing happened to my gear on the ride up.

"Pincheck" by a fellow jumper ensures I put the gear on correctly and nothing happened to the major systems when I put it on (you can't check the reserve pin or Cypres on an old Racer while wearing it)

the "FULL" inspection before I put the gear on gives me confidence that a pincheck will show no problems.

Dave

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

[SkySlut 0]

Its part of my gear check...

[ladyskydiver 0]

The money that I pay to have my reserve repacked is worth it. I'd rather pay and find something wrong on the ground than not pay, be in the air, need my reserve, and pay the ultimate penalty due to me being cheap.

Now...if only I was good enough at packing to consider becoming a rigger. Then the repacks would be free.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.