Round vs Square

[cosmicgypsy 5]

Which is the most common no days, round or square?

[piisfish 140]

it depends what you are talking about.

From my experience (which can be challenged)
Main canopies are, in the civilian market, mainly squareish.

Reserve canopies are, in the civilian "sports" market mainly square.

Reserve canopies in PEP's/Rescue Equipment are mainly round.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[cosmicgypsy 5]

Thanks, I was wondering about reserves. Just didn't tell my fingers to type that.

[pchapman 279]

For skydivers, 99+% square.

I still have one older rigging customer who hasn't replaced his gear forever, with a round in his Vector I, all else are square.

(There are also a tiny number of vintage gear enthusiasts around, like myself, who have rounds in their old gear for special occasions. I did have to use a 34 yr old Strong LoPo in 2012.)

There came a point where skydivers saw that squares had been developed enough and were really good, and despite a substantially higher cost, pretty much just bought squares when buying new gear. (e.g., Paragear 1990 - typical round $650, typical square $875) Probably by the mid 80s, something like that? So then it just took time for older gear to be retired. Even in '94 I packed more rounds than squares. (The ratio might be more skewed towards squares in a bigger skydiving market with more jumping and gear replacement). Schools hung on longer due to infrequent replacement of gear and being conservative with students about complexity.

You've been out of the sport a little while I guess!

Check out gear sites like Para-Gear, Chuting Star, SquareOne to get a feel for all the neat stuff and gadgetry out there.

[tbrown 26]

I think the "acid mesh" episode in the 1980's accelerated the move to square reserves. A lot of jumpers had been perfectly happy with their reliable rounds, until some of them started to tear apart at repack time. Some reserves even got their TSO's cancelled, forcing people to find an acceptable replacement.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[cosmicgypsy 5]

Yep, last jumped in '87. I had a conical 26' Lo Po in my Vector. Rounds were more the norm them. I did see some folks getting squares.
I figured that because squares are better (?) now that there would be more used for reserves. Sounds like that is the case.

[JohnMitchell 16]

As I get older my desire to never again land a round parachute grows and grows.

Yes, I have my share of 28' flat, paracommander and 26' lopo rides. I no longer have the knees for that kind of stuff.

[riggerrob 643]

***Yep, last jumped in '87. I had a conical 26' Lo Po in my Vector. ..................
...............................................

Who made your round reserve?
AFAIK Strong and Free Flight Enterprises are the only manufacturers not affected by the acid-mesh recalls.
Several other companies (GQ Security, Pioneer, etc.) quit making sport gear when the acid-mesh recalls were announced during the late 1980s.

As an aside, round reserves disappeared because round mains disappeared. Previous to 1989, most schools equipped static-line students with military surplus round mains and reserves. Circa 1980, the US military started cutting the suspension lines off when they sold surplus canopies.
As military-surplus canopies wore out, they were replaced by large docile square canopies (e.g. 288 square foot, 9-cell Manta), so that by 1989, USPA and CSPA forbid dropping students under round mains. During the 1980s we saw a dramatic reduction in the numbers of malfunctions and far fewer broken legs.
By the turn of the century, most schools had updated the reserves to squares, because schools tired of teaching two separate methods of landing, knowing that students were ignoring everything they said about landing round reserves.
IOW young instructors had never jumped rounds.
Now it is difficult to find an instructor or rigger who has ever seen a round canopy in the air. Young riggers do not want to waste time learning how to pack round reserves because they don't expect t make any money off the skill.

As for my person experience: I jumped rounds during the 1970s and 1980s, but my last round jump was in 1986. Like John Mitchell, I doubt if my old knees would survive landing rounds.

[wmw999 2,452]

Having jumped one a couple of years ago, I won't disagree. But I'd probably do it again under the same circumstances

It took me a few years to understand why it was so unusual when a guy in his mid-50's started jumping about the same time I did.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[cosmicgypsy 5]

Mine was made by Strong. I remember the acid test deal. Seems the guy that took it said seething about it failing. I don't remember that too clearly.