Why are Mains BIGGER than RES ????

[shaz_nz 0]

SORRY just getting into skydiving and saving money for my AFF and have been looking at gear\ info etc and was just thinking
When you look at the size of peoples MAIN 220 etc and they have a 190 RES

Can someone Please Help me get my head around this thanks

( they say new jumpers should have a Main with 1.0 or 0.9 WL i'm 100kgs = 220lbs -- thats a 220 ish main but you never see a bigger RES )

[MrDree 0]

I haven't bought my own rig yet, so I'm not really sure, but I guess it's because of packing volume and weight. Logically, you should buy a bigger reserve, because you might be hurt or unconscious when you need it.

"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching."

Dudeist Skydiver #101

[Nutz 0]

Um, my reserve is bigger than my main.

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[pchapman 279]

It has become common for rigs to be sized and bought that way, especially when the main canopy is already quite large, to keep the bulk of the rig down.

While there are good arguments for keeping your reserve size large, people often want to have the smallest reserve size they think they can get away with.

While there are counter arguments, there is some logic to it: You very rarely need to land your reserve, so having a little faster landing than normal is no big deal.

[skydiverkeith 1]

My main is 150.
My reserve is 175.

Blue skies,
Keith Medlock

[NickDG 23]

Logic aside, and owning to the geometry of the human body, smaller mains begat still smaller reserves. Logic included, today's rigs are designed upside down, the reserve should be on the bottom, not the top.

NickD

[johnmatrix 21]

I heard once that a reserve doesn't fly much like a newish ZP main, is that right? (haven't had the chance to find out yet)

(gear referred to was a PD176 res and a Sabre2 190 main).

[MikeJD 0]

I've had the same reserve canopy for quite a few years (a 115). During that time I've downsized my main from 135, through 120, to 107. So finally, my reserve is bigger than my main!

Truth be told, my reserve is a little on the small side so now PD have introduced the Optimum (bigger canopy for the same pack volume) I'm looking to upsize.

[jurgencamps 0]

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While there are good arguments for keeping your reserve size large, people often want to have the smallest reserve size they think they can get away with.

While there are counter arguments, there is some logic to it: You very rarely need to land your reserve, so having a little faster landing than normal is no big deal.

But never forget that you may have to land a canopy you are not familiar with in a very small, less than ideal landingspot.

[cocheese 0]

Main:150
Reserve:160

[wmw999 2,439]

Small is cool to some folks.

Now ask yourself: do you want your first jump on a smaller canopy than you're used to, in a different planform than you're used to, to be on your first reserve ride on that canopy? When your adrenaline is going, you're probably more focused on what just happened than on landing? I don't.

I think it really hearkens back to the days when people jumped rounds, and they could just PLF for their round reserve; so of course it was smaller than their main. But with forward speed added to the mix, it's a different problem, and landings take more skill.

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)

[david3 0]

Quote

SORRY just getting into skydiving and saving money for my AFF and have been looking at gear\ info etc and was just thinking
When you look at the size of peoples MAIN 220 etc and they have a 190 RES

Can someone Please Help me get my head around this thanks

( they say new jumpers should have a Main with 1.0 or 0.9 WL i'm 100kgs = 220lbs -- thats a 220 ish main but you never see a bigger RES )

Check out Winsor, he has a 99 ft² main and a 218 ft² reserve. If he ever finds himself unconscious under his reserve, the idea is that it will put him down more gently than a reserve equal to or smaller than his main.



.

[BIGUN 1,297]

Pick your reserve first,
Then pick your main,
Most rig manufacturers will accommodate that decision-making process.
I've had as small as a 149 main with a 249 Dash-M to PDr-253.
In no case have I had a manufacturer decline my order for the opposing disparity of reserve to main ratio.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[kallend 2,026]

Quote

My reserve is bigger than my main.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[shropshire 0]

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I've had the same reserve canopy for quite a few years (a 115). During that time I've downsized my main from 135, through 120, to 107. So finally, my reserve is bigger than my main!

Truth be told, my reserve is a little on the small side so now PD have introduced the Optimum (bigger canopy for the same pack volume) I'm looking to upsize.

Or .... You could lose weight

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[regulator 0]

Main:190
Reserve:193

[MikeJD 0]

Quote

Quote

I've had the same reserve canopy for quite a few years (a 115). During that time I've downsized my main from 135, through 120, to 107. So finally, my reserve is bigger than my main!

Truth be told, my reserve is a little on the small side so now PD have introduced the Optimum (bigger canopy for the same pack volume) I'm looking to upsize.

Or .... You could lose weight

Haven't you seen me around? If I lose weight, there'll be nothing left of me!

[Zlew 0]

Quote

I heard once that a reserve doesn't fly much like a newish ZP main, is that right? (haven't had the chance to find out yet)

(gear referred to was a PD176 res and a Sabre2 190 main).

Most Reserves are low aspect ration 7 cells. This is a tried and proven design that was common in mains well before my time.
Reserves have improved, but in general they are designed to be strong, and dependable. Over time mains have evolved significantly to open softer, turn faster, flare more powerfully, last longer, fly faster, designed (in some cases) to be flown at higher wingloading. Most *reserves are low aspect ratio 7 cells (many F-111 Fabric). They fly just as they would be expected to, if you keep in mind that 7 cell, non tapperd wings were not designed to do all of the things that our mains do. The guys that i knew jumping PD7's back in the day weren't jumping them over 1:1.

So they land and fly as expected...but you have to remember what it is and what it is designed to do. If you load your main and reserve both at 1.7:1 ....yea...your reserve isn't going to fly or land like your main will.

[Zlew 0]

Even at lighter wingloadings, you will see a difference. The bottom line is that mains (compared to reserves) are high performance pieces of equipment designed to do a range of things well and to be fun to fly. Reserves are not designed to be high performance or "fun". They are designed to designed to save your ass.

So even a lightly loaded modern main will fly differently (better most would say) than an equivalently loaded reserve.

[dgskydive 0]

When I was still jumping all the time. I had a 117 main and a 150 reserve. Not everyone has a smaller reserve.

When selling gear, I always recommended people to get a reserve the same size as the canopy the have jumped the most. If you are jumping a 120 lets say, but have 1000 jumps on a 150. I would suggest that size reserve. The thinking was if you have a lot of time under that size, then you will be more likely to handle an off DZ landing safely.

Dom

[billvon 2,989]

My main is a 109 and my reserve is a 143. There are only a few manufacturers out there that support a sizing differential like that; Mirage is one of them (I have a G4.)

I don't know of anyone who has ever looked up at their reserve and thought "damn, I wish that thing were smaller." I think having a bigger reserve than main is a good idea for a few reasons:

-During emergency exits over very bad areas, the larger size could be a lifesaver.

-During really nasty problems (i.e. main/reserve entanglements) the more fabric the better, in general.

-If the reason you are on a reserve is that you are unconscious and your AAD just fired, you want the biggest thing over your head you can manage. A round would be even better in that case, actually.

-If you just cut away very low you may not have time to choose a landing area or even turn into the wind; larger is better in that case.

The one drawback is main/reserve compatibility during two-outs. However, of the testing that I've seen (the Golden Knights did some testing on this a while back) it wasn't a big issue.

[Amazon 7]

Quote

SORRY just getting into skydiving and saving money for my AFF and have been looking at gear\ info etc and was just thinking
When you look at the size of peoples MAIN 220 etc and they have a 190 RES

Can someone Please Help me get my head around this thanks

( they say new jumpers should have a Main with 1.0 or 0.9 WL i'm 100kgs = 220lbs -- thats a 220 ish main but you never see a bigger RES )

No,... if you are 220 pounds you are forgetting about the 30 or so pounds of gear weight you need to add to that for an out the door exit weight OVER 250 pounds. When the gear gets larger for larger people it just weighs more than the gear the little floaty butts wear!!!!

You can get reserves larger than a 190 like an Aerodyne Smart 250 a Performance Designs PD-R 253 or 281 or the Precision r-Max in 248 or 268 or the 288

My reserve is larger than my main... and I intend to keep it that way.

I have 8 reserve rides.... when I cut away.... I am usually a tad hyper having just dealt with a situation that could have killed me. I do not need some zippy little canopy that flies far different than my main does to land at that time.

I want the biggest canopy that can get me down to the ground for a nice soft landing so I can begin the NO SHIT THERE I WAS, THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE story rather than an ambulance ride which would postpone further fun.

[Zlew 0]

8 rides in 1300 jumps? Dayum. I'd be interested to hear those stories. That's about 150 jump avg between functions.

[Amazon 7]

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8 rides in 1300 jumps? Dayum. I'd be interested to hear those stories. That's about 150 jump avg between functions.

I started jumping in 1972

First main was a pretty raggedy Papillion in a very old B-4 container that had been died black. Y 2 reservou know all those steering lines and slots in that canopy....yeah.. some real packing excellence there rides on my C-9 belley wart

One C-9 jump with a classic Mae West figure 8.. spinning.. yeah I aint landing that shit 1 ride on a chest mount 24' flat

Slider spider Parafoil and Green Star Trac II combined for the next two reserve rides one a PC in tow and the other well after streamering for 1800' I was getting a bit worried at about 1200'...ya know??? Both rides on 26' LoPo reserve. all of those were before 1978

Next was me being a dumbass at Mesquite in early 2004 and learning how to speedskydive. Its very important to hear your audible when speeding. I missed the first alarm... heard the 2nd thinking it was the first... then heard the SCREAM of the third at about 2500.. still in a track. I got reallllllly big... but seems the relative wind out of that track.... was still closer to horizontal to the earths surface.... I probably dumped at about 170 or so.. insta canopy..HUGE GUNSHOT sound that everyone on the ground heard and watched. 5 blown lines one ripped seam... friggin ugly canopy. First square reserve ride...Nice bir Precision Raven.... standup in the peas....Brad the DZO was sure I had broken my back... nah.

Next one was at the World Cup Speedskydive Event at Jumptown in MA... Do you hjave ANY idea how fast a Samurai can go into a spin when the slider hangs on a tension knot up there in the cascades.. yeah... that was a fun ride.
2nd reserve ride on my Raven... nice standup landing in the nice soft woodchip pile.

Next one was at LP.. Mad John Almost Sober Load... nice RW jump.. tracked off got big waved and deployed at a little over 2000'.... I could fell that friggion bag doing wierd shit back there as it was coming off my back... like it was rockin side to side.... and the Samurai opened with a whole bunch of line twists.. Sorry but when the horizon went from horizontal to vertical in about a half a second.... I am not an afficionado of in air rigging. I cutaway and went to my now smaller in my new rig r-Max. Early morning.... very warm....no wind... 3700' altitude DZ.... yeah... I butt slid that one, I am getting too old to run that fast before noon thanks.

My new rig has a lot bigger r-Max than that one I landed at LP.

I never did get to jump my PD-R I had in my 2nd Infinity.

I stand by my assesment.. when you are amped up on adrenaline... I want a nice big soft landing reserve to put my fat ass back on the ground

[burtonjm 0]

Spectre 190 Main
Tempo 210 Reserve

This shit, right here, is OK