First ER Visit...this ever happen to anyone else?

[hjumper33 0]

jump number 101... got sabred, opened so hard that my chin hit the chest strap buckle and sliced it to the bone. No stitches, just a little dermabond. Nasty riser burns on one side of my neck from the canopy spinning up and some stiff muscles. I assume slider must have shifted during packing somehow.

[AggieDave 6]

Go to a professional that knows about spinal care. You probably have whiplash. If you don't believe me, give it a 24 to 48 hours. When your neck and parts of your back start hurting so bad that it gives you a migraine you'll want to have a professional in the spinal care profession that is in the know and ready to go to help you feel better.

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

[MB38 0]

I don't mean to diminish the seriousness of your incident... but Sabred™ just about made my day.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[hjumper33 0]

Dont worry, wasnt really all that serious. I actually went back and jumped twice more afterwards. Not sure how bad the neck is yet, just sore muscles on the side right now, no headaches to speak of.

[georgerussia 0]

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Not sure how bad the neck is yet, just sore muscles on the side right now, no headaches to speak of.

This is expectable, because such neck/back problems don't bite you instantly like broken bones. If I were you, I'd listen to AggieDave's advice. Neck and back problems can make someone's life really miserable for YEARS after accident - even though you may feel perfect for today and tomorrow. Considering that you already did two more jumps (which would be better if you didn't), I'd visit the doctor tomorrow. And if the doctor says "no jumps for N weeks" - please follow his/her advice. Trust me, you definitely do not want any of those problems.

* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. *

[Samurai136 0]

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Dont worry, wasnt really all that serious. I actually went back and jumped twice more afterwards. Not sure how bad the neck is yet, just sore muscles on the side right now, no headaches to speak of.

Once upon a time, actually I think it was last season, I knew a jumper that had a few hard openings and kept jumping. Eventually this jumper began complaining of back pain weeks later. Turned out the jumper had fractured a few vertibrae.

It was difficult to determine if the fractured vertibrae were cause by playing softball or a few hard openings on a Sabre. Either way, the treatment involved something like 6 months of no jumping and no physical exertion. i.e. no carrying groceries or lifting anything; sitting in a car for more than an hour was painful.

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[rwieder 0]

#1: Please listen to responder # 2.

#2:

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Nasty riser burns on one side of my neck

Bad body positioining at opening time, you were looking to the right, probably watching the collapasble PC when the D-Bag came out, and the canopy iinflated to line stretch. (It's happened toe me.....ONCE)

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

[Pendragon 1]

You're obviously a newbie freeflier jumping a relatively aggressive main (don't worry, I'm not going to flame you for it) but, almost a silly question, how long did you go back on your belly before deployment after being in a sit?

Too soon/not at all and you would almost certainly be exceeding the maximum deployment speed for the canopy, and a hard opening will result.

--
BASE #1182
Muff #3573
PFI #52; UK WSI #13

[Reginald 0]

What started as "I have some sore muscles in my neck and shoulder" ended as the attached pictures and six months of being grounded. Take any neck pain as being serious and get it check out properly.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[steveorino 7]

Sabre ... oh yeah. I had an opening so hard I broke my Bonehead FTN's chin on my chest. Cracked two ribs and cut my lip, but the worst part was having to deal with a broken camera helmet during a busy season.

steveOrino

[hjumper33 0]

Broke from other jumpers at 4500 and got my usual track in and some belly time to slow down. Didnt feel different than any other opening accept that it literally felt that .1 sec after i released my pilot i was fully open. PS to all those concerned... I am a med student and knew the docs I went to see and of course had my neck checked out, more wondering if people had split their chin on their chest strap

[wmw999 2,439]

I've had my chest-mounted altimeter clock my chin on a hard opening. Since it's a low chest strap, and a tight harness, that was a pretty good distance for it to go. Didn't split my chin, but left a nice scrape and bruise.

Wendy W.

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)

[MotherGoose 0]

What's all the buzz about hard opening on Sabre's ?? I've jumped a Sabre now for well over 60 jumps and I have never had a hard opening. Is it only on smaller canopies ?? I keep hearing about snappy openings on the Sabre's but I can't say that I have ever had a hard opening. My opening are always very smooth and I like to pack a nice snivel. Can anyone elaborate?

You think you understand the situation, but what you don't understand, is that the situation just changed.

[bch7773 0]

sabre's are pretty hit and miss with hard openings. Some never open hard, others open hard on every jump.
Mine opened fast about 1/3 times, and opened really, really hard, maybe 1/20 times.

but overally its a fast opening canopy.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[hjumper33 0]

When I got a sabre 1 I was told all about hard openings. I have an oversized slider which seems to have worked until this point. Next jump after my cracker was probably the longest smoothest opening that ive ever had with no difference in packing technique. I must admit however, the sabre2 fund has now started, anyone want to contribute?

[riggerrob 643]

I have hundreds of comfortable openings on Sabre Mark One (170, 150 and 135 sizes) and only got slammed when I rushed packing.
The point that few modern skydivers understand is that Sabre 1s open exactly the way skydivers wanted them to open when they were originally designed circa 1990, but fashions have changed.
Photographers started demanding softer-opening canopies and eventually the fashion changed to modern canopies that require 600 to 800 feet to open.
If you took a modern canopy into a time machine and tried jumping it at a circa 1990 DZ - tossing your pilot chute at 2,000' like everybody else - the DZO would ground you for stupidly low openings.

[catfishhunter 2]

That why I don't open that low anymore. This Sabre 230 can take up to 1000' to open sometimes but is usually right about the 800' mark. Previous canopy was pretty consistant at 400' and since it was BIG ASS F111 Canopy it was still pretty soft I was always pitching at 2.5~2k. The Sabre gets scary slow dumping lower then 3

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[wmw999 2,439]

Yeah, I have a really hard time getting canopies to open the way I want them to (which would equal pre-1990 quickness). There's a difference between a definite opening and a slammer; I've had both.

I've been given to understand that the Sabre 1 was capable of honest slammers, not just what folks now don't like.

I like my parachute open in about 300 feet. Anything more and I begin to worry, and can't tell when it's turning into a malfunction.

Wendy W.

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)

[GQ_jumper 4]

but Sabred™ just about made my day.

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that IS a good one!!

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

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[Majaman 0]

I too got Sabred™(Love that expression) a couple of weeks ago. I jump a 210 so its not only small Sabres that kick. It was a rushed pack job in windy conditions. I could hear my neck do that lovely crunchy sound 0.2 secs after throwing the pilot. Had to see a bonedoctor for some re-crunching (un-crunching?) but I'm good now. :)