RSLs

[lazerq3 0]

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IMHO - RSL's - they are intended to save people who can only pull one handle

I kinda have to disagree on this statement. The way I see it I tell people all the time that ask me "what if your chute doesnt open" that hey I got a reserve..pull two handles and BAM good to go. Now I can tell people that till I'm blue in the face but until I actually have to, I really have no idea if I will be able to. Yes I've had the training and yes everytime I go up in the plane I HAVE to grab my handles tthree times to have a good jump (little supersticious), and yes I tell myself if this happens,,this is what I have to do and I CAN do it, but I havnet yet. Its like saying Yeah I can land a 747, but until the situation comes you reaaly dont know. Now I'm not saying I dont feel confedint in my abilitys to pull handles. Every once in a while upon deployment I'll grab them like I'm doing a Mock cut away just to know there location so I feel really good if something where to happen but when the shit happens that will then and only then REALLY test my capabilities. I hope to pass with flying colors. and by the way I dont use an RSL. But I think maybe it would be a good idea until I have actully expereinced a cutaway mal.
just my thoughts on the subject. Its your choice though
jason

[skreamer 1]

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they are intended to save people who can only pull one handle...........

Do you mean people who physically can only reach one handle or do you mean people who don't have the mental fortitude to pull two handles and save their own lives?
I picked up on the following point that DanG made and think it is very valid :

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On the other hand, I know people who have been forced into extremely low cutaway situations where an RSL would really come in handy.

Nobody ever chooses to cutaway below '1 000 (we know you like to dump under '1 000, 3flier, but thats a different matter) but we all know it happens - canopy collisions, dust devils collapsing canopies etc. So, if some knob decides to track through my main at '800 (happened to a chick from my DZ when she was in Spain), and I have to initiate a cutaway, I want my reserve out and fully inflated with the slider down as QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. There is no way you are going to match an RSL for speed.
On another note - some DZs teach a double handed on each handle drill. {Look, locate, peel and punch}*2 - using both hands on each handle. Between the 'punch' of the cutaway handle and the 'look, locate, peel, punch' of the reserve handle, an RSL might just have saved your life.
Anyway, 3flier, I won't hold it against you that you don't have an RSL, I'll still jump with you! (when I find a phuqin' job that is)
Will
PS my first freefall was from SL progression and was without ANY AAD, I jumped again without an AAD this year and you know what was different? Absolutely freakin NOTHING!!!

[skreamer 1]

I totally agree with you on the Cypres issue Merrick, and I do in fact jump with one myself. But that wasn't my point, if I didn't have a Cypres would I still be skydiving? Most emphatically YES. Would I skydive differently? NO.
I'm careful about who I jump with anyway (apart from 3flier and he scares the shit out of me...), so if I didn't have a Cypres I would accept the risk of being knocked unconscious and going in as part of the sport. But, Merrick, there are some people out there who probably wouldn't keep skydiving if they didn't have a Cypres - and it shows in the way they jump.
But, hell, I use an RSL, Cypres and an audible, so I must be the biggest chicken-shit around!
Will

[3fLiEr 0]

I'm careful about who I jump with anyway (apart from 3flier and he scares the shit out of me...),
Why are you scared - when you cant get anywhere near me!!!!!..........keep practicing that forward movement sweetheart!!!.............. ;op
BSBD

[3fLiEr 0]

Basically no right or wrong answer
RSL - Good and Bad points
Cypress - Good and Bad points
Its up to you whether YOU believe the good out weigh the bad - take all information - and make YOUR decision.
BSBD

[Merrick 0]

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"if I didn't have a Cypres would I still be skydiving? Most emphatically YES. Would I skydive differently? NO."

Excellent point Will, and I agree wholeheartedly.
"Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

[3fLiEr 0]

After sprending some of my working time on this board and reading various messages I wanna know - Is this board a sycaphantic and obsequious site dedicated to trying to get as far up Wills arse as possible????........ jesus man his arse must hurt with all you Americans clambering around inside............!!!........ ;op
BSBD

[Merrick 0]

LOL - Sycophantic AND Obsequious?? DAMN, such big words to be held in such a dense brain... and you almost even spelled them both right....Umm..... F*ck off 3fLiEr. And, just for good measure... Will, you F*ck off too!
"Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

[jfields 0]

I have to agree with Merrick.
Watch out or the xenophobic Americans will flagellate your derriere most zealously. Justin
My Homepage

[3fLiEr 0]

Watch out or the xenophobic Americans will flagellate your derriere most zealously.
What for Free!!!! - Nice work!!
BSBD

[billvon 3,067]

>IMHO - RSL's - they are intended to save people who can only pull one
> handle.................
>Think about how quick you initiate reserve drills - you dont need a RSL! - unless
> you panic SO much you think you may cock it up!...... have confidence in your
> capability to save yourself.........
I've heard this a million times. You don't need an RSL unless you're incompetent. You don't need an AAD unless you're careless. Heck, you don't need a reserve if you know how to pack, a helmet unless you're a klutz, or an altimeter unless you're blind.
In reality, even skydivers with thousands of jumps, world class competitors, instructors, and load organizers have been saved by RSL's, AAD's, and reserves. Try telling Glenn Bangs that he's not competent, since he was once saved by an RSL. Anyone can get in a situation where they need an AAD or RSL. Since we tend to be the type of people who put ourselves in bad situations regularly, it's somewhat foolish to claim we don't need any safety equipment unless we're incompetent.
There's this common misconception that malfunctions are all the same, and that they're always a piece of cake. I've talked to a lot of low and mid time jumpers with zero or few cutaways who imagine what a mal will be like - they will note a lineover, cut away cleanly, freefall for a few moments to get stable, open their reserve, and land with a flourish near their freebag, with nothing but a new story to show for their adventure. And many reserve rides are indeed like that, but some are not. Some are nasty, spinning, harness-warping messes that make it hard to even tell what altitude you're at. Some don't seem like mals at first, and may lull you too low before you take action. Some just come out of nowhere - I can think of a few cutaways caused by canopy collisions at below 1000 feet. Some may require a lot of thought. If I just collided with someone, and now I'm trailing something, is that part of his gear or part of mine? Is it my main or reserve? Should I spend another two seconds to find out, or is 500 feet too low to spend any time at all?
Problems come in all flavors, and in our sport, there are a lot of backups that keep you alive even when you get a nasty one. It may feel good to claim that your excellent emergency procedures will get you through any problem, but history has shown that even the best of us have sometimes needed help.
-bill von