sabre

[daring 0]

Newer Sabres have a larger slider which I think accounts for most of the hard openings. I jumped a newer 230 for a while and had very soft openings without rolling the nose, but then downsized to a 1991 170 which gave me inconsisently hard openings. Sometimes it would be ok, and sometimes pretty hard, but never as soft as the 230 was. I recently broke a line on a particularly hard opening and borrowed a friend's 1995 Sabre 170. All 8 of the jumps I've put on it have been very nice, snivelly openings (using my pilot chute, d-bag, and the same packing technique). I finally pulled out a tape measure and found out the 1995 slider was 2" wider than mine.
For the curious, to measure the slider you need to fold it in half, pull it tight, and measure along the fold since it's dome shaped (do this both width and lengthwise). All I know is the 170 slider is supposed to be 23" x 31", but you can email PD for the other sizes. Packing is a huge factor for soft openings, but having the right sized slider helps a lot.

[rhino 0]

Get a Triathlon instead.. Sabres are great in smooth conditions but when the air gets rough your stomach will be in your throat! 7 calls are more solid in windy turbulent conditions.. And the Triathlon is made of an easier to pack ZP fabric.. Don't take my word for it. Demo a Triathlon, see for yourself. Also, I've seen a sabre fold in heavy rotors behind a hanger. Dropped her almost 20 feet out of the air onto the ground.. :( OUCH! Never seen a Triathlon do that??? Rhino?

[webracer 0]

Sabre is a great canopy for all-around use. It swoops well but does not have the glide of many higher performance canopies. I propack and roll the nose to the nametape, leave the center cell even with the rolled nose, cup the slider (std. slider, no oversize or pockets), and lightly wrap the tail. Make sure (hear me now, MAKE SURE)you keep the slider all the way to the top. I am currently loaded at 1.3, and I feel this is ideal for the Sabre. I think at lower wingloadings it is more difficult to land and at higher wingloadings it does not have the glide to make it back from even a so-so spot (like an early-out). I open quickly but comfortably in 500-600 feet. I have a full slider open in 200-250 feet from pitch. This has been proven consistent with my packing.
My .02

[harro 0]

I luv my sabre 190, only shit thing is, on the 190's they have to control lines going from the toggle which can make sowing them messy otherwise luv the canopy
Freemind, freesky, freebeer, freefly

[jfields 0]

Hmm.. I haven't had any hard openings at all on my Sabre 190. Although I haven't put many jumps on it either. So far, I don't do any of the things people say I should to avoid hard openings. I've been quite pleased with my canopy.
Hard Openings? Hah! Try a T-10 with an exit weight of 360. Now THOSE were hard openings. ;-)
Justin