anything dangerous about a sabre?

[unformed 0]

i've been jumping a conquest 170 which i've been told i should replace as soon as possible as it's a dangerous canopy to progress on ...

so i see a sabre 1 with right about a thousand jumps on it ... is there anything specific i should be on the lookout for? of course i'll have my rigger look at it first, but just wondering as well...

thanks....

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[johnny1488 1]

no

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[crazydiver 0]

Many will open relatively quickly compared to more modern designs, but this can be a good thing in some folks' eyes and when used for certain purposes (wing suiting, demos, low pull emergency situations). Sabre 1 was my first canopy. No regrets.

Cheers,
Travis

[bob.dino 1]

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so i see a sabre 1 with right about a thousand jumps on it ... is there anything specific i should be on the lookout for?

The size of the slider. Measure it, and send the dimensions along with the canopy size & serial no to PD and see if they think it should have a larger one.

The openings will be brisk compared to more modern canopy designs, but with the right size slider you shouldn't have problems.

[Martini 0]

You'll only find out about the Sabre's openings by jumping yours. I've owned 3 original Sabres;

150 at 1.3 opened fine
another 150 that opens fine
a 120 at 1.6 that opens too fast. I changed to a larger (cordwise) slider and it opens fast but acceptably.

As far as canopy performance the Sabre is a stable, predictable well-behaved flier, not twitchy and exciting but an easy handling friend. If you plan on learning to swoop with it you'll find that it has a short recovery arc and loses speed quickly but makes up for it in it's easy handling. Not a modern design but not known for "dangerous" habits.

Sometimes you eat the bear..............

[mattjw916 2]

Um yeah... some Sabres, open _brutally_ hard without warning, a fact that many people like to gloss-over.

Do a search here and discover for yourself. I wouldn't buy it without test-jumping it first regardless of what any rigger said about its airworthiness. If it opens at a reasonable speed (or can be fixed to do so) it can be a decent canopy. There's no substitute for modern parachutes though. I'd rather have an old Safire, or any number of other canopies, over a Sabre anyday.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[spanky39154 0]

My first canopy was a sabre 170 had done about 850 when i got it. Had it relined and was / still is a great canopy a friend has it and loves it to bits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large Groups!!

[Trae 1]

The sabre 1 is a fairly dated design now and some of the older ones around exhibit undesirable opening characteristics.

At 1000 jumps up the one your looking at is no puppy. Definitely test jump it several times to make sure you're not buying some-one elses problems.

I knew a guy with a good sabre 1 but he updated .

[vleisie 0]

The Conquest (from PISA?) also used to open pretty hard, if I remember correctly.

Out of curiosity, why were you told to replace the Conquest?

[yardhippie 0]

I may be just beating the dead horse here.
I jumped a Saber 170 for a while. It was my first canopy that was mine, had about 750 jumps on it with a relatively new line set.
about one in 10 jumps it would wack the hell outta me. I delt with it. It flew nice, flaired well, and as I progressed I was able to be really short "swoops" out of it.
Would I buy one again: no, I'd buy a Sabre 2
I wouldnt reccomend the canopy b/c of the openings. But, for the person in the right position for the right deal. A Sabre can be a safe, reliable, and fun canopy to learn on.

Hope that helps.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[Peej 0]

I put a couple jumps on a Sabre 1 150 that was my GF had lying around. You just had to really know how to pack it to make it open nicely. I also managed to get some pretty decent turns and swoops out of it. I must say i like my Safire 135 better though.

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[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Just make sure it's in trim and has a good lineset on it and you will be fine. 1000 jumps is not alot for a ZP canopy if it's been taken care of a bit.

[dragon2 2]

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The Conquest (from PISA?) also used to open pretty hard, if I remember correctly.

Out of curiosity, why were you told to replace the Conquest?

Don't know why HE was, but I concur... Conquests are WEIRD canopies, if you pull on the front risers it collapses. Totally scary even to watch from the ground. If you never ever use your fronts, I suppose it makes a cheap first canopy. But the sabre should be a big improvement in that respect.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[unformed 0]

Quote

Quote

The Conquest (from PISA?) also used to open pretty hard, if I remember correctly.

Out of curiosity, why were you told to replace the Conquest?

Don't know why HE was, but I concur... Conquests are WEIRD canopies, if you pull on the front risers it collapses. Totally scary even to watch from the ground. If you never ever use your fronts, I suppose it makes a cheap first canopy. But the sabre should be a big improvement in that respect.

what he said.

okay everybody thanks for all of your information.

the reason i want to replace my canopy is i want to start practicing front riser input. that, i've been told is big no-no, for the conquest.

the only con i can see on the sabre is that it opens hard. the conquest does too so i'm not too concerned. i've gotten a bit accustomed to it by now.

of course i would love to get a sabre2 or safire2 but the reason i'm going with the sabre is about $800.

anyways...thanks for all your help...

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[dragon2 2]

Well if you get the sabre and want to use your fronts, be sure to check the brake line length. Sabre brakelines are usually set too short to start with, and if the lineset is older they shrink even more.

There should be some slack in the brakelines when in full flight and when in full fronts they shouldn't be pulling on the tail. Otherwise you're speeding up/diving at one end and breaking/floating on the other, not very usefull and usually the canopy starts bucking too.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[mattjw916 2]

There's no way in hell I would pay $800 for a Sabre with a 1000 jumps. Even with new lines I'd stop short of $600. It's an _old_ canopy and should be priced accordingly. You are better off saving that money and waiting for a better deal on a used semi-elliptical canopy rather than a square.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[unformed 0]

I'm not paying $800, I'm paying $350. $800 is the difference in price.

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[GravityGirl 0]

With 1000 jumps it's less likely that it's a hard opener. But ask who the sellers rigger is and call the rigger to find out if there are any know issues with this particular canopy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[mattjw916 2]

Oh, I see... lol...

Well, for $350, you get what you pay for.

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[Martini 0]

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Oh, I see... lol... Laugh

Well, for $350, you get what you pay for. Wink

I just bought a Sabre 150 for ground launching that opens, flies and lands just fine, it is still a very good skydiving canopy. I paid $300. I previously bought a nice Sabre 120 for $350. Original Sabres are hands down the best deals out there. I think it's great that people have your attitude, it keeps the prices down. Thanks for your help!

Sometimes you eat the bear..............

[mattjw916 2]

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I just bought a Sabre 150 for ground launching that opens, flies and lands just fine

Now, if you are ground launching it... I can't see how you know if the "openings" are any good. I guess any canopy that slams open _would_ potentially be better for ground launching.

edit: grammar police

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[hookitt 1]

I agree with Martini. Keep bashing the Sabre. I’m cheap when it comes to canopy purchases and I may have to up size one day.

Yes I've read all the Sabre threads. Since fast openings (on the ones that do open fast) can be fixed easily, it's no big deal.

Sabres fly great. They surf just fine and they are pretty easy to do accuracy with when needed. They also are a lot of fun to stall and back spin. They're stable, handle front riser input quite nicely too.

With 1000 jumps, the canopy probably opens fine. I find it difficult to believe someone would put that many jumps on something that slams open. It's either that or the canopy has gone through 12 owners and that's not likely either.

I've jumped plenty of Sabres. Only one had fast opening characteristics. It was fixed with a pocketed slider, and then eventually replaced the slider.

If the canopy is in decent condition, 1000 jumps is nothing. One of my Stilettos has 3000 jumps on it and is still airworthy.

The bigger Stiletto opens nice and soft. It's great for ground launching

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[ematteo 0]

My first 3 camopies were original Sabres (170, 150, 135) and they served well.

Remember that they are not elliptical at all. Because of this, front riser turns are non-linear. Instead of getting a smooth turn initiation, like on an elliptical, there is a dropping sensation as the front corner bends down, and then the turn starts. My experience- YMMV. Still a good, safe canopy.

[Sabre1Lucke 0]

My second canopy was a Sabre 150. Loved every bit of it. Even the openings which were never hard.
I learned the basics for swooping on that canopy.
Trade that one in for a Sabre 135 and again,.... no regret!
You would be amazed what you can do with that canopy.
That also 30 demo jumps on a Sabre 2 135 and I have to say,.... that canopy is fun fun fun!

[Martini 0]

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Now, if you are ground launching it... I can't see how you know if the "openings" are any good. I guess any canopy that slams open _would_ potentially be better for ground launching.

I jumped it out of an airplane before I bought it. I already mentioned that it opens well. Since I bought it from a friend I know that it has no history of hard openings. I'm curious, what experience do you have on a Sabre?

Sometimes you eat the bear..............