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huckfinn

V3 impressions

By huckfinn, in Wing Suit Flying

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huckfinn    0

huckfinn
I wanted to start a new thread, as the other V3 thread is mostly posters talking back and forth at each other, not much substance.

After receiving my V3 and noticing all the changes from the V2, I thought I'd put some of it out there for those wondering or waiting. FYI, I have no affiliation with PF or any other gear company.

First thing I noticed as I looked it over on the couch was the same quality we all expect from PF. I could not find a stitch out of place. As I checked the new features, some of which I had no idea how they would function, I could see so many tiny details. There is obviously some real brain work that went into the V3. I spent some time peering into every tiny nook of the suit and became more and more impressed. I've owned and checked out many suits, but I think the V3 is head and shoulders above anything I've seen in terms of design and attention to detail.

The most obvious new feature has to be the change from a lace up rig system, to the over the shoulder zippers. It took me about 2 minutes to hook a rig up to the suit the first time, a big improvement. For those with suits using zipper systems, you know what I mean. The new placement of the wing cut away cables on the arm instead of the body seems clean and well thought out. Just check out the tiny channels built to fit the cable, everything seems to fit without slop or binding. I like the streamlined covers over the zippers, lace up loops and handles, just another detail to admire.

This is the first Robi suit I've worn that felt a bit different in the fit to me. His other suits felt to me a bit more snug in the body, more like a jump suit with wings. This one felt a big looser in the chest/torso area the first time I put it on without a rig. I was wondering if there was a small error in my measurements, but once hooked up to a rig, the suit became smooth and it was obvious to me the fit was by design. It seems to me that by utilizing the over the shoulder hook up system, it allowed the wing design to be a more integrated part of the suit. The overall effect is a much more streamlined look to the front, and on the back the wing seems to start from the jumpers back, not the side of the body. A nice benefit of this new design is I can wear a warmer layer on my torso with no real change in fit, while in the V2 I felt a bit stuffed if I added layers.

The wings are of course much larger than the V2 and they appear more shaped to my eyes. The foam in the leading edge of the arm wing makes a wrinkle free shape naturally and the proper flying position seems to be built in. The new ram air style inlets on the bottom skin of the arm wings look like a better placement than the top of the shoulders design of the V2. I saw one jumper who's body shape caused his V2 inlets to almost close when he rolled his shoulders forward, I couldn't get the inlets on the V3 to change shape at all no matter what position I moved my arms. The leg wing of the V3 is way wider that the V2 and the fit in length is a bit tighter than the V2. Robi assured me the tight length is also by design, so don't get mad if your V3 seems a bit tight in it's length, it's all part of the plan. As a side note, the new bootie/lower leg cut is much more formed and streamlined. It does make donning the booties a bit more time consuming as you need to work the bootie a bit to get it over boots, but once on it fits way better than the V2. There is no problem with knee/shin guards if you use them, they still fit under just fine.

If you use the PC pouch on your suit, you will notice the change in the location from the V2 right away. The pouch is more on the butt/back of thigh, instead of the side of the thigh like the V2. Once geared up, the handle is once again right at your fingertips as it was with the V2, just moved back a tiny bit, no big deal. What is worth noticing is how the exact location of the pouch allows the huge wing and wing root to perfectly clear the way in the relative wind allowing for a clear handle grab. The old location would not allow a clean pull with this wing. There was some obvious RnD that went into this pouch location.

One very strange piece of fabric caught my eye early on in my inspection of the suit. There is a loose piece of material sewn onto the side of the PC pouch that appears to just hang there not performing any function, but don't go cutting it off as I was thinking of doing! This little dangling piece has a very important function if you use the PC pouch. One thing that happened to my V2, and others I've seen, is a slight wearing on the wing fabric and stitching from rubbing on the rough velcro of the PC pouch after unzipping the arms after deployment. The wing would flap behind the jumper during canopy flight, and over time, possibly cause a bit of wear to the area of the wing making contact with the exposed PC pouch velcro. Well, this new little bit of loose fabric fixes that. Another nice detail of the V3.

Of course there's many more changes to the suit from the V2. In fact, this suit does not seem to me to be a V3 in the way the V2 was to the V1 (make sense?). While the V2 was an improvement over the V1, this suit feels like an entirely new design. The name V3 does not to me do it justice. I know some people who didn't upgrade their V1, as they felt the changes were not significant enough to warrant the purchase. Well, if you are one of those wondering if you should make the jump to the V3, to me there is no question, you should. And if you don't want to take some anonymous posts advice, go check one out when you can, you will come away impressed. I didn't want this post to come off as an ad for PF, but the suit really is that well designed.

Does anyone else have some thoughts on their new V3's?

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tr027    0

tr027
Yeah, the length and the leg tailoring take getting used to, but damn it's fast and glides like a champ. The flying position is more intuitive also.
"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

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HWalter    0

HWalter
The calves of the V3 are notably narrower than on the earlier models, if you are jumping now with heavy boots and crampons you may have difficulties closing the zippers without help. Try the setup before and maybe pre stretch.

There is a very instructive review by BBC-Mirko - at the moment in German only, but with nice pictures www.berlin-base.com/transfer/V3_Testbericht.pdf.

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travelingmack    0

travelingmack
Quote

The calves of the V3 are notably narrower than on the earlier models, if you are jumping now with heavy boots and crampons you may have difficulties closing the zippers without help. Try the setup before and maybe pre stretch.

There is a very instructive review by BBC-Mirko - at the moment in German only, but with nice pictures www.berlin-base.com/transfer/V3_Testbericht.pdf.



You can ask for big booties in the orderform, i did it with my Phantom...i wear big Han-wag boots

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mr_prick    0

mr_prick
booties are not the problem, it gets super tight around the ankle area and upwards.
only in boots and crampons though.
it gets better with time...i have 7 jumps on it now and it stretched to a point where the closing of the zippers is no longer more strenous than the hike....

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yuri_base    1

yuri_base
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I think any reply to Yuri can be concidered off topic



So true. F10ckers contribute nothing useful to this forum. They post here what should be in the Events, Introductions, Bonfire, Speakers Corner, Mattress Aficionados, Gay Matters, and Pony Lovers forums. ;)

Back to topic: Denis, tell us how you smoked that mattress. :)
Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

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VectorBoy    0

VectorBoy
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Are you 'non brand affiliated' FlockU guys trying to set an official world record for 'most threads taken off-topic by naming our product'?;):P



Easy now. I remember back in 04-05 when this was strictly the birdman forum and any mention of Robi's new company or products met with exactly the treatment you describe. On another note I remember when Robi wrote the theoretical limit of how much material to hang on the human form had been reached with the S-3 and vampire. The V3 is quite the mattress itself.

Which leads me back to the topic of the V3. Flew with one this weekend. It has a lot of drive at no loss of float. Didn't test it myself but from the chase pilot perspective if you are unable to flock with one you are probably an unskilled wingsuit instructor load mouth or a guy who strictly slides down sheer walls and calls it exceptional glide ratio, everybody else will do fine.

Don't get me wrong it is a mattress too. And you can thank Tony for that. Hail the mattress pilots! Here here.

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