ChrisD2.0

Thanks for the critique JP, I thought it gave the post a bit of dramatic flair, IMO. I will endeavor to do better as time goes on. https://nitrofly.biz/ Still out there, still the same "talking" points. Of course I think that individual did change the marketing, it is for sale now to only "HYPE eR ELITE" jumpers now. So if your hyperelite, and a part time gear designer feel free. My points still stand. Crap like this is just downright dangerous. Promoting changes to gear, when we have increasing newbies that don't have a clue about gear is irresponsible. The alleged manufacturer of this would have been better off just promoting this kind of idea to just the target audience. He could have purchased the attendance records both from the USPA and various DZ's for just freeflyers as an example. I continue to harp on this because I hear each and every day from students, A lic, B lic, and even more than a few C and D license holders gear type questions that so many of us know by rote and experience. Most newbies, and their are many, don't have a clue as to their gear,...AND THIS IS INCREASING. Do we have a responsibility to educate jumpers that don't have a clue about gear, in a very, very, very, gear dependent activity? If the USPA had any Balls, common sense, or took their safety role responsibly,....in a gear dependent sport, it would be a BSR to be required to name parts of your equipment. Cause from where I stand fully 50% of new jumpers don't have a clue. And what's wooorse they don't seem to care!!!! Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Good call / posting. One of the most dramatic things the early T did was just this color change, the ability to grab your attention is just dramatic. It is without question the most attention getting wrist device I and others have ever used. (Short of the super bright led in my helmet.) Of course the big issue was the fact that this thing was / is a prototype and altitudes and interpreting the other altitudes is useless. Of course at night this thing is just insane, one of the best ideas I have ever used. Equal to the Military's leds wristpack from Garmin. It is so insanely easier to read than any digital at pull altitudes, I am surprised no one has really utilized this tech? I suspect like the site you linked too a digital display costs 2 bucks, and with out any real competition no manufacturer or experimenter is going to waste their money when they can convince the existing digital displays are just fine and dandy. The Tritium is an experiment, that wasn't received very well by too many that never even used it. Ide imagine THAT didn't go over very well with any one contemplating investing in something leagues better than what we have too chose from at the present. I wonder if I can adapt one of these rings for my cars turn signals? Thanx (that's not the display the tritium actually uses, btw. The link you posted looks about 50 times more sturdy that the actual led's on the tritium.) Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

It's just that so many here, just foam from the mouth , they have no idea what their speaking about. I have limited time to spend on the internet these days, don't confuse abruptness with BBQ. All 50 states allow any LEO, of any capacity, so if the health people in any state are able to Laws,... whatever can be enforced, arrests can be made by a surprising number of people these days. the other poster is free to look up for himself. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

By next year, nearly half of all calls to mobile phones will be fraudulent, according to a new report from telecommunications firm First Orion. The company analyzed data from more than 50 billion calls over 18 months to get a snapshot of what they call the scam-call “epidemic.” Here’s what they found: •Mobile phone scam calls are increasing: In 2017, only 3.7 percent of calls to cell phones were fraudulent. This year, that number reached 29.2 percent — and it’s expected to climb to 44.6 percent in 2019. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Oct 5 2018: https://www.switchbacktravel.com/best-climbing-helmets You need to realize that the frangible helmets, which are still available, are being replaced by some of the newer layered helmets because of sales. The frangible rock climbing helmets are the best performers to save your brain cage, but they get a bad rap because they do in fact need to be replaced, and again, many don't like the price of safety. Kind of like many of the dolts here spewing forth their opinions instead of actual facts and information you can actually use. Like my comment that AAds' should be mandatory. But of course we won't have to wait long for the skygods to rubout their opinions. Also remember if in skydiving you actually need a "approved" helmet, your other injuries will kill you. There is a relationship between the forces, speed, and situation that proponents of motorcycle helmets continually fail to recognize. Should we have a G3 with a frangible material in it just in case,...yes we should, but it hasn't ever been anyone's priority. Mostly because the USPA is a risk taking organization, based upon the opinions over the years of the skygods, who equate risk taking with their self worth and popularity. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

They are absolutely in it for the money. Acca Ghana, has become a government hideout for crime for years. In fact Skytel and others have one of the most robust and complex Sat Internet infrastructures' supplying Acca as compared with the rest of the planet, THAT actually funds and enables these scams on a massive scale. They cross reference your Facebook Profile, your credit reports and just about anything they can get their hands on. and yes they also control the vast majority of internet dating sites as well. this is big business. How's your Juju? Do you have a good "priest" Cause in Acca the high rollers have countless resources at their disposal. They have at least, according to Interpoool, over 250 hundred thousand individuals all dedicated to scam the rest of the world, and they have the Russians supplying them with "Packaged" software all designed to raid your iPhone as well. And how many of you have secured all of your information with your cell number??? Do a minimal search of the subject "SCAM",.... IMO "they" are on every public and semi-public web site on the planet. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

The aircraft owner has no legal obligation to show anyone logs except the feds, law enforcement with a warrant, or the courts with a subpoena. Sorry to disappoint. Any LEO, any State Agency, has the "Right" to access aircraft logs, "they are to be produced upon demand," It is actually a crime to report the presence of any FAA, NTSB, etc, agent, officer, etc,... inspector doing their job. It is a crime to not produce "logs" or any of the 5 required pieces of paperwork, amongnst other things as well. "They also have the "right" to inspect any, person, place, or thang, they want. All without any warrant whatsoever. Perhaps you could show us the laws and other interesting stuff you have used to support your claims? This rumor needs to be quashed. As far as aircraft, most every agency and LEO on the planet can do whatever they want. Without warrants or even probable cause. You can thank 911. Why would you make such and untrue and incredulously false comment? The only possible result is some hapless dolt some where will get him or herself arrested for "Interfering?" Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Your forgiven. I was recently at Niagra the other day, checking on the repairs to one of Gary Speers originials. remember him? You should see and ask his opinions of what tunnels have done to skydiving. As far as everyone else, were dealing with people of limited experience, intelligence, and extremely financially motivated. Fully 80% IMO of the heavey posters here have a vested and financial interest in ensuring their opinions get heard. If you know what I mean, and I know exactly you know what I mean. Which is why this post has morphed and changed,....to distract and deflect from the idea that tandem gear has inherent issues. Once again the point of suicide gets raised because this is the "PREFFERED" explanation, as compared with the status quo. Once again, back to my points that you can, and you can easily fall out of any harness. There's a reason military and emergency parachutes, as well as gear that was part of flight crew standard ops was miserable to wear, our manufacturers , led by the USPA and PIA pressure from it's leadership morphed gear into something comfortable, but again, dangerous under certain circumstances. I love that you point out the fallacy of the logic of so many that skydiving needs to grow. Too many people in skydiving today that shouldn't be here. Too many that are spoon fed by a money hungry machine consisting of those with conflicts and self interests. It's too bad that so many with agendas continue to spout forth the same dribble and conjecture. I can tell you from personal experience and past history, the USPA's response to a non-members recent incident, is viewed by the powers to be as solely a power grab to ensure dominance and control considering the FAA's "memorandum of understanding." The fact that tandem operations are NOT under anyone's sole regulatory control, and the duty of certain government agencies to "protect the public from faulty amusement park type "rides," has not gone un-noticed. It's high time the public be protected from unsupervised and unstable individuals, it's obvious that a Class III medical certificate is not enough to protect the public. It's obvious that commercial tandem operations that advertise thrill rides to the general public , and considering the DUI and drug issues over the last few years, that tandem operations are out of control, the USPA has lost control, that's if they ever had control in the first place. Which will result if ,...at a minimum more through background checks, a through investigation into the finances of how this under the table and cottage industry is paying these same "professionals," an investigation by the states and the Fed into the fact that withholding and other workman compensation laws are being fully complied with, as well as including the same standards applied to the backgrounds and fitness of pilots holding Class one medical certificates, and this is just the start of the consequences of kamikaze tandem operations. So good luck interpreting the cause of this suicide. Not a fucking one of you has considered the ramifications of your witch hunt mentality. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

I disagree. I think you put too much trust in an organization that I feel you don't really know about. I base my opinion on being in the USPA for over 25 years and seeing many of the errors. ***You say you're an instructor and have ratings, and then say that ratings are irrelevant and should be dropped. Show a quote where I said that... I'll wait. What about "ratings" makes you think I gained skills? A jumper with 1K jumps and ZERO USPA ratings or licenses is sure to know more than some guy with an "A" license... Or do you disagree? A guy with an FAA riggers ticket knows more about gear than some random guy with a "D" license. So did all those people who later had their rating revoked because they didn't meet the standard. Yet the USPA gave them a rating.... Didn't catch the error till there was a fatality. I learned NOTHING in the ratings programs.... Have you gotten any USPA ratings? If not, then you really have zero idea how easy they are. I fear you are putting too much faith in the USPA. Again, they gave ratings to a BUNCH of people that later had to be taken away because the students didn't meet the standards... This happens MUCH more than you would think. People have been signed off for water training they never took. People have been signed off for night jumps they never did. Your faith in the USPA license and rating system is misplaced. I get it... I believed the USPA for YEARS. I feel like a fool. Ron may be many things, but his logic is far from "faulty" Ron has been making coin and doing right for skydiving for many years. A lot of people here should take notice of his logic, consideration and care. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

this idea that without tandems,... "Gotta subsidies the fun jumps somehow. No tandems, no skydiving." I hear this line every week, mostly from individuals that haven't been around long,.... Sorry man, this simply isn't true. This is the bullshite , con, that the USPA and many Dz's want you to believe. It's too bad that so many buy into this. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Bottom line is the FACT that the USPA has major issues and serous conflicts of interests. The USPA no longer represents it's forced membership. It is a monopoly, representing the interests of those with vested financial interests. Every government organization, private equity, health organization, most every member supported organization, etc., has recognized the dangers and consequences of these conflicts of interest and has outlawed, banned, or dissuaded these conflicts in various forms. But NOT the USPA, the Board actually encourages this line of thinking and many would be correct that the self serving interests of a few, for the sole reason of their personal gain,... well something needs to be done. If you represent a organization in any way you need to disclose your financial relationships and monetary interests, if in fact your occupation or income is dependent in any way, or you benefit in any way, you should not be eligible to hold "office" in the USPA. It's very simple. And the consequences of this are very apparent for anyone to see. The fatality rate would also decrease. This is just one of the sad facts and consequences of "electing" those with conflicts and selfish motives. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

The point was and continues to be, to find equipment that is safer, easier to use, and enhances skydiving. Version 2 is out and is a nice addition. Problem is so many refused to take into account the audience they speak too. I am still of the opinion that digital equipment has it's place BUT not for students. Students are overloaded once they step out the door for real. BUT students like to purchase the gear they see the big boys use. This is a major problem when the USPA has a magazine that is funded by advertisers. That fact alone, should be a big source of concern to anyone with a brain and buys into the phony USPA argument that in order to publish they need the subsidies. It is painfully apparent for the last 30 years that the USPA magazine is a source of profit for a few. It is not representative of an organization that is responsible to it's members. Problem is no one notices this and the relationship to student gear selection. In fact we have numerous gear representatives pushing, whatever upon students so that a few can make a buck. Over the years this has become accepted practice, however this is wrong and a backwards way of managing safety. The Tritium is a great idea, works, but unfortunately many manufacturers haven't caught on to the benefits as of late. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

OK so you approve of a BOD member telling the membership to call about a fatality. ***In any case, I thought you were no longer a USPA member. I'm not. In part because of BS like this. But you know I am still allowed to voice an opinion without the USPA membership... Right? Ya forgot about a few "other" things as well Ron: Ya forgot about how the USPA is riddled with conflicts of interest regarding the Board as a whole. Ya forgot how this conflict of interest makes their decisions for their membership a joke. Ya forgot how a conflict of interest means as skydivers forced to belong to this organization, means that skydivers are NOT represented. Ya forgot how this suicide thing deflects, obfuscates, and ignores the real cause of this tragedy. Ya forgot that there are a huge number of "interested" parties with large amounts of cash and pressure to "spin" their opinions to protect their monetary interests and preserve the cash interests of a few owners. Ya forgot Ron that your part of the problem. Ya forgot Ron that skydiving is now led by those cash interests at the expense of skydiving as a whole. Ya Forgot Ron, that skydiving is an exclusive club of Tandem operators that will do anything to preserve their amusement park mentality at the expense of skydiving. Ya forgot Ron about this insane naming insurance fraud bullcrap game with the FAA to avoid part 135 fees by naming tandem passengers "students" so that a few can profit greatly. This alone, Sanctioned by Your USPA is a lie, scam, and con that has been going on for too long. This alone speaks volumes about the USPA's motives. Ya forgot that the USPA threw every skydiving real, student under the bus when they backdoor'd the recent BSR changes so that a few high profile board members could line their wind tunnel pockets with more cash by their "opinions" that support windtunels at the expense of an established safety program. This is the current mindset of our USPA. This is why conflicts of interest are what's driving this inane suicide rumor that so many want to attribute to the cause, when in fact we do have dangerous equipment out there that needs to be redesigned, again. Ya forgot Ron that the only FACT that will come out of any alleged investigation, is that there isn't going to be any facts to come out of this investigation. And ya forgot that anyone who hangs their hat on that subject alone is either an idiot, or someone who hasn't been around for very long. It has to be one of the most ignorant comments I've seen yet. Ya also forgot Ron is the fact that more than 90% of those on this site are either internet addicts, or have multiple user names, or have a vested interest in their own cash supply. Try not to forget the power of what it means when I say the skydiving industry, the USPA , and this site are all for some individuals private money making machine,....AT THE EXPENSE OF SKYDIVING AS A WHOLE. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

I would like to disagree; they would say, 'What is USPA?' Jerry Baumchen Hi Jerry,... Right about now the FAA and NTSB are asking the same question. Trust me, they read these pages. And as ambassadors of skydiving, many here and their inane speculation, have hurt us all. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Wind tunnels and free flying (gravity) are different. Period. Many people tend to forget this. The actual pressure on the surface of any object due to falling because of gravity as compared with remaining in place as in a tunnel are in fact dramatically different. The wind pressures on any surface , buoyancy, are almost one hundred times greater in a tunnel. This goes back to the Wright Brothers and the first wind tunnel. Trick is, and point is what's the point? If the tunnel is a good place to practice. Makes money as a device for entertainment, skydivers like them to practice in for fun. Of course a wind tunnel is not the same as jumping out of a aircraft, and too many people fail to recognize this little FACT. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Exactly, IAD and as you point out the obvious static line are available to any certified instructor. The point is the BSR change promotes wind tunnels and the agenda's of a few AT THE expense of students. There's also the statistics of AFF having the safety of 2 instructors. THAT is being ignored. Statistics can be a bitch when they are ignored. What we have is a situation where for years, decades, we have a system that has worked because of the initial regulations and requirements' actually work. AND this is the problem with these dolts. When we have something that works for so long,...these dolt's NOW SAY the requirements , rules, regulations are now no longer needed. Shortsighted and short memories IMO. How about we change other BSRs'? If we all raise the wind limits for example? I mean for years the 10 mph for rounds ,... IS it really necessary anymore (ya I know it's 14 for squares, same point) THAT way we can get a little more revenue out of students if we move the wind limit to let's say 18 because it works and with the new equipment 18 would be fine for students, esp those places that need the student revenue? ETC, etc, etc,.... is their enough financial motivation to start changing everything? Point being laws and regulations work. TILL those with agendas forget that those same rules and regulations came at a price, which is why there there in the first place,...they work. They work so well that now they can be changed. Of course this in increased risk. Again, to the defenseless student population. Because these same self professing sky gods can predict how and what each and every student is going to react don't cha know. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

A wind tunnel is not free fall. Simple, but this seems to be a point that so many, conveniently forget. Not saying a wind tunnel isn't a great place to practice, in fact if that's your thing it's a revolutionary place to practice. But it still isn't the same as gravity and free falling. There's nothing the wind tunnel can do to prepare any person with the rush of emotions and overload many experience at altitude when they actually jump for the first time. NO ONE can predict the future. That said the wind tunnel has its place, knowing what is beneficial, knowing the differences in what is required, and how tunnel flight body position is in fact different than free flight are key to real skydiving. To answere your question, yes you fly differently in the tunnel. But for most experienced jumpers this generally isn't an issue. Notice I said experienced jumpers. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

No, it won't be interesting to experiment by "seeing" what the results may be. This was a shortsighted and thinly veiled attempt to promote more risk to students under the guise of enhanced learning. You all want to experiment with students by ignoring the vast amount of experience accumulated over the years to promote wind tunnels, IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT CHANGING THE BSRs'. There is no upside to this for anyone learning skydiving. Once again a voiceless population is subject to the desires of a few with financial agendas. Not one shred of evidence safety wise other than opinions. And the opinions and experience, real facts and numbers, of those that have taught just about every skydiver on the planet were ignored. No Gary this will Not be interesting to see. It will be a liability nightmare. There is no justification for this action, no supporting evidence, in fact you have ignored the AFF fatality numbers over the years in favor of financially motivated opportunities. How any one can say by eliminating one set of eyes, one potential safety side instructor, the support structure to students by having 2 people dedicated to the students safety that this "Improves" results is an unsupported opinion of the worst magnitude. The fact that this little experiment is even being discussed is insane. AND the fact that the skydiving community as a whole was ignored by the fact of the secretiveness of these "private" meetings once again illustrates the closed door approach the BOD takes when select agendas are rushed thru without the membership's knowledge or ability to comment is just wrong. Why isn't items like this available for public comment before the USPA BOD takes action? Why isn't anyone on the BOD supporting the safety of students learning with actual statistics? O'h ya I forgot you turned to those with vested interests and their thinly veiled opinions and tried to turn them into facts. Any DZ that would take an established method of training, WITH A REDUNDANT SAFETY PROCEDURE IN PLACE, and choose to increase risk to a population of students least able to defend themselves in a vacuum of quantifiable incident statistics exposes every skydiver and DZ to increased liability. Waivers will not protect any DZ which choose or allow this method of instruction due to the established history currently in place. This is a step backwards, increases risk to students due to the unpredictable nature of the first jump environment, and is financially motivated at the expense of safety. You can not compare the environment's of a moving aircraft, the noise, the wind, the heightened and frequently insane actions for the first time jump experience, the years of watching the incidents of the first time jumper and in the same sentence, without any statistical evidence whatsoever to the opinions of a few that have conflicting financial interests. Even to equate the two environments of a wind tunnel on the ground to flight operations is an insane comparison. No Gary, this will NOT be interesting,..... Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

I'm really disillusioned that they back door'd the BSR AFF change. Decreasing safety under the guise of increased learning and promoting wind tunnels with out any evidence other than select BOD members opinions was a real shitty thing to do. In fact the multiple senior members with the most experience on the planet disagreed with the sub-committees opinions, they presented real fact and concerns learned over decades and were ignored. The fact that the BOD is influenced more by cash than safety and has been swayed by this assumption / opinion of a financially vested few speaks volumes about the Current state of the USPA and their motives. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Looks like a bit of those Dr. Sholes gel things for your feet, for your head? Actually for those that Climb Rocks or Trees, most all climbing helmets do in fact have the frangible material on the outside now. Or the whole thing is frangible. AND yes take a hard hit and you have to replace the whole thing. And they an't cheep either. Thanks for the post, I didn't know footballers were doing this. Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.

Ok kids, time for some facts. I actually use this thing from time to time,....gee sumthin new to dropzone dot com an actual user review from someone who actually has used this under a wildly varying set of conditions, night and day. Firstly, it does modulate it's intensity, very well I might add. It is a joy to use at night and can be seen in full head on sunlight, these facts are not the issue. Interpreting any thing other than 3500 feet are the issue. It is absolutely a fantastic device come pull time, NO ALTIMITER, noise maker, or visual comes close to telling ya it's pull time. This point isn't even debatable. Now the green time, freefall time up to pull time is a no brainer as well, during busy RW no issues. Do we really need to know exactly to a 1000 feet in a four way where we are? Usually NOT. Notice I said usually. The drawbacks come when it's time to decifer those middle altitudes if your really interested in that! Same issue under canopy when it switches into canopy mode. FOR ME I demand to know every 100 foot interval, and yes some of you would be correct to point out this isn't this devices strong point. IN OTHER WORDS tho shall not swoop with this. BUT we knew this when we made our purchase. These people are on to sumthing with this thing, it needs some tweaking, we knew this when we purchased it, and it needs a digital in the center as well. BUT the idea and color changes come pull time, well these folks really have hit on something that the other manufacturers "refuse" to incorporate into their designs. And yes the battery life needs improvement. All in all for those brave enough to make this purchase to support this tech it was a great decision, and yes we all for the most part were well versed in this devices limitations. I for one am proud to support this as at pull time no other device comes close to this things useful ness, the rest of the time, I have a back up. Glad to support them, they are really on to sumthin that would greatly enhance safety for everyone!!!

Thanks Doug. Time for my reminder about how the skydiving industry was designed. It wasn't. O'h some products get a once over to meet material certifications and metal quality, but the vast majority of skydiving stuff evolved over the years. Some things worked, some things worked and killed people, and some things worked and killed less people. This thing about a pin with a indentation has actually be tried in the past. Some of you will want proof of this, my retort is find the information yourself, no one listening to me anyways when I post attachments providing much needed evidence and common sense. 2 points about change in skydiving gear. Firstly much of skydiving gear is a tradeoff , take the RSL for example, most agree that a RSL solves more issues than it causes, notice the fine print there. 2ndly gear is frequently sold to appeal to a Bruce Jenner kind of mentality. (think of any pro sports personality and their face on a box of cereal.) Meaning that younger jumpers want to buy what the pros have and use, "It must be better if ""they"" are using it," right? So here's an issue that at the moment the manufacturer is or has neglected to address in their marketing materials: That being "main pin retraction force." The PIA / FAA has a procedure for your reserve pin, how to adjust your loop for the mandated force required in lbs.. The USPA and the PIA have set the force required to withdraw your main pin, (look it up if you must.) BUT THIS FORCE IS HIGHLEY VARIABLE , varying temperature and humidity make stuffing a too large main into a too small container a challenge sometimes. Doe's anyone know what stuffing a too large main into a too small container does to the force required to withdraw the pin????? If your inattentive????? It puts this force beyond the ability for gravity and your pilot chute to withdraw the pin. Ever see a packer or any individual use their feet to close a rig??? Sure you have, we all have. Now if your using a new design and don't know what your doing? Well this can't happen can it? This is my point not only do we have too many people not taking into consideration the audience they are speaking too, we have some one who thinks they can design equipment with out taking into consideration all of the potential users of same equipment. Much of our equipment, the evolution therofffe has cost lives. So the manufacturers do in fact design in compromises and safeguards into design to take into account the varying abilities and stupidity of your average user who could care less about gear. Did this manufacturer, (Ya, I know, can we call them that?) take this into consideration? I want the questioned answered what does this device do to the main pin extraction force when some one uses both feet to close a rig???? AND on a side note we used to have fully protected pins, both reserve and mains, the classic 3 pin 3 cones had a flap protecting those pins that would protect those pins with a vengeance and ya know what, those pins got bent even under flaps of steel. Do you also know soft flaps are there for a reason. Any container manufacturer can manufacture closing pin flaps made from a Bank Vault , but that actually didn't work out either, soft flaps are a compromise, so I'm leaving ya with something that's been beat to death in the past that being soft main flaps solve more issues than they create. Till then protect your gear and move carefully, now there's sumthin we all know actually works each and every time!!!! Brett Bickford Did Not Commit Suicide. He is the victim of ignorance and faulty gear. AND as in the movie: "12 Angry Men," of an ignorant and callous jury.