old pack jobs

[guest]

I have a question.
If you pack your rig slider down for a freefall between 200'-300' (not much room for error) and have a long run of bad weather, how many weeks or months would you keep that pack job before getting creeped out about it and repacking a new fresh one. It seems that after about 4 weeks, i'd rather get me a brand new fresh pack job. However I do leave my slider up pack jobs packed for a much longer time because I'm probably deploying higher and opening farther away from the structure.
just curious if anyone else felt this way
thanks for the input

[346]

I suppose that answer would vary depending on how good your memory is and what kind of "abuse" the gear has taken.

I think the gear-fear issue comes up:

1) Because you don't remember how meticulous you were (ie. How you folded the tail, how many times you wrapped the tailgate with the rubber band, what exactly you decided to do with the nose this time, etc..) Even if you know you have a personal rule to always wrap the rubber band 3 times, you might not specifically remember doing it on this packjob... 4 weeks is probably ballpark for me. When my instincts say to repack, I listen.

2) The "abuse" the rig has taken. Put the rig in the car, walk through the weeds with it, access the site, climb up, climb down, leave the site (through the weeds), back in the car, then the house... Do that twice or 3 times and I at least start thinking about repacking it. This could be as little as 2 nights. If I come across some free time to perform a repack, it gets done just to eliminate the question marks.

Just my thoughts.... Hope it helps.

Mark &-)

[guest]

Hate to say it but I just jumped a four month old pack job off a 350ft' A. No problem.:7

[TVHigley]

I have a curse when it comes to old pack jobs!! If my rig sits for more than a month, it is going to be off-heading. I have consistant on-heading openings, but if it lays dorment for a while-- guaranteed 90!!!
-TODD

[space]

The pack job quality diminishes with the memory of the pack IMHO. If I can´t remember doing certain tasks during packing I will redo if I think it is pertinent to a safe jump. Holding on to a memory of a pack job/rigging job done 4wks ago for a specific jump can be difficult if you have many site options.
Work on the psychological aspect, as in what makes you feel better. repacks only cost time, and the confidence in your packjob on the exit point is what you buy with that time.
take care,
space

[guest]

> how many weeks
>or months would you keep that pack job before
>getting creeped out about it and repacking

The real answer is when you feel uncomfortable, you should repack. [echoing space here].

For info, I recently jumped a 6month old pack job off a very forgiveable object and it worked fine, with the exception of the velcro hanging about 3 seconds. So, I would recommend you remove and reseat the whole shrivel flap as it tends to "set" over some months. Also, I recommend refolding the pilot chute after a few shakes. Other than the velcro taking a set and the PC maybe needing an airing, the rest of the pack job should be fine just sitting around in a house environment.

:P

[guest]

I've found that if you aren't going to jump your rig for awhile, by leaving it packed with a quart of motor oil poured inside the container, or a little battery acid, it makes your next jump perfectly on head-ing.

[guest]

Hey...I've got a better idea; Don't wait six months to jump a pack job, and you'll have one less thing to think about at the exit...:P

[Yuri]

Yo !

I personally don't worry about the age of a pack job. When it's been so long that i cannot remember what's inside, i open a container and check the slider and brakes briefly. I have jumped quite a few in the 1..6 months range, and another that was 1.5 year. There is really no difference in opening speed, heading or anything else. Remember, reserves are usually packed for a few months before they are used, and many around the world stay packed for a year or more. They are packed much tighter and are more complicated then BASE rigs... and they work fine ;)

But then again, i consider it a mortal sin to spend more than 15 minutes on a pack job...

Our fears and the real danger usually have very little in common. My favorite quote from 460 and Dead Steve: "A false sense of confidence is better then none at all" ;-)

bsbd!

Yuri.