larger toggles

[460]

with the posting by Earl Redfern about toggles
vs risers to deal with off-headings, i've been
thinking about toggle styles. i've had the
best results going straight for toggles if they
were larger than average. if they were too
small, sometimes i'd either miss or would get
a poor grip, resulting in a dropped (and
subsequently lost with the line mod) toggle.
if toggles really are the best way to deal with
off headings near walls and wierd winds, aren't
larger than normal toggles the way to go?

what are the disadvantages? perhaps the toggle
unstowing prematurely if they snag on something
during the canopy extraction, etc.

Thoughts???

[guest]

One problem with "toggles" larrge or small is that they feel the same as other parts of the risers, so it's easy to fumble around for a critical moment looking for them.

Now, I haven't thought through the engineering, but it seems to me that hacky-sack toggles could be a perfect solution; grab 'em and hold on. Easy to know when you're on them, grab angle/attitude not critical, less likely to drop 'em...

we got zoo toggles, why not hackey toggles? Seems like you could just sew them onto the bottom part of most toggle systems currently in use.

Feedback?

Robin

[web]

it would be easier (and trendier) to tie monkey's fists through existing toggles to achieve this effect. my pack-jobs are tight and lumpy enough without the added bulk, though, and i haven't completely thought through the hazards of increased snag-potential.

what about a semi-rigid velcro-free design that would stow flat in the pack tray and present itself as an open "D" inboard of the risers upon deployment? sorry, i can't draw it here...

either way, i'd be concerned about snags during deployment and/or the possibility of asymmetric release of the brakes when it might be most hazardous. perhaps the best approach is to be conservative in developing brake settings so that a little riser input won't stall the canopy and to leave the choice of avoidance strategies to individual jumpers. keep in mind that any toggle is a mechanical device and there is no guarantee that it will work as advertised every time. if you think, based on EXPERIENCE, that you've got time to steer off the object using brakes, go for them. otherwise, grab a riser and remember that the stall-point lurks. if the wind onto the object is too strong to riser around and make an escape, do you really need to jump it right now? the weather will probably change before you could heal from the likely consequences of an object-strike.

[guest]

Just like an airplane in "slow flight" configuration, a BASE canopy with the brakes stowed has a relatively narrow window of performance. It is almost in "neutral" and is close to a stall. If the risers are pulled to initiate a turn it is easy to go into a full stall and totally defeat the turn you are trying to accomplish. I have been primarily a building jumper for years and until moving to Moab, have always preferred the simplicity of using risers first to turn away from the object and then unstowing the toggles to get going and complete the canopy flight. However, I have had many experiences since coming here that have caused me to change to a "toggles first" method of dealing with severe off-heading openings. Wind on multifaceted cliffs can be very difficult to judge consistently. I am extremely conservative and always willing to say no to even moderate winds, yet I have been surprised and tricked by the winds here and have had several "wind induced" off-heading openings. However, the first off-heading opening I had which I could not turn with risers was from a bridge on the Oregon coast and only toggles saved me at the last second from hitting the steel. The wind was in my face at about 5 knots that day.

My point here is that a canopy that is lightly "wing loaded" as most BASE specific canopies are simply do not have the performance to handle even a light wind on the rear of the airfoil and consistently accomplish riser turns. Riser turns do not work in a "wind on the tail" scenario. Moab, and places like it are unique in causing "wind induced" off-heading openings and then making it difficult to correct them with riser input. I feel that toggles are the answer, but require more experience and a level head to use properly. I do not advocate the use of larger toggles or hacky sacks due to the increased potential for an accidental unstow upon opening. I do like very bright toggles of a "single pin" design with a bar-tack or row of stitching at the bottom to make them "pucker" so that they are easier to grab. I feel that the jumper should LOOK FIRST AND REMAIN CALM when he/she has an off-heading opening, then unstow and bury, next to the body, the toggle on the side to which he/she wants to turn while unstowing and extending above the head the opposite toggle. It is also very important to LOOK AWAY FROM THE OBJECT in the direction of the turn in order to get the shoulder on the "toggle down" side into the act of turning the canopy. Think about this everyone. I am open to questions and/or criticism on this. THINK BEFORE YOU JUMP !

Earl

[web]

thanx for all the detail, Earl! i'll have to practice the technique...

have you ever had a toggle stick? i've seen one cliff-strike and a near-miss on a tower behind a toggle that wouldn't unstow. i can't say for sure what caused the problems, but they were frightening. the toggles involved looked like pretty clean pin-type designs, too.

most of my jumps having been from towers (tailwinds off the object), the risers have worked just fine. it'll be nice to develop another trick to keep in the bag for special occasions, though!