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flyer299

Is Psycho Pack the way to go???

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I only psyco pack (unless someone who I am packing for likes it differently) and I have never had any problems (knock on wood). I jump crossfires mostly and it works great.. its also very quick for me.. I can pack in about 4.5-5 minutes. (it helps when you are rushing to get on a load!:)
laters
yoshi
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this space for rent.

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Ahhhh! You've asked the question, here's the answer... Longevity.

Simple. One word.

The vast majority of skydivers are cheap bastards, myself included. I would much rather spend my money on jumps. So when I went all out and got my fully-loaded Mirage UNISYN, I wanted to make sure it would last me for some time to come.

My M4-sized Mirage will hold my 170 (which is what it was designed for) when I am ready to downsize. When I am ready again, it will hold my 150.

Until then, I have no problems getting my Stiletto 190 in there.


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Ok, now im gonna pick this apart.(Please dont hate me for it!) ;) Are you going for economics or longevity? Cuz in my book, I go for economics(Im a poor bastard like others), but I have to disagree on the longevity part. If you stuff a canopy larger than the M4 was made, in theory you will strech the container. I own a M4 also, bought it brand new and had to STUFF a Sabre 170 in it. Now im down to a Nitron 120, and Im going to have to start anchoring the closing loop in the container instead of the 1st flap. I cant say if it would have been tighter if that was all that had been in it, but it was just an idea. Currently drooling over the G4, I gonna have to save forever to get that one and would hate to think I would have t "stuff" anything in it! :ph34r:

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

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Psycho pack... well, I've gotta admit, I've never done it... flat packed for years (yep dating myself) and then moved onto Pro-Packing. Okay, so I can't say if a Psycho Pack is better then a Pro-Pack. I will say that if you're going to Psycho Pack you best get a bridle extension on your canopy.

Other then that... my 2 cents... I see a lot of folks who Psycho Pack and stick by it and have no troubles... heck, squares want to open... if you get the lines straight and the slider is up, its all a matter of technique after that to get it in the bag and get openings that don't break your back.

What confuses me though... and the reason I decided to post... is I see other folks struggling to Psycho Pack and get their canopy in the bag, but they won't Pro-Pack. I don't get it. Sure, its taken me some work, but I've done the "Pitty Pack" for some of these same folks and thrown a traditional Pro-Pack and S-folds to get it in the bag... and done it. So I don't understand why they won't Pro-Pack.

Anyway, I suppose it comes down to picking a method and sticking to it and developing your own techniques. Like I tell folks having trouble packing... jump more... you'll have to pack more then. ;)

edit... oh yeah, seems to me, one of the downsides of Psycho Packing could be forgetting to flip the canopy back over before bagging it... seen that happen.

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according to Simon from Icarus you are NOT to psycho pack the Xfire....so...I guess your mileage varried some..



really? we have a lot of xfire jumpers at my home dz and they've all been told to psychopack, and it works well. and i demoed xfires (129, 119, and 108) at the Richmond Boogie last year, Simon hooked them up, and i asked if i could jump each a handful of times... and I asked if i could Psychopack and he said Yes. So i did.

oh well, haven't had a cutaway yet :)

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If you look at Icuras owners manual above, page 17, it specifically shows how to Psycho Pack all Icuras canopies.



Not all Icarus canopies. On page 16 of that same manual, it says : "From this point on, we recomend the Psycho Pack for the Icarus Extreme FX, VX, and Safire and the Pro Pack for the Icarus Crossfire and Omega."

_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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Why is it important to have the extended bridle?
Is it purely a canopy wear thing or can it mess the deployment up without one?

Also i jump a cobalt and roll the tail alot. I watched the "60 second bagging" video and it looks to me you just cant roll the tail when pycho packing.

Or does the opening a Pycho pack gives means you dont have to roll the tail?




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It's pretty much plain impossible to bag a psycho packed canopy without the extension. Try it with your own canopy on a slow day, you'll see. (Then just start over and PRO pack it.)

And part of psycho packing is indeed not rolling the tail but spreading both sides over each other (this should be on the video). It's been a while since I watched it, but that was the other difference to a PRO pack. But nobody ever mentions that one.
Johan.
I am. I think.

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It's pretty much plain impossible to bag a psycho packed canopy without the extension. Try it with your own canopy on a slow day, you'll see. (Then just start over and PRO pack it.)


Nonsense. I've done it numerous times. You can psycho pack a canopy without the extension but the problems you run into are:
1. If you use a kill-line PC it can be a struggle getting it to stay cocked.
2. You risk possible damage to the top-skin of the canopy.

When you psycho pack, the ring on the canopy that prevents the d-bag from hitting the canopy is inside the roll instead of at the grommet on the d-bag. The bridle extension will allow you to pull the bag around without distorting the tail and will make it less likely that you will grab any fabric when the d-bag is stripped off of the canopy.


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And part of psycho packing is indeed not rolling the tail but spreading both sides over each other (this should be on the video). It's been a while since I watched it, but that was the other difference to a PRO pack. But nobody ever mentions that one.


If I want a fast (not hard, just quicker) opening, I just fold the tail over and make a triangle. If I want a normal opening, I roll the tail once I have my Stiletto on the ground. Since the canopy is now lying on the ground tail-down and nose-up (opposite of how it is laid down for a PRO pack) I can easily grab both edges of the tail and put a few rolls into it.

Kris
Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

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It's pretty much plain impossible to bag a psycho packed canopy without the extension. Try it with your own canopy on a slow day, you'll see. (Then just start over and PRO pack it.)



I disagree. I psycho-packed my Stiletto easily at least 10 times before getting the bridle extension. You simply pull the bridal attachment point out.

The purpose of the extension is to reduce wear on your canopy.

_Am
__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

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It's pretty much plain impossible to bag a psycho packed canopy without the extension. Try it with your own canopy on a slow day, you'll see. (Then just start over and PRO pack it.)


Nonsense. I've done it numerous times. You can psycho pack a canopy without the extension but the problems you run into are:
1. If you use a kill-line PC it can be a struggle getting it to stay cocked.
2. You risk possible damage to the top-skin of the canopy.



OK, I take back the impossible.

But I do have this huge mental block on psycho packing without the extension because of the risk of damaging the top skin of my canopy, and because of making a bloody mess of my packjob. You really have to pull the bridle attachment point and the attached top skin out to where they do not belong.
Johan.
I am. I think.

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You really have to pull the bridle attachment point and the attached top skin out to where they do not belong.



nope..... in my case, that's exactly where they belong. 1500+ psycho packs on batwing 153 w/ no adverse wear & tear. No bridle extension.

A psycho pack is simply another method of packing. Just as likely to work/mal as any other method.

my 2cents.
BSBD & Happy Holidays.:)
'In an insane society a sane person seems insane.' Mr. Spock

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I still have people who shake their head at me and tell me, "that just doesn't look right" when I psycho-pack. I'm the only one at three different DZ's where I jump who packs this way. All I know is that it's fast, goes into the bag neatly, and I get nice on heading openings with it. I never would have started packing this way if it hadn't been for these forums and people recommending it. I learned how to pack this way by looking at a couple different web sights. I made the extension myself with my wife's sewing machine and a narrow piece of nylon. I haven't noticed any signs of canopy damage. Try it. You'll like it. Steve1

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I had a Safire2, and psycho packed it. Worked realy greate. But its a recomendet packing method by Icarus.
Also tryid psychopack triathlon and Sabre 1, work realy greate.
When I pshychopacked Spectre, owner said its streamd too long time.
Also tryid psychopack on crossfire2 99, and i didnt work realy well... got 1 twist, but I dont wanna try it more:)
Blue skys and soft landings to all!

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I have at least 650 psycho pack jobs. A DZO I know likes to give me crap about my openings and says it's the devils tool. Most of my malfunctions that were caused by packing were done by someone PRO packing for me. My lineover was my fault. I knew a master rigger that swore by it, mostly because he didn't have to roll the nose so he could pack faster. It is much easier to bag than a regular PRO pack, and you should get the bridle extension if you plan to do more than try it out. I haven't heard any legitimate concerns about why Psycho packing is bad. You hear people say they got a bad opening but that's pretty vague isn't it. I get plenty of off heading openings. I wear a camera jacket most of the time, and still pull like normal, so I usually turn to the right a little while deploying. I also wasn't stowing my tru loc toggles the correct way and routinely had brake release during opening. Go figure, with only one brake set it turns off heading, and sometimes gets line twists.
"If it wasn't easy stupid people couldn't do it", Duane.

My momma said I could be anything I wanted when I grew up, so I became an a$$hole.

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It's pretty much plain impossible to bag a psycho packed canopy without the extension. Try it with your own canopy on a slow day, you'll see. (Then just start over and PRO pack it.)


Nonsense. I've done it numerous times. You can psycho pack a canopy without the extension but the problems you run into are:
1. If you use a kill-line PC it can be a struggle getting it to stay cocked.
2. You risk possible damage to the top-skin of the canopy.


OK, I take back the impossible.

But I do have this huge mental block on psycho packing without the extension because of the risk of damaging the top skin of my canopy, and because of making a bloody mess of my packjob. You really have to pull the bridle attachment point and the attached top skin out to where they do not belong.


Hi Johan,
I'll show you next time ;-). I've done psychopack more than 200 jumps on my Sabre2 without extension. No damage so far and I think it still looks pretty neat if you pull the the bridle attachment out carefully.
The kill line has a tendency to retract slightly, I just pull the PC again when the bag is in the container.

However, it seems my openings are slightlyless consistent when psychopacking (even more off heading than propacking :S) so when I've time and am in the mood I'm propacking.

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Here is a good article on Psycho packing with instructions, video and pictures on how to Psycho Pack. It is the way that I pack and it is starting to be recomended for tandems also. Soft, on heading openings. Fast and easy way to pack.



Clicky

Fixed that for you.
"Even in a world where perfection is unattainable, there's still a difference between excellence and mediocrity." Gary73

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I saw a video on youtube and the guy showing it doesn't have an extension. He just pulls the point where the bag connects to the canopy to the side. Search "Psycho pack" in you tube and you will find it. It's a 2 part series...

I just tried the psychopack this last weekend and love it. I'v been having very hard openings with my sabre 170. I tried the manufatures way and tips that I picked up from others but no luck. The only difference between a propack and the psychopack it she way you wrap it up and put it in the D-Bag.

When you lay the canopy on the floor, with the psycho pack, you can open it back up and work on the conopy that way with more control because you have use of both hands. I rolled the nose like PD suggests but while it is laying on the floor. I was able to get it nice and tight. I think the other problem I was having with a propack was that the roll was coming undone when laying it on the floor.

I think another problem I was having was the slider may have been moving around when trying to pro-pack. When I layed it on the floor it got kind of messy. But with psycho pack it gets nicely tightened together when you wrap it all together.

I just there there is more control with the psycho pack and that means better packing job especially for a newbie like me. and for a canopy like the sabre I.

I suggest you talk with people who have more experience with the psycho pack. try not not listen to people like me... :P I'm a newbie... only 40 jumps and have jumped a psycho pack twice... I'm planning to continue with it though. I did contact a couple instructors that I know and they said it's fine to psycho pack. They tried it but they were used to pro packing and that worked fine for them. But they had nothing negative to say about it.

There was only one person at my DZ that psycho packed and she left a while ago. When I was packing at my DZ people were making fun of me...

My instructors just told me to make sure I have my emergency procedures down!

Be Safe!
Blue Skies!

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