What is the best BASE canopy on the market?

[imported_Tom Aiello]

Just wanted to do a quick "opinion poll". Wouldn't it be great if this didn't turn into a flame-fest, advertisement and mud-slinging match?

Please, just vote for your choice. Or, if it's not listed, go ahead and post a follow-up giving your favorite (cue Feral with a barrage of "Mustang" and "Pooster" posts).

[Dwain]

This poll should actually be relabeled: "Of all the BASE canopies you have jumped, which one do you like the best?"
Unless you have a significant number of jumps (from a wide range of objects) on every brand of canopy listed then how could you possibly give an honest vote in this poll?
Tom maybe you should add the category of "I can't say because I don't have ample experience on every canopy listed here". Also to be fair you should divide the vented canopies from their non-vented counterparts. There is a bigger difference between a standard FOX and a Vtec FOX than say between a FOX and a Mojo.

People tend to like the most (and have an emotional attachment to) the brand of canopy that has saved their life the most times in the past 6 months. You could also re-badge this poll as: "What canopy do you currently jump the most?". This would probably be the most accurate question to describe the results obtained above.

I'm sorry if I sound cynical, but in the world of BASE people tend to give their opinions a little too freely without stating the experience and skill sets that back their opinion. I have seen a great deal of people be injured because of misinformation.

In 1996-1997 a great deal of Australian jumpers purchased Poosters based on the advice that they were "the best BASE canopy in the world". The carnage that followed under the Pooster was excessive to say the least (malfunctions, frequent object strikes, frequent landing injuries). Initially the high injury rate was declared as something that was just an inherent part of the sport.
When people finally realized how bad a canopy the Pooster was compared to American BASE canopies (at the time, FOX and Mojo's - which didn't really arrive in Australia until 1998), many jumpers couldn't afford to buy a new canopy and so they kept fearfully jumping their Pooster. The problem, and many bones, were compounded by the fact that no one would purchase a second hand Pooster (except for naive beginner jumpers - some of which were trained in the sport simply because they would purchase a second hand Pooster).

Thankfully, currently there is nothing on the market as bad as a Pooster (although there are some milder similarities). However there are major differences between canopies out there in terms of both specific and all round performance.

The past three years has seen a major improvement in BASE canopy technology. There have been significant improvements in canopy technology made even in the past year (read Flik and Troll MDV). Here is a hint: BASE canopy manufacturers (usually) do not release new products (or a modification to a product) unless the overall improvement is substantial.

In skydiving, improvements in canopy technology often enhance fun not safety. In BASE, an improvement in canopy technology means the odds of you dying or becoming seriously injured are reduced.

I suggest doing substantial research before buying a new BASE canopy and talking to a wide range of people outside of your normal jumping companions. When you talk to people ask what their comparison base is. Also try to find out how good a BASE canopy pilot that person is. Some very experienced BASE jumpers are horrific canopy pilots and really shouldn't be giving advice. On the flip side there are some lower experienced jumpers who are superb BASE canopy pilots and know what they are talking about.

The majority of experienced jumpers out there don't have a great deal of experience on a wide range of current market canopies and therefore simply do not know what the better canopies are. Even though <quote>"Billy Bob has 500 BASE jumps and he says Brand XYZ is the best canopy so it must be the sh*t!!!"</quote>.

Also it takes a number of jumps to learn how to fly a canopy at it's best. If you have a FOX (for example) totally dialed in and then jump a Mojo and try and fly it the same way you fly a FOX you won't get the best performance out of it, and your opinion towards the Mojo may be unfair.

All BASE canopies out there are not the same. The difference in overall safety between different models is substantial. Jumpers are often quick to give a canopy praise, but not many jumpers will publicly voice objection to a brand of canopy that they believe is substandard in one area or another. A canopy should not be judged on how it works when everything goes right, but on how it works when things go wrong (for example when your facing the wall after smoking it low above a boulder lined talus).

Pooster background: The Pooster was basically a re-enforced Meteor (an Australian skydiving canopy). A Meteor in the late 80's was one of the most high performance 7-cells available. However it was removed from the market due to a high malfunction rate and periodic extremely hard openings at terminal (which Pooster owners also discovered when they went on their first Europe BASE trips). The Pooster has an aspect ratio of 2.25, fast forward speed and a very steep angle of attack (which subsequently helped cell pressurization but also helped you become close friends with the wall). The Pooster was originally only made in one size: 213 square foot - the reasoning was that "if you can't safely BASE jump a canopy of this size then you should do some more skydiving before you take up BASE".
(Note: There was one 236 square foot Pooster made for a very heavy jumper, but that size was considered excessively large and a concern if there was any wind around).

In an attempt to improve the Pooster and re-capture the Australian BASE market (which was rapidly being lost to American BASE canopies) the Mustang was born in late 1998. In an attempt to slow down the excessive forward speed of the Pooster, the aspect ratio was decreased. This was done by taking the Pooster airfoil template, cutting it mid way between the B and C lines, moving the two halves of the template apart and then hand drawing the new template (dodgy). After a couple of skydives and two BASE jumps, the Mustang was declared "The best BASE canopy in the world!". Only two Mustangs were ever sold.

[imported_Tom Aiello]

I keep trying to edit the poll, but the board software appears to be having some trouble. I'll keep trying...

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@mac.com

[imported_Tom Aiello]

>Also to be fair you should divide the vented canopies from
>their non-vented counterparts. There is a bigger difference
>between a standard FOX and a Vtec FOX than say between a FOX
>and a Mojo.

Unfortunately, the forum software only allows six choices, so I had to compress them.

Maybe we ought to make it a three or four part poll?

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@mac.com

[imported_Tom Aiello]

>I'm sorry if I sound cynical, but in the world of BASE people
>tend to give their opinions a little too freely without
>stating the experience and skill sets that back their opinion.
> I have seen a great deal of people be injured because of
>misinformation.

I agree. Wouldn't it be great if the really world class jumpers were a little freer with their opinions? Or if we had one of them who had a whole bunch of time to answer beginner questions like the one posed in this poll?

Absent that, many of us are just left to muddle along and do our best in the murky darkness that is our life.

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@mac.com

[PSF]

I am suprised so many are happy with the dagger, and wonder if they have jumped anything else on the marked. I thought it was ####ty openings on the dagger, and got read of it after 30 jumps. I have been very happy with my Mojo and Fox V-tech. Two different canopies, one for slider up, and one for slider down or subterminal.

[bps]

>Absent that, many of us are just left to muddle along and do
>our best in the murky darkness that is our life.

Ahhh Tom. Now that is a quote that I will add to my favorite quote list!

C-ya,

Bryan

"Absent that, many of us are just left to muddle along and do our best in the murky darkness that is our life."

-- Tom Aiello

[nick gatti]

>se
>I don't have ample experience on every canopy listed here".
>Also to be fair you should divide the vented canopies from
>their non-vented counterparts. There is a bigger difference
>between a standard FOX and a Vtec FOX than say between a FOX
>and a Mojo.
>
>People tend to like the most (and have an emotional
>attachment to) the brand of canopy that has saved their life
>the most times in the past 6 months. You could also re-badge
>this poll as: "What canopy do you currently jump the most?".
>This would probably be the most accurate question to describe
>the results obtained above.
>
>I'm sorry if I sound cynical, but in the world of BASE people
>tend to give their opinions a little too freely without
>stating the experience and skill sets that back their opinion.
> I have seen a great deal of people be injured because of
>misinformation.
>
>In 1996-1997 a great deal of Australian jumpers purchased
>Poosters based on the advice that they were "the best BASE
>canopy in the world". The carnage that followed under the
>Pooster was excessive to say the least (malfunctions, frequent
>object strikes, frequent landing injuries). Initially the high
>injury rate was declared as something that was just an
>inherent part of the sport.
>When people finally realized how bad a canopy the Pooster was
>compared to American BASE canopies (at the time, FOX and
>Mojo's - which didn't really arrive in Australia until 1998),
>many jumpers couldn't afford to buy a new canopy and so they
>kept fearfully jumping their Pooster. The problem, and many
>bones, were compounded by the fact that no one would purchase
>a second hand Pooster (except for naive beginner jumpers -
>some of which were trained in the sport simply because they
>would purchase a second hand Pooster).
>
>Thankfully, currently there is nothing on the market as bad
>as a Pooster (although there are some milder similarities).
>However there are major differences between canopies out there
>in terms of both specific and all round performance.
>
>The past three years has seen a major improvement in BASE
>canopy technology. There have been significant improvements in
>canopy technology made even in the past year (read Flik and
>Troll MDV). Here is a hint: BASE canopy manufacturers
>(usually) do not release new products (or a modification to a
>product) unless the overall improvement is substantial.
>
>In skydiving, improvements in canopy technology often enhance
>fun not safety. In BASE, an improvement in canopy technology
>means the odds of you dying or becoming seriously injured are
>reduced.
>
>I suggest doing substantial research before buying a new BASE
>canopy and talking to a wide range of people outside of your
>normal jumping companions. When you talk to people ask what
>their comparison base is. Also try to find out how good a BASE
>canopy pilot that person is. Some very experienced BASE
>jumpers are horrific canopy pilots and really shouldn't be
>giving advice. On the flip side there are some lower
>experienced jumpers who are superb BASE canopy pilots and know
>what they are talking about.
>
>The majority of experienced jumpers out there don't have a
>great deal of experience on a wide range of current market
>canopies and therefore simply do not know what the better
>canopies are. Even though <quote>"Billy Bob has 500 BASE jumps
>and he says Brand XYZ is the best canopy so it must be the
>sh*t!!!"</quote>.
>
>Also it takes a number of jumps to learn how to fly a canopy
>at it's best. If you have a FOX (for example) totally dialed
>in and then jump a Mojo and try and fly it the same way you
>fly a FOX you won't get the best performance out of it, and
>your opinion towards the Mojo may be unfair.
>
>All BASE canopies out there are not the same. The difference
>in overall safety between different models is substantial.
>Jumpers are often quick to give a canopy praise, but not many
>jumpers will publicly voice objection to a brand of canopy
>that they believe is substandard in one area or another. A
>canopy should not be judged on how it works when everything
>goes right, but on how it works when things go wrong (for
>example when your facing the wall after smoking it low above a
>boulder lined talus).
>
>Pooster background: The Pooster was basically a re-enforced
>Meteor (an Australian skydiving canopy). A Meteor in the late
>80's was one of the most high performance 7-cells available.
>However it was removed from the market due to a high
>malfunction rate and periodic extremely hard openings at
>terminal (which Pooster owners also discovered when they went
>on their first Europe BASE trips). The Pooster has an aspect
>ratio of 2.25, fast forward speed and a very steep angle of
>attack (which subsequently helped cell pressurization but also
>helped you become close friends with the wall). The Pooster
>was originally only made in one size: 213 square foot - the
>reasoning was that "if you can't safely BASE jump a canopy of
>this size then you should do some more skydiving before you
>take up BASE".
>(Note: There was one 236 square foot Pooster made for a very
>heavy jumper, but that size was considered excessively large
>and a concern if there was any wind around).
>
>In an attempt to improve the Pooster and re-capture the
>Australian BASE market (which was rapidly being lost to
>American BASE canopies) the Mustang was born in late 1998. In
>an attempt to slow down the excessive forward speed of the
>Pooster, the aspect ratio was decreased. This was done by
>taking the Pooster airfoil template, cutting it mid way
>between the B and C lines, moving the two halves of the
>template apart and then hand drawing the new template (dodgy).
>After a couple of skydives and two BASE jumps, the Mustang was
>declared "The best BASE canopy in the world!". Only two
>Mustangs were ever sold.
>
>

[nick gatti]

hey old friend.dwain you and i both no there has been absolutly no pooster accidents in aust to this date.where have you been.how are you anyway. we have just celebrated ace cools 50th.he still hasnt changed.nick gatti