Basejumper.com - archive

Lets see how the percentages stack up.

yeah, i use them mostly.
i sometimes pack with none, sometimes with 5, sometimes with 16.

they all seem to be the samepackjob though.

never have, never will

^Didn't see that one coming Mike...

I use em.

Of Course. Why not? Only if I was in the LZ and needed to pack up for a back to back I would not..
Or if I had no tools, an unpacked rig, and an object.

I'll second that!
Unless I lost one, or both of the clamps I was born with

Never have used 'em. Would like to, but never seem to find the $$$.

Regardless, the only time I find I'd really need them is when sliding the canopy onto the container. Usually I just beg for an extra pair of hands to control the top of the canopy as I slide it into place.

If you slide your finger under everything below the tail pocket, and then grab the top of the tail pocket with your thumb, you can lift the canopy a bit and slide the container under the canopy, instead of vice versa. That way the pack job doesn't have to move.

clamps are for people with only one arm.

What are packing clamps?
I´ve used parking lamps to see at night in the packing lot.

I use clamps on every packjob I can. There are instances where this is not possible, but those situations are the exception rather than the rule. I pack wth 12 clamps, a weight and 2 bungee cords to keep line tension. Clamps are hardly necessary for a good packjob, but when the packjob comes out all perfect and clean it sure makes me feel better.

oh, these numbers do not include my two built-in clamps (hands)... and I have both my arms too...

The most moving argument I've ever heard for packing without clamps is that if you're used to packing with clamps and you ever have to pack without them, your packjob will take forever and will suck.... well, why not just keep your clamps with your rig? Tools might be forgotten or left behind, but they exist because they make things easier and sometimes better.

I'm very surprised to see how many of you use clamps. It would be interesting to see if experience has anything to do with it. (Yes, I know jump numbers are not a test of experience) but another interesting poll would be something like:

I have over 200 jumps
Use clamps
Do not use clamps

I have less than 200 jumps
Use clamps
Do not use clamps

Or something of the sort. I am simply assuming that once a person gets dialed on their pack job they will eventually quit using clamps. It is just too easy to pack a really nice clean pack job without them once you get used to it. Am I wrong? Do you experienced jumpers just keep on using them or what?

zp top skin
I need them

I view it the same way I do body armor: its not necessary, but unless you can convince me there is added danger from utilizing them, why not? I CAN pack without them if needed, but why make things harder on myself when I don't have to?

I have less than 200 base jumps, and have a zp topskin ace 240 if that helps find some defining similarities.

Looking back, I initially learned to pack without clamps. As time went on, I began using more and more clamps, and eventually added the bungees when a good buddy from Canada (thanks steve) showed me the cool line tension aspects the bungy's added. I'm also curious about the average relation between experience and packing tools.

ZP top skin is a valid point. I have never packed with it.

i´m allways using clamps...why not?!

No clamps, far less than 200 jumps.

How exactly do you use bungee cords to keep line tension?

bungee clamps to a stake which are in line with the lines when you are folding/flaking the canopy.

Code

no clamps myself. if it is really windy and i'm packing outdoors, i can just rest a helmut on top of the part not being controlled while i'm working on the rest. hasn't failed me yet.

At which part of the pack job do you clampers find they are most effective?

i started packing without clamps but now i usethem.I really don't see the need for 12 or 13 clamps i jump an ace 310 and use only 6 clamps.2 of them i reposistion part way through the packjob.i don't use any bungees or pull up cords other than to close the rig.

i can't believe how many people are saying"it hasn't failed me yet" guess what... nothing ever fails until it fails.don't let clamps or no clamps give you a false sense of security i have seen malfunctions occur on both styles of packing and i bet some of the old timers have to.

just my .02 though

well i was joking when i said it. maybe a would have been better

I've steadily increased my tool count throughout my BASE career. I originally learned with no tools, but each time I found a way for a tool to make things easier/faster/neater/more efficient, I added the tool in.

My observation has been that most pack clampers use just 4 2" spring clamps, and that there is no experience/clamp correlation--it's more often just whatever you learned and stuck with.

I did my first couple of hundred pack jobs with no clamps, so I know I can do it reasonably well if I need to. Since then though I've been clamping and it helps me pack quicker and neater.


I only use them after I've done my width reducing folds, to keep the canopy 'thin'. Without them I find myself wrestling the canopy and distorting the nose much more when closing the top pin.

Gus

This is my clampless style.
I only used clamps like that before to jumpstart the packing weight for the non conformists.
take care,
space

Clamps help me keep the bottomskin of the canopy and the nose cleaner, and fold the canopy into the container cleaner and quicker.

I use them and I'm a newbie