Re: [Bolas] Toggles or rears
Prior to my accident last year I would not have thought twice about this, Risers, Risers, Risers... Since the accident I have read many different theories on which is better and I think I would not have been hurt from the landing had I gone to toggles instead of risers. However I might have been hurt from hitting the object.
It hs been said that you don't swing out as much from a riser turn, but the velocity induced by swinging back under my canopy prior to impact was what caused my injury, and I guarantee I was on risers. With both toggles in hand I think the turn could have been much flatter than risers and I would have a much larger control range for landing.
But what if I missed a toggle or had a toggle hangup. Even with BigGrab toggles it is a possibility and that extra few seconds means everything. And then there's the whole issue of flight characteristics with DBS's. Popping the toggles and pulling both controls down to stop forward movement and then letting off one side allows that side to accellerate and may induce a faster, flatter turn where rear risers may have little effect until some forward speed is achieved which is difficult and time consuming when the brakes are set deep, that's why they are set deep in the first place.
So next time what will I do? I don't know and this is the kind of indecision that makes me uncomfortable, not to mention injures and kills people. When there are things to think about, like how close am I to the object, how much altitude do I have, am I going to hit it, can I land here or there now that I'm in this situation..., then time is consumed quite rapidly. I think the most beneficial thing is to have thought through these things prior to exit and stick with what you've planned. This has you taking action rather than considering alternatives.