Re: [980] WLO toggles - disadvantages
The Evil-Lution of BASE Toggles . . .
At first glance, it looked simple, but releasable toggles turned out to be the most troublesome aspect of BASE gear. And at first we didn’t even realize we needed them. In the 1980s all we knew basically came from skydiving. And on the drop zone, since the switch over to square canopies was complete, the line over was as dead as the Raphus Cucullatus (the Dodo Bird.) Sure, you occasionally saw one, but when the bewildered jumper walked in they were generally greeted with, "You packed it that way."
Of course, what none of us realized is how big a role the slider played in preventing line-overs. Ban sliders at the drop zone and you'd make the riggers happy as there'd be line-overs all day long.
When BASE jumpers started launching from lower altitudes than ever before we removed the slider without otherwise compensating and the line-overs started up again and we surly weren't packing them in there. In those days some of us were free packing (lines coiled in the container w/ canopy on top) and some were still using deployment bags. When the tail pocket appeared (which also came from skydiving) it was mostly to control the lines in lieu of the deployment bag (that we knew caused off-heading deployments) but we also hoped it might be the cure for line-overs. But it wasn't.
Then one night in the late 80s Mark Hewitt had line-over off a LA building and impaled himself through the leg on a wrought iron fence. When Mark hit that fence BASE jumping hit a wall. This was it; this was as far as BASE was going to progress unless we figured out a fix. As Mark spun in he knew he needed to get rid of the control line that was over the canopy, and current wisdom said use your knife. But that's a hit or miss proposition while spinning in off a 500-foot building at night over very unforgiving ground. As Mark was one of the most experienced BASE jumpers at the time, if he couldn't do it, the rest of us were doomed.
While he was laid up and convalescing he realized the need for some kind of easy to use mechanical way to release either control line in case of a line-over. And that's how the Line-Mod was born. But it was an uphill battle for acceptance. Those of us yet to experience a line-over weren't quite convinced and were unwilling to accept something as new as that. And the first versions of the line-mod certainly had issues.
These were basically the same thing we used already, the same soft toggle, the same cat's eye, and the same type of keeper ring. The only difference was the control line itself didn't attach anywhere other than where it was locked off. Once fired it could simply be let go. Then it, and your line-over, was history.
But we were cats chasing our own tails. When we fixed one problem it seemed to always create another one. At first there were a few well documented saves and when those vids were hand passed throughout the BASE community the argument about needing the line-over mod started to subside. But there was always exceptions. And Mark wasn't the debate type. If you dissed the line-mod in his presence it would more than likely get you a punch in the mouth. Today we throw virtual punches online, in the bad old days of BASE we threw them for real . . .
The problem with Mark's line over mod is they worked great until you had a line-over. Once a control line goes over the canopy it becomes shorter and thus has to carry more of the load than any of the other lines. So they jammed. No matter sometimes how hard you pulled they just wouldn't release. And because you were pulling down on the line-over side you were effectively just increasing the rate of turn and decent.
We tried a combo of fixes. Fatter toggles, thinner toggles, longer, shorter I even used beeswax but all that did was make a mess you had to clean after every jump.
So for a while we just went on knowing that sometimes the line-mod would save you and sometimes not. But hey, it's BASE jumping and what's one more thing that can kill you?
By this time it was the early 1990s and the BASE gear industry was started to become a for real thing. I don't know who to credit here, as at the time it seemed more like spontaneous combustion, but several people like, Moe, Adam, and Todd started to experiment with Zoo Toggles. These were the pin type toggles and again this originally came from the drop zone. Early skydiving square canopies used them but they were later abandoned for the simpler current system.
And again we solved one thing and created another issue. The early pin toggles, by virtue of less resistance, solved the jamming problem but they weren't as user friendly as regular toggles. And they created problems when you didn't have a line-over. There were various types but for the most part you had to pull up and then back rather than just straight down like a normal toggle. So a lot of folks started complaining of jammed toggles on normal jumps. I myself had probably a half dozen of these and so did everyone else I knew. For a while I even gave up releasing the brakes at all on some jumps and just used the risers to steer and land from the get go. But that's very limiting and not a real fix, especially as big canopies hadn't come to BASE yet. So I creamed in a lot . . .
There were a few offshoots about this time too. And Andy Calistrate boldly announced he'd solved the whole problem. He went down to the hardware store and purchased three-inch across key rings and replaced the small keeper ring on the risers with them. The idea was fire the brake and let it go and it was shoot right through the key ring. Only about half the time it wouldn't and took a wrap around the ring. Also Andy was saying people were better off with the control line through a riser ring as that's what they were used to. But once we discovered the added control of free-flying control lines we didn’t want to go back. Andy faded from the BASE scene after that . . .
Of course we learned as we went. Todd, at APEX, discovered tail flutter and its involvement with line-overs and it scared us when we realized how close we were coming to having line-overs all the time when jumping slider removed. So then came the tailgate and that negated it somewhat but didn't solve it completely. But it did help enough that some jumpers aren’t using the line-mod at all anymore when going slider removed. That's cool I suppose. Until they actually and eventually have a line-over or else run into Mark Hewitt and get a punch in the mouth.
There has always been a certain amount of voodoo concerning BASE toggles and my fix has always been to teach every new bartender I break in a new drink. Its whiskey, soda, and a dash of raspberry juice. I call it a Line-Over on the Rocks. And so far so good . . .
The current version of WLOs are certainly the best yet. You can call them v2.0 if you want but really they are like v20.0. Are we there yet? Nope, but we are damn close . . .
NickD
BASE 194
