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"fuck, I'm going in" ran through my mind.

Now just imagine if that happened at your other site with all the trees.

that thought goes through my head everytime I jump from 300'

it appeared that the PC was at
bridle stretch with the bite on my right shoulder
still in place

I jump off a 300 footer and always open about 100-150. I dont know that its too low, just pretty close. But in Idaho you dont have the opportunity to jump much high stuff, so Im pretty used to opening and having a 3-6 second canopy ride, its normal for me. Mayby its normal for you and you just think its not because the other jumper had not seen a low jump like so before. Did you Feel really low or are you taking what he said into consideration. Good Luck

placed between the riser cover's tuck tab, and the
rig's slot for it,

Hell yall, the "oh fuck, I'm goin in..." feeling is the only reason I jump! Ha! I thought that was THE SHIT. you think you are and then you don't.......endorphins.....brain is happy for a day or two

Jumper #1 said it was lowest he had ever
seen anyone ever open. Of course it was
the lowest I had ever opened, my guess
would be between 100 and 150 feet.

It seems to me that the strong wind at small falling speeds (delays) can indeed induce a hesi by pushing the PC sides together preventing air from rushing in.

"fuck, I'm going in" ran through my mind.

It seems to me that the strong wind at small falling speeds (delays) can indeed induce a hesi by pushing the PC sides together preventing air from rushing in.

-or-

shit happens.

It seems to me that the strong wind at small falling speeds (delays) can indeed induce a hesi by pushing the PC sides together preventing air from rushing in.

so far, and obviously this is just like, my opinion man...

but i don't think anything happened abnormally at all. it was probably just your perception.

300ft is on the high side of slider off (or down) BASE for me. if you want to get that scared feeling, do a bunch of static lines for a while, then go do a handheld again from 300 or lower. the opening sequence will feel like an eternity.


judging from your recent posting, you've been doing a lot of SLs and whatnot, so that may have been what you felt.


this doesn't make any sense to me either. the pilot chute is anchored by the bridal. once it is thrown and reaches bridal stretch, it shouldn't matter which way the wind (or relative wind) is blowing because regardless it will be along the bridal and up the apex of the PC. i have never had any issues with short delays in strong tailwinds. in fact, i prefer them as i believe it increases initial snatch force on short delays and insures the PC will fly cleanly away from you upon exit.

again, just my perception on the matter.

I finally read this thread. Considering a normal deployment using the equipment you have takes around 120 feet, plus a little more for pressurization. it seems you may have had some, but very little, hesitation. A tucked bridle REALLY needs to be constricted to make any difference. Think about how much is tucked into the lower corner of the rig. There's no way, you're tucking that much at the shoulder. You can always ground test bridle tucks. It's tough to screw up a tuck if it's not hooked around anything

A full 1 second is 16 feet. Depending on how you throw, the Pilot chute will be at bridle stretch at or above the level you threw from. If you toss downward, you lose a few feet. Pilot chutes do malfunction sometimes. Most clear before you ever know it but if they hesitate for whatever reason, you lose a fair amount of altitude.

A 2 second delay would lose around 48 feet. From 300 feet, that's still roughly 250 feet. A normal opening would put you close to 100 foot range under those circumstances.

A strong tail wind gives the illusion of being lower. The canopy will be influenced some by the wind since it will open a little more forward of your body's center, then you quickly begin to travel across the ground at 30 MPH. Turning around suddenly seems much more important. We all know this next one, a diving turn will lose altitude quick. That also gives the illusion you were lower.

Pilot chutes do weird things sometimes. If it's upside down at bridle stretch, it must be righted. As it's being righted, the pilot chute isn't just turning over, it's being quite distorted as it peels into position. It can very well stay collapsed for a moment longer.

Understand how the pilot chute begins to work under usual circumstances with short delays. First, it reaches bridle stretch. The pilot chute is elongated and begins to fill. It then has enough drag to pull the pins and begin pulling on the parachute. It then fills the rest of the way and finishes the job. A quick camera will catch that.

If for some reason (which can be very difficult to define), there is a pause between bridle stretch and the initial fill, then you're in for a hesi and all the feelings that go with it.

The short asnwer: 100 to 150 doesn't seem that low

just take care cause some (very)strong tailwinds may kill you

if the wind is too strong (or there is any undesirable variable for that matter) for you to safely jump, then that's your answer.

if the wind is too strong

Its different for everyone

And every object!!

I hucked the Perrine one day where
there were literally 20 people at the
exit point and I had to ask them to
move so I could jump.

Pin tension minimal.

No velcro on the bridle.

"fuck, I'm going in"

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