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All,

I travel often and would prefer my rig to be as light as possible as well as having the least amount of metal on it. Sewn in risers are very attractive in this regard but we all know the inherent problems in the case of fast moving water and to a lesser extent trees, urban obstacles and fast getaways.

Morpheus (BaseRigs) offer an adjustable (used to be fixed) quick release chest strap. I was thinking that in the case of a fast water landing one could activate the quick release and swim out of the harness. Do you think this is practical?

Thanks in advance

John

I was lucky enough to visit and spend some time
with Rob (RIP) of Morpheus in his workshop when
I was buying my first Gargoyle.

Since I was getting integrated risers he showed me
the quick release chest strap option, borrowed from
Paragliders I believe.

I did not get it because at the time I was way too
scared to think about adopting something new but
YES I think you could use it to get out of your
harness quickly with some practice.

For what it is worth, I was able to quickly and easily
climb out of my harness and slide down a branchless
tree... when I had to

Why not use a conventional chest strap, but pass a bight of webbing through the friction adapter instead of passing the turnback (end) of the chest strap through as you would on a skydive. That way the turnback is sitting on top of the friction adapter and all you need to do to release the chest strap is pull it a few inches so that the bight comes out of the friction adapter.

I use this method on every BASE jump and tandem skydive so that I can get out of my rig quickly. On longer canopy rides, it's easy to detach your chest strap before you hit the ground.

I realize that this is a bit hard to visualize. I'll post a picture when I have a rig around if this doesn't make sense to you.

eUrNiCc,

This is interesting but may I ask if you think that once the chest strap is undone (by whatever means) that you would be able to swim out of the harness if you were being dragged down a fast moving river?

John

Hi Eric,

I understand what you are saying,
hmm, sounds like that would work.

Oddly, out of my 30 objects only 2
were spans - The Perrine and NRGB
so fast rivers are not my problem.

Tree landings still happen but there
is not that same need for speed.


Side Note:

I thought more about my first tree
landing again and want to say that
I was lucky and at the time it was
pretty damn scary & a little painful.

The reason I would never use fixed risers on an only rig is for easy release from the canopy. Light poles, overhead wires, trees, balconies. If the canopy goes over a light pole, you often have to cut lines to take the canopy with you. If you must leave quickly without the canopy, you get to leave the rig too plus the added seconds to your getaway. Just so many what ifs for me to consider fixed risers.

If you need a rope rescue, your own harness isn't an option anymore unless you can take the canopy down or you cut all your lines.

If the possibility to land in a fast moving river, after a 15 second canopy ride is there, I wouldn't dare. 3 rings aren't that heavy. Certain situations are fine with fixed risers but most of the time it's not advantageous. Has anyone here tried to get out of their rig quickly with only 10 - 15 seconds of canopy time? Remember you still have to steer the canopy somewhere.

Easy ejection is key.

95% of my BASE jumps are on sewn in risers.

reverse-terminate the chest strap (mentioned earlier in thread), faster, lighter, and more reliable than the quick release. (once you get good at it)

over a river-out-probable BASE jump, I would never "trust" I could get away from a sewn in riser setup. Thus, I use a three-ring system on most jumps like that.

One can also put "river is death" into your head and treat the river like lava, but if it is the only possible out and you get line twists, well, then you could get FINTA.