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So I received a pilot chute for christmas and its vented... I am a little weary of the construction. can some of you post pictured of toxic, demented and other vented pilot chutes? Particularly close ups of the vent(s)?

who manufactured your new pilot chute?

I dont really want to turn it into a manufacturer thing... It is a well know gear manufacturer though.

here are two "regular" apex vented PCs. Those are found on Apex and Asylum PCs.

those are 32 and 38

Fair enough. I recently had an issue with the construction of a PC by a Well known Manufacturer as well. i would be curious if it is the same issue. PM Sent.

What about it are you questioning?

Did the issue involve extremely premature wear on the junction of the vent to the ZP fabric? Basically the ZP tearing out of the stitching at the edge of the vent?

Nope. Poor construction.

Was it at that point? The junction between the vent and the ZP?

yes. that was one of the issues. PM Sent.

The issue was a quality control one. I am not sure how it was missed, but the manufacturer is replacing the PC this week. It was a matter of things not being symmetrical. I am sure it would still work, but the whole point of a vented PC is to help prevent oscillation and being uneven might cause more than having the vents in the first place. I am satisfied with how the manufacturer is handling the situation and I dont want to blast anyone about it. People make mistakes and it was missed. Im just glad I noticed before jumping it. This is just a reminder that even when you buy something new to inspect it thoroughly before using anything.

I had same problem as you have, I think even with the same manufacturer, i bought 3 vented pc''s all of them was with bad quality, manufacturer changed them for me very quickly, I am very happy I realised it prior a jump.

I recently also purchased a PC and was surprised to lack of "workmanship" in a 48" PC seemed just to be sloppy. Now Im concerned its the same MFG.. PM sent

I got a 34" vented PC in spring this year. After a couple of jumps I noticed that stitching around the vents were coming off due to poor stitching. After less than 10 jumps it had turned in to several decent sized holes. I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me a new a new PC right away. Customer service was good, the product was not.

The interesting thing is that when I was standing at the exit in Lauterbrunnen complaining about my PC a guy next to me showed me his PC and it had the same problem. He had recently bought his PC from same manufacturer as me. I wonder if we all have problems with the same manufacturer. Time to start naming names soon?

Yeah, I'd like to know! I understand people don't wanna bash good manufactures but between the PMs being sent and word of mouth it's only a matter of time before people find out...

All of us talking about the same problem, so I think about the same manufacturer. I still have photos of these holes in stiching lines, I just shut up then manufacturer gave me new ones very fast.

Had it happen last year on a vented 36 after maybe 30-ish slider up wing suit jumps. Was at the Horner though this year and someone was talking about the same thing with Douggs. Only PC I have from that manufacturer, but others swear by them.

_justin

Ok so it's time to show some photos, I will show only two from my bigger "collection", I'm so happy I never jumped them...

somebody let their nephew have a crack for the first time at the sewing machine!

is that material even cut so it COULD sew correctly? It seems to be very uneven.

Who is the manufacturer?

no, the cut is not right.

I have two PCs made using the same method and the PC material is attached using both rows of stitching

Also, the cuts for the mesh panels are cut much neater

my guess is that what the pictres show is either a shitty copy or done by a newer employee

definitely not acceptable, but would have worked a few times :)

It's a manufacturer that is not known for bad workmanship.

Doesn't anyone wanna name names? Nobody seemed to have a problem naming Tony in the wingsuit incident and that's being blamed for a possible fatality now!

That's exactly what I thought! Maybe everyone is scared of being accused of turning this into a brand war? Anyhow, how many "well known base gear manufacturers" make HAT handle pc's with 8 reinforcement tapes?

I'm wondering if maybe there are multiple manufacturers here. Is anyone familiar with all the PC's mentioned here who can say if this is all just one manufacturer?

There is at least two manufactures being mentioned in this thread.

There are at least two manufacturers being mentioned.

I say everyone who had an issue forward the name and pictures to TomA and he can compile a report.

Tom, thanks for volunteering.

There are at least three manufacturers under discussion here.

I'd suggest people post close up photos of the issues with their PC's so that everyone can review them and know what to look for.

As BASE jumpers, we all need to know how our gear is put together and how to evaluate it so we can make decisions about what to use for ourselves.

There is really no need to name names, but a review of some basic areas where mistakes can be made might help, especially if there are photos to go along with it.

you can see where Im pointing in the pic the vent is 1/4" wide...
the vent to the left is 5/8" wide


keep in mind the manufacturer said they would replace it and already have a new one on the way and stated this was a mistake and shouldnt have been sent out.

Here's mine, where it failed near one of the vents. 36 ZP large mesh ~30 wing suit jumps. It's still jumpable, but I have gone to 38s for wing suit.. Offers?

_justin

Mine was sent back to MFG for new pilot chute.

This is the replacement which is better...

The pic I took(new pc) is where material was quad sewn and ZP is bunched a little..

so 1/4 is quad sewn and the rest is double....

(sorry for pic quality)

Tapes were different lengths on this one.

There is no issue with the "quad sewn" part. It is actually a good thing. It's called "overstitching" and it's done to ensure the integrity of the seam.

Also, some bunching is almost inevitable when sewing large-hole mesh to ZP. Most large-hole mesh stretches a lot more in one direction than it does the perpendicular direction and sewing it to a slippery surface like ZP is an art.

I used to make BASE pilot chutes--though no vented ones. If I get time I will take some pics of what to look for in a PC. Meanwhile, if someone already has some pics, please post 'em.

Walt

it's not quad sewn, it has two independant rows of stitching and each one has an oversew.
oversew (or backtack) is used anytime you have a free running end of the stitch row in order to preserve its integrity, as straight stitch does not lock at the end. Look at anything built with a straight stitch, at the end there's either a bartacked/zigzagged junction, or the stitch doubles up as it's backed over itself in order to lock it in.

Over sewing is the standard for ending a stitch when sewing ZP and F1-11 instead of a bartack. You will notice that as soon as the fabric is more substantial (ie. load tapes) a bartack is used.

just to bust up the thread with an actual name, I have a morpheus 42" that has about 100 jumps that now has a hole where the apex vent and ZP meet. Nothing against the company, great products, and this one has plenty of use, just looking to replace it soon.

Funny avatar pic and great quote.

As for the PC, um how many jumps

do you expect to get out of a PC?

well i noticed it before euro trippin last year, and i still have it in use... so obviously its not that bad... i do plan on having a new 42 for when i get back from this deployment.

you should check your computer