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Hello, I'm one step closer since my last thread asking about freepacking BASE canopies (thanks for the help then and here I am with more questions now ).

Warning: I am mentioning skydiving in this post (haha) - but I have come here because you know the most about BASE canopies and this is what the thread is about (I just havent made the transition from skydiving to base jumping yet).

how many jumps can a base canopy have and still perform well (with decent flare, glide, etc)? I am interested soon in changing canopies in my skydiving rig since I have recently started wingsuit skydiving (and I do not think my elliptical is very appropriate for that anymore). I think a base canopy will work well since I want to eventually get back to base jumping (one day) and I wouldnt mind the practice on a low aspect 7 cell AND they are very stable meant to open quick/cleanly (unlike my elliptical that takes 800-1000 feet and comes with some offheading issues that need rear riser and harness input before full inflation to keep flying straight). Also I could use a little more altitude during the wingsuit skydive for flight (I pull now while wingsuiting at 4.5k with my cobalt loaded at 1.4 - I dont feel comfortable pulling lower than that and dealing with a spinning malfunction that maybe will come with this canopy one of these WS jumps).

So, if I am looking at used BASE canopies, how many jumps should I limit the canopy to before it becomes unusable in a skydiving environment (I am OK with buying a newer canopy one of these days if/when I do another base jump)? I will weigh 165 with gear and I was thinking about 205-225 sq ft canopy. Can I jump a (for instance) Troll 205 for 250 jumps if it already has 250 jumps on it (so put 500 total on it)??? Will I notice much degradation in the canopy's performance/flare???

Are there people with experience jumping BASE canopies for a long time and do they work well for awhile before the fabric begins to lose porosity???

Also, freepacking question: I jump a mirage MT container and I have fit a sabre2 150 in the d-bag and into the container pretty easily. Would I be able to FREEPACK a 205-225 sq ft canopy into this container (if I lengthen the closing loop) and safely take it to terminal?

thanks for listening!

I own a Troll 265 which has about 850-900 (BASE) jumps and I still use it for BASE. For sure the flare is not the same than in a brand spanking new Troll but it still opens nicely, flies ok and lands decently as well. I do not use it for technical landing areas but for grassy fields it´s totally fine. So to answer your second question, the Troll with 250 jumps is perfectly fine for another 250 and most likely even at 500 jumps you will not notice a dramatic decrease on the flare.

As long as you have a reserve and a great PLF you should be ok with just about anything.

In general, the expected service lifetime of a BASE canopy is around 500 jumps.

For skydiving canopy practice, I think you can get something substantially older than that (and therefore very inexpensive) and it will work fine. Just be careful landing and prepare to PLF.

I have a BASE canopy with around 1500 jumps that is still in service, but I'd be very careful about inspection and maintenance for something that old.

Are you seriously asking if you can fit a 200+ sqf in a 120 sqf rig?
Ultralight might work, but a standard 200+ sqf, would be very intressting to see.
Just the tailpocket with the lines would probably take up half the containerspace.

I've had canopies wear out at 250 jumps due to harsh use, even without many water jumps.

by wear out what do you mean? The flare gets too weak?

After talking more about this and based on the comments in this thread, I think I will be going with an old sabre 1 with a pocket slider for wingsuiting and camera flying. And then right before I start base jumping I will get a newer base canopy and hop/pop it and practice accuracy for a few jumps. I dont think a base canopy would make a very good everyday working skydiving canopy now that I think more about it.

FYI i currently have a Raven II (218ft) with tailpocket packed into my sport rig which is a Micron V316 (120/120).

not pretty, but it closes fine with a slightly longer closing loop.

Terrible flare and notably increased permeability. A lot of this had to do where I lived at the time. I had to pack on a terribly rough concrete sidewalk. I didn't have the space to even keep a tarp or other things for use. It was after like 100 jumps on my canopy packing this way did I realize that I was damaging the canopy's durability by packing on essentially sandpaper made of concrete.

Impressive.
But that is without the extra reinforcements that normal BASE canopies have?
Spectra lines?
And no vents I assume?

of course. it's a raven.

just wanted to point out that a seven cell F-111 canopy is considerably less bulky than a ZP 9 cell that is most common in skydiving. so, sometimes you'll be surprised what will fit where.

 I think that each canopy must be evaluated individually for how many jumps it may have left in it.
Alot has to do with how it is cared for as has been lightly touched on here.
When purchasing a used canopy you probably evaluate the previous owner as well, are they a procrastinator, do they leave stuff laying around, try to figure how they generally treat stuff if you can.
Some people take exellent care of their stuff, others could give a rats ass how its treated.
Leave it in the sun and go have a beer or two!

One thing to consider is the wing loading.
Obviously more important for SKY wings
than BASE wings, but still a variable that
affects the over-all life span of a canopy.

I know.
My FLiK 266 packs slightly larger than my Lightning 160.
And that is with vents, dacron and all that.

and i can't help but smile at a lightning... one of my favorite canopies. built like a brick shithouse!

And the first few jumps, it lands like a brick shithouse too

haha, they are not for the faint of heart!

A friend of mine got introduced to CRW a few weeks ago.
I told him to flare high and fast.
It wasn't high or fast enough

Almost painful to watch
He came down at almost full speed.
I feelt real sorry for the lawn, having a ~220 lbs guy smashing the poor grass like that

Luckily the lawn was OK, the guy took most of the impact

Was his canopy a Lightning?

Yes

can't wait to put my 305 OSP to my 150 Wings container...

Another lightning strike....

That's understandable if you jump canpies like you drive cars.

Walt

Thanks for the acknowledgment. It's to believe that my tires got filled with mud, rocks, and water from offroading (an Impala). There was generally at least 8 inches of mud (height) from the front of the engine to the radiator. That car was like something from the movie Christine. That and the other car I had that I hit a cow in going 55 mph. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ5M11m9vI0