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I've looked through alot of the old posts and couldn't find much on the Ultra Lite canopies out there... I'm looking for anybody's input who has experience with them... I've been away from the sport for a few years and I'm looking at getting new gear. I'm tall and weigh 220-230... To get a decent wing load I'll need a canopy in the 315 sq ft range and was curious if the low pack volume and weight of an ultra lite will off set the size of the canopy vs a f-111 canopy. Most of my jumping is 350'-500' slider down, is an ultra lite going to withstand that kind of repeated opening force? And what would pros and cons of either fabric be in a 315 sq ft canopy?
Thanks!!

I think the ultra light fabric is holding up just as well as the standard F-111.

The only real longevity difference is going to be in the lines, because most of the ultra light canopies have thinner lines.

The trade off is basically that the ultra light costs more but weighs a bit less and has less bulk. If you go for your 310 sized canopy in ultra light, you will save yourself about 4 pounds. Whether that's worth it to you depends on how much money you have to spend, but for most people who aren't flying wingsuits or doing long hikes (and with your 300-500 foot range I'd guess you're not) it probably makes more sense to go with standard F-111 and thicker lines.

I know a handful of guys that have put over 500 jumps on them and they are still good to go. I have approximately 200 on a Flik UL 266 vented. It still flies great. I have done pretty much everything with it and most of those jumps are slider off and in the desert. The lines are showing normal wear and I will be replacing them in the next few weeks.

If you go UL, the fabric is tough. When first going with UL, I was more concerned about the abrasion resistance. So far, in all the crappy places I have landed, this has not been an issue at all.

If you are concerned about the lines, then ask for heavier lines. I haven't heard of any issues with them since Asylum and Apex reinforced the center As and Bs but I personally think it is a good idea to go beefier- The lines will weaken over time with use and abuse and a heavier lineset will last longer (even if it does add a little bulk).

Good info Matt.

+1

Can back up Matt´s story! I have similar set. TLs with 266 UL FliK.So far 234 Jumps which 45 of them SD. Looks and works fine. Not the biggest fan of cascaded lines but at least the center As and Bs are 550. And of course as Matt said you can always ask either continuos lines or bit bigger!

Are you sure?

I thought the factory lineset for the Flik UL had 400 pound B, with 525 A, C and D lines?

Could be right!! Just throw them by memory
But they are (should be) on the Apex bulletin after last summer incidents