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Hi everybody,

I would like to hear your opinions on using mini 3-rings on slider down/off jumps.

Cheers

300 plus slider down jumps on a pair of Morpheus mini 3 ring base risers ,still using them - no issues

Thank you very much for the info.

I always get large rings on my harnesses and small rings on my risers, so that they will be compatible with everything else in the world.

The only disadvantages to the small rings are 1) harder cutaway force in a high G malfunction (which probably won't matter) and 2) you can't swap risers out with large ring riser (which has annoyed me several times).

Thanks!

Mini 3-Rings work, but manufacturing tolerances are really tight, too tight to "eyeball."
But the better manufacturers have had 30 years to learn the finer points, so only buy your risers from the better-known manufacturers.

Hi,

I'm considering Morpheus Technologies. AFAIK they're following the exact Relative Workshop specifications. Thanks for the heads up.

Cheers

What's the potential issue with poor tolerance? Hard cutaway? Or failure?

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All of the above.
But, most problems can be avoided if mini-risers are manufactured in accordance with the dimensions published by 3-Ring Inc.

I asked Kathy from Morpheus about small rings when I was buying a used rig. I was concerend because my exit weight is about 115kg (250 lbs). She said that the risers will fail before the rings will.
I since made a lot od SD and hard-opening-SU jumps and no problems.

The only thing about the rings is that I like to get reverse rings so the loop doesn't wear when stowing the lines and dragging the rig on a hard surface.(but usually I put the container in stash bag anyway)

Are you talking about mini rings? Or mini risers? I have never seen anyone using mini risers (type-17) in BASE.

It comes down to the ring sizes. Risers with mini rings (regardless of whether the risers are Ty17 or Ty8) have to be made to significantly tighter tolerances than large-ring risers in order to meet the same performance standards.

The most likely failure scenarios of incorrectly made mini-ring risers are excessive cutaway force, which doesn't matter so much in BASE, or premature release, which certainly does. 3-ring risers work because the geometry of the rings significantly reduces the force that the white loop feels when the riser is loaded. The locking loop is made of Type IIA, which is rated for 225 lbs. The loop is attached to the riser by hot glue, a bartack, and a couple stitches of the confluence wrap sewing. If the geometry of the rings is incorrect, too much force can be transmitted to the loop and the loop may be damaged and eventually fail.

It is a testament to the robustness of the 3-ring design that even mini-ring risers that are made out of spec tend to work "well enough." Crappy risers are all over the place in the skydiving world and we don't hear about failures all that often (take a copy of the spec and a ruler to the dropzone if you don't believe me).

You can buy the 3-ring construction manual for UPT for $10, or you might be able to find a copy here: http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/cms/files/file/1819-3-ring-construction-manualpdf/

Firstly there is more variables than just ring size. And secondly you failed to clarify whether or not he was referring to type 8 risers with mini rings or actual mini risers as he stated.