Re: [andy2] reinflation after object strike
Disclaimer: I think that secondary strike is probably the biggest issue after an object strike. So, if you're not thinking about avoiding it, you really ought to be.
Vents or Valves? In theory, I guess vents might be marginally better. In practice, I'd guess there is no difference.
The only good video I have available for study is of a vented (no valves) canopy, and from that all I can conclude is that the secondary inlets are a marvelous tool for promoting reinflation after object strike (the video shows an unconscious jumper nosing down about 600' of cliff, with the canopy remaining inflated the whole way, despite the nose being completely trapped--hence closed off--against the wall).
Reinflation Techniques: Really, there aren't many. If you have collapsed end cells, pumping the toggles ought to help. But truthfully, if you've just had an object strike, you're most likely to be thinking about steering whatever you have around to point at a semi-landable area. If the canopy is reinflating (likely) you'll have something to work with. If it's not, grab whatever you can and hang on--you're better off clinging to those branches than falling the 60 feet to the ground with no canopy.
Here's the best reinflation story I've ever heard (as told by Nick on
BLiNC).
In reply to:
...John laying flat on his back on a nice carpet in a corner office after crashing through a window twenty stories up. He said, as the canopy caught wind and dragged him back out the window, "There's this guy's wife and family in this picture on the desk and I wonder how different my own life may have turned out if I'd made some different choices. And that disturbing thought ran through my mind as I repeatedly hit the building on the way down."
