So for those who are paying attention, yes, this is my second review on the Infinity containter – but this time, I’m a little wiser, so I’d like to share a few aspects of this brand that keep me coming back for more.
Earlier this season I was talking to a fellow jumper who was looking to buy her own gear. She, like me, was on the smaller side, looking for a rig that not only fits her, but held a moderate size canopy. Most of the used small rigs out there hold 120s and below – not ideal for the recent A-licensed skydiver.
Of course, I wasn’t planning to sell off my gear so quickly, but when I saw a jumper in need, I took the opportunity to not only help her out, but to go down the path of ordering brand new custom gear myself. When it came to a container, naturally, I went with Infinity again.
(Brand new out of the box!)
The container has since been packed with a brand new PDR 126 and I’m currently sporting a green and white Triathlon 135 until my custom Sabre 2 -120 arrives.
(Packing up! *Photo by Steve Mead)
Here’s what I LOVE about this container:
1) Integrated secondary riser cover. Not only does this keep everything in place, whether you’re freeflying or belly flying, but it looks slick. It’s all one seamless piece.
(*Photo by VSE)
2) Bridle cover within the bottom flap. My old Infinity didn’t have this feature, and I have to say, for freeflying it’s the only way to go. I have no doubt that my bridle is secure when I’m out there on my feet and (attempting to make it) on my head.
(*Photo by VSE)
3) The people! I’m a big believer in customer service can make or break a company. Between Kelly, Tony and Gail, I was given the most incredible customer service ever – even when I was a total pain and asking Tony to send me pictures of fabric colors. Gail even went so far as to send me a picture of my rig before she shipped it off because she knew how excited I was. It’s little things like that that go a long, LONG way in my book. Love these guys!
4) Speaking of colors – the color options they have available are some of the best I’ve seen. I love that they have a charcoal option aside from the lighter silver. And I can’t say enough about the neon blue. Oh come on, you know color matters in this sport – don’t fool yourself, it’d matter to you too!
(All dressed in my Freak N Suit and Infinity…two of my favorite skydiving brands! *Photo by Steve Mead)
5) Sizing. It fits perfectly! Beyond perfectly. Since it was made for my measurements, it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever put on my back. And as I’m flailing in the sky, I don’t even realize it’s there. This new one is so little and compact too!
6) All the little features like stainless hardware, articulated harness, completely freefly friendly…even the angled tuck tab for easy pin checks.
Needless to say, I’m a huge Infinity fan. Those crazy kids over at Velocity Sports Equipment really know what they’re doing! They got me hooked – I’ll forever be an Infinity users. Thanks guys, for an incredible product with impeccable service!
Blue skies!
Ashley
That’s a good review of VSE containers – but what others brands have you look at in detail ? I find many reviews quite myopic – surely Javelin/Vector/VooDoo/Icon/Wings/etc are liked by enough people as well ?
Please learn to spell the parts of your rig correctly;
Bridle (not Bridal)
Flare (not Flair)
Decent article, but you suggest that the colors are more important than the “little things” like hardware. Colors won’t save your life; hardware will.
More info on the hardware, type of hardware, assembly, how the rigger liked it for packing the reserve…all more important than color.
That said, Kelly runs a top-notch shop. I have a couple of their rigs used for student rigs.
Hey Dave – thanks for the comment. My spell checker must have thought I was writing a wedding story and changed bridle on me…thanks for the heads up. That’s fixed. As for Flair – not sure where you’re looking.
Anyhow, I’m not suggesting that the order of the things I put in this post are in “order of importance.” Maybe I should have made that clear. I am just suggesting that these are a few of the things that stood out to me in ordering my gear. If it were in order of importance, I would have put customer service up much higher. Between Tony, Gail and Kelly I was able to get everything I needed, they worked with me to clarify my needs and get the best rig for me.
I certainly do not claim to be an expert here, so please don’t take this review as such – just an opinion from a fellow jumper. And to answer your question – my rigger was one of the people who swayed me to stay with Infinity for the purpose of ease of packing.
Joe – certainly I am not saying that any of these other brands are insufficient, I’m just stating that my preference is Infinity.
I have demo jumped a number of the other brands, some for longer periods of time including Javelin, Racer, Wings and Icon – all of which had their pros and cons. In my experience, Infinity containers fit the best and are the most comfortable. This post wasn’t meant for comparison, because I’m sure each person has their opinions, and I’m just here to share mine. I’ve heard great things about a number of other containers. Hopefully there are people out there sharing their opinions as well
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Great review – thanks! Looks like your reserve is too small for that container! You’ve got too much slack in your closing flaps.
Thanks Billy, glad you found it helpful. I think the rig looks like that in this photo because of a sloppy pack job on my part :-/. Normally those flaps looks nice and smooth like they should! But I’ll be sure to have my rigger take a look at it, just in case!
Skydivers are a hard bunch Ashley! They can never just say thanks ;P
ah yes, Billy.
More than anything, we’ve all got our own opinions about everything, I’m just here to share mine – especially when they are positive! Thanks.
Great review, Ashley! I’m super stoked to get my Mirage (t-minus five weeks, I believe) and I fully intend on doing a review like this when I do!
For comparison’s sake, I don’t have a lot to offer, as I’ve only been jumping the Mirage RTS rigs that we have for students at CSC – but I’m definitely interested in letting my audience know how I like my new rig, and how everything feels/works/looks, etc.
I’ve never jumped an infinity before – so this was particularly interesting to me!
Keep up the good work – and blue skies!
Sydney
The reserve is NOT too small.
She doesn’t have the secondary riser covers tucked in tightly. A clean pack job on an Infinity takes practice.
Your rig looks great Ashley. Have fun!
Sydney, you will not be disappointed with your new Mirage….right now it’s the Rolls Royce of Rigs along with the Javelin. I have over 500 jumps in the sport with a couple hundred jumps on each of those two rigs.
Infinity is also a nice rig for sure…more of the “peppy” yet economical beater choice and much better than Wings in terms of customer service based on what I’m hearing from owners of Infinity rigs.
You’ll find the mirage to be a very comfortable rig as well. Just my two cents.
And I also want to thank you for this great review Ashley! See Billy, we do say thanks!
@Greg: My bad. You are right though – it is a nice rig!
@Sydney, I too at one point used those RTS’s, and while they are one of the top student rigs, the moment I put my Infinity on was great. Your new harness built for you will be stellar.
Pic – http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3662/rigback.jpg
I’ll have this for a while but when it comes time for a new container I plan on checking out a vector 3 micron, mirage, infinity again
Greg, SkyGuy, Billy – you guys are awesome! Thank YOU for visiting. Hope to see y’all around these parts in the future
Folks, I think the main point here is that Ashley is telling you all about her adventures and lessons in the sport, ergo, her posts are based on personal experience.
I’m a newby and read Ashley’s exploits as info to absorb…..
I’m sure anyone leaping out of a servicable, pressurised metal tube, considers hardware and safety factors their primary concern and would be a moron to think otherwise! So the aesthetic value of the kit you’re going to live with for some time, becomes important to you…..
Ashley, cracking review written in a nice light hearted way that I enjoyed reading. The folks such as Skyguy, Greg and Billy are cool to hear from too, so kudos for getting them in the loop. You keep publishing and I’m sure i’ll keep reading.
Ciao for now bambino!
Neil – thanks for the support! Hope to see more of you around these parts. Don’t be a stranger!