Do you leave the Pin flap closed for handheld jumps? Everyone around me opens it to avoid pin locks as described in www.watchthybridle.com . Some also reroute the bridle pin order to "out in the middle between the pins, going to the bottom pin and then to the top pin, put it through the loop in a smiley face way". What is your opinion about that?
Thanks for the question. We will try to shoot a video response as soon as possible. If you want to request a video to answer a specific question, you can always use the form here: snakeriverbase.com/video-request-1/
But the short answer is, unfortunately, that it depends. It depends on the specific container and the delay. If you want to reduce the chance of a bridle cover induced "pin lock" (where the pin cams into the cover flap, usually at the tape), on a wrap around style container (Perigee Pro, DP, Zak, etc) I'd recommend opening the pin cover flap (and locking it back if you have a Perigee Pro). Opening the flap on a cross over container (Summit, TL, Gargoyle, Helium) doesn't seem to matter as much to that sort of issue, but there's no harm in doing it either. Bottom line, if you want to give yourself the best possible odds (and it may be overkill), leave the pin cover flap open (and locked back out of the way if your rig allows like the Summit or Perigee Pro) for all slider down jumps. Personally, I (Tom) think that's overkill for a stowed jump (or a handheld delay over about a second), and I only open my flap on handheld stuff, but I realize that there are manufacturers who wouldn't approve of that (and prefer flap open for all slider down). If you do leave the flap open, be careful when you're climbing onto the exit point if you're jumping some kind of structure (like an antenna). I've seen people dislodge a pin on climb over at the bridge, and also while wiggling through the steel of an antenna.
Regarding changing the order of the pins so the bridle comes out the top on handheld jumps, I will always do that if I know I'm going handheld when I pack. I usually don't bother (just re-route the bridle and tuck it up top) if I decide I'm going handheld after my rig is already closed and routed for stowed.
Do you leave the Pin flap closed for handheld jumps? Everyone around me opens it to avoid pin locks as described in www.watchthybridle.com . Some also reroute the bridle pin order to "out in the middle between the pins, going to the bottom pin and then to the top pin, put it through the loop in a smiley face way". What is your opinion about that?
Thanks for the question. We will try to shoot a video response as soon as possible. If you want to request a video to answer a specific question, you can always use the form here: snakeriverbase.com/video-request-1/
But the short answer is, unfortunately, that it depends. It depends on the specific container and the delay. If you want to reduce the chance of a bridle cover induced "pin lock" (where the pin cams into the cover flap, usually at the tape), on a wrap around style container (Perigee Pro, DP, Zak, etc) I'd recommend opening the pin cover flap (and locking it back if you have a Perigee Pro).
Opening the flap on a cross over container (Summit, TL, Gargoyle, Helium) doesn't seem to matter as much to that sort of issue, but there's no harm in doing it either.
Bottom line, if you want to give yourself the best possible odds (and it may be overkill), leave the pin cover flap open (and locked back out of the way if your rig allows like the Summit or Perigee Pro) for all slider down jumps. Personally, I (Tom) think that's overkill for a stowed jump (or a handheld delay over about a second), and I only open my flap on handheld stuff, but I realize that there are manufacturers who wouldn't approve of that (and prefer flap open for all slider down).
If you do leave the flap open, be careful when you're climbing onto the exit point if you're jumping some kind of structure (like an antenna). I've seen people dislodge a pin on climb over at the bridge, and also while wiggling through the steel of an antenna.
Regarding changing the order of the pins so the bridle comes out the top on handheld jumps, I will always do that if I know I'm going handheld when I pack. I usually don't bother (just re-route the bridle and tuck it up top) if I decide I'm going handheld after my rig is already closed and routed for stowed.
Thanks for your response! Appreciate it.