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Performance Designs has revolutionized the way skydivers attach their canopies to main and reserve risers. PD Slinks have become a mainstay of the sport parachuting industry. The canopy manufacturer gained FAA “Technical Standard Order” approval for one size of its soft links to be used on reserve parachutes. Main or Reserve Slinks are now sent out as the standard links on all PD canopies.

During testing, Slinks were shown to be stronger than #4 and #5 Stainless Steel links. Metal links can also cause damage to numerous parts of skydiving gear, including lines, slider grommets, risers, canopies and main deployment bags.

Other uses for Slinks have been found as well. Relative Workshop now uses Slinks to split its Sigma drogue bridles in half, which allows for field replacement of either end of the drogue system.

At Chutingstar, we’ve started using a PD Slink instead of the manufacturer-supplied metal link to attach the main pilot chute bridle to the main deployment bag. We’ve found metal links to quickly nick the main deployment bag grommet. The combination of the nicked grommet and metal link quickly lead to a torn bridle attachment in just a couple hundred jumps.

Using a PD Reserve Slink instead of a metal link eliminates that problem. It also reduces the chance of damage to the canopy as it is packed into the deployment bag or released during deployment. We’ve also found a reserve Slink to be the correct size on the bridle attachment to prevent any chance of the Slink being sucked through the grommet.

The photos below show the bag, bridle and metal link with one hundred jumps followed by a new bag, bridle and PD Slink setup.