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The PD Slink bumpers keep the tab hidden in the risers, keeps the slider at the top of the risers after deployment and focuses wear on the bumper instead of the riser.

Read more: Installing Slinks with Bumpers

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To install PD Slinks without the bumpers so you can bring the slider down to the base of the risers you will want to tack the tab inside the riser.

Read more: Installing Slinks without Bumpers

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PD Slinks come in Reserve Canopy and Main Canopy versions.

Read more: PD Slinks: Wear and Uses

I've had some riggers tell me that they don't usually replace the reserve closing loop during each inspection/repack because a new loop stretches and affects the finished look of the rig. Apparently some riggers feel it's the fault of a "stretching" new loop that the reserve pilot chute isn't completely seated or compressed like the prior pack job.

Read more: Nailing the Reserve Loop Length

Jumpshack's Racer container elicits many comments from riggers due to how different it is from most other rigs on the market. At the very least, a Racer container takes a little more thought and preparation; and that is where a new DVD packing manual released by Jump Shack steps in to save the day.

Read more: Racer DVD Packing Manual

At the 2007 PIA Symposium in Reno, I gave a seminar on packing/closing tips for the Mirage reserve container. It had been two years since the last seminar I gave on the subject and updated some of my tips and techniques.

I've added a link at the end of this summary of the presentation so the entire text and photo presentation of the seminar can be downloaded for reference. Keep in mind these tips and techniques are only meant to supplement the Mirage owner's manual. I have found these techniques to lead to a cleaner, consistently better-looking Mirage reserve container.

Read more: Updated Mirage Packing Tips

Over the past few months I've surfed across a few great rigging resource sites that I think need a little more publicity due to their value to the rigging community. Make sure you take some time to browse the following three sites.

Read more: Online Resources for Riggers

(Published in the November 2007 issue of Skydiving Magazine.)

Learning how to patch torn canopies was a trial and error process for me when I first got into parachute rigging. I had to sew a so-called "basic patch" in rigging school on a damaged piece of fabric, but that in no way prepared me for working on real damaged parachutes when I bought my first sewing machine.

I would probably be embarrassed if I ever came across my first 20-30 patches. Opening a drop zone loft meant I got enough practice and work that I just eventually became proficient at patching damaged canopies. But it took me about a year, 30-plus patches, and several visits to other riggers for lessons, tips and tricks to get to that point.

Read more: Canopy Patching Simplified

I recently had a swooper in Michigan come to me trying to find a "better set of main riser toggles" that would have a reduced chance of coming unstowed during canopy deployment. His complaint with all the main riser toggles in the U.S. is that they are susceptible to coming unstowed with a slider grommet hit on opening or during stowage of the slider below the toggles.

Read more: Russian Toggle System Secure

Washing your harness/container every few years can keep your investment looking brand new. You'll be surprised how clean and bright a used container can get with a thorough washing. Below are tips and a step-by-step "how to" guide for washing your harness/container. These tips have been taken from several manufacturers, riggers and my own experience of washing a few hundred rigs over the past 10 years.

Read more: Harness/Container Washing Tips