How almost anyone can pack their parachute in 7 minutes 

This is what my dz packer recommended that I do, as you said it works like a charm

It is an amazing sport and community!

Interesting, I hadn't thought of the flaking influencing the amount of searching the canopy does. My first thought is that would be more strongly influenced by the order and amount the cells inflate. But after thinking about it, flaking might influence that. I will try some experiments next time too.

Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. As you know, there is a lot of advice floating around (in skydiving and in life) and you should pick and choose what makes sense to you. James.

20 jumps Sabre 3, 210, no problems. Works great.

Thank you Todd for leaving this comment. James

Thank you for the kind words Michael! James

@@packmonkeydesigns I am well into using your technique and still totally agree with you. My openings are better than ever no line twist no signs of any damage whatsoever. It has changed my Sky Diving world in so many good ways!! Also, my back and neck are so less painful from the better openings using this technique. Many at the drop zone, Come over when they see me using the pack monkey to ask questions. Some have it but never really understood how to use it. I show people your technique and they all love it. Brilliant idea. Thank you!

@@michaelwilliamsd.o.5006 Thank you Michael!

Hi Jeremy, sorry for the slow response. That is the d-bag included with the Vector 344 (semi-stowless) and a sabre2 135 canopy.

I agree, thank you for leaving a comment Steve. James

Good point Eddie, taking care that the lines don't burn the canopy is important. I have do not have any line burns on my canopy using this method, but other canopies might be different. Feel free to use and adopt any tactics from this video that you like, and disregard any tactics you don't like. This goes for both this video and any advice you hear.

@@packmonkeydesigns That makes sense. Thanks.

Thank you! Please let me know if you have any comments or feedback. But you are bang on: packing is sort of a skill, and just like anything some people find it easy and some find it tough. I also am not a natural, which is why I made the Pack Monkey. James

This is something that has been suggested and I have considered it, so good idea. However (so far) I have not figured out a way to both 1) reliably work to my manufacturer on this, since you can imagine there are plenty of ways this could be messed up: that if the magnets were placed incorrectly or weren't strong enough or too strong; and 2) magnet placement might mean that it would no longer accommodate a large range of canopy sizes. I am not saying it is not possible, just the amount of effort required vs the extra benefit might not be worth it? That is the way I am thinking about it right now.

im an old cat ,just got my A license and did a canopy course last week .5 hop n pops .if i did it you can do it. words of advice ,if there is a tunnel ( I fly ) around you invest in tunnel flying to get used to body control . blue skies bro .

did you end up going for your A?

@@packmonkeydesigns next year! as I have been putting hours into the tunnel as much as I can to be honest so to prepare as best possible 👍🏻

@@MrJkd2013 I appreciate that mate 👍🏻 happy for ya blue skies!

​@@sfb7884do you have your license yet?

Ah, I wonder if my canopy has burn holes in it? I'll take a look next time I pack. I would guess that burn holes could be mitigated with some strategic canopy shaking during the previous steps (also, holes might also be dependent on canopy design and size). Thank you for leaving the and contributing to this discussion. James.

Hi Keith. That opening you describe sounds brutal! I have never measured but I assume that canopy manufacturers are mostly aware of the tradeoffs between slider sizing: Too small and you risk frequent hard openings, too large and the opening might be too slow? There are probably other considerations too, I would be curious if anyone knows the answer.

@@packmonkeydesigns - from my log book: Jump 105: 6 pt 6 way went really well. Blew the center cell on opening. Emergency procedures were done without thinking. 4A lines, 3 B lines, 2 front right lines & 1 left front line (below the junction from the canopy) AND center cell ripped in half. (The tail did not rip but front and cell did.) It was like hitting a brick wall at 120 MPH - but only with your shoulders and hips. I bruised my sternum, with my helmet whiplash was that bad. I should have been knocked out but I wasn't. Grateful for that as it was one jump with no AAD as I was test jumping a rig and canopy I was looking to purchase. My AAD was already on order. My Raven Save story was in the Parachutist in 2000 or 2001 sometime. Investigation by one of the master riggers is where I found out that the slider was too small, the pilot chute too big, and how they play in the opening sequence. A too big of a slider can put you in a permanent snivel, I just don't know how large that has to be.

@@KeithBarrowsToday wow! that is brutal. Glad you weren't badly hurt, it could have been a lot worse. Hopefully manufacturers learned something from this too. Thanks for sharing. James.

I like your tactics. It just goes to show that there are a bunch of different ways to make the process easier and more efficient. And if you decide to buy a new canopy, pack monkey would be a good investment if you have difficulties managing the new slippery fabric. Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment! Blue Skies, James

Or perhaps two flat metal bars that you bend to a L shape with an extra U bend at one of the ends. Put the flat part behind the door and the U bend on "this side of the door", put the leg straps in the U bend and it's very easy setup. Just tape all of the metal to make sure there is no edges.

Hi Bruce, thank you fro the comment. I have not discussed it with PD, but given the packing videos they have been publishing I would guess they think flaking is important. My thoughts are flaking makes folding neater, and therefore easier to put in the bag. But you can apply more leverage using Pack Monkey in order to get it in the bag, so flaking is not as important. If you learn anything more, feel free to let me know.

@@packmonkeydesigns Thanks for replying, I appreciate it. You're probably right on target about PD's views of flaking. If they didn't see it as important, they wouldn't promote it. By the way, I have a 230 which is H-U-G-E in the D-bag. The Pack Monkey has made packing 100% easier than it was. As a proud member of the geezer class, I need all the shortcuts I can get, and the Pack Monkey is one of those. I can't match your 7-minute pack job, but I'm closer to 20 minutes which is way better than when I started -- that was more like 2 hours. Just wish the PM was a little bigger (hint, hint, hint). Thanks

It’s to prevent line burn to maintain ur canopy. Don’t listen to this guy and if u stopped flaking, check ur canopy

​@@eddieroa291that's right, you don't need to flake your canopy if you don't care about line burn :)

HI Mark, yep I still pack this way without incident. I have not been jumping much this past year (I started another business that is sucking up a lot of my spare time), but probably have about 300 jumps under my belt using this updated method. I have found that taking a quick look at the lines and canopy before laying it down has been a good idea, after I had one opening that was a bit of a whipper (and not the usual peasant, on-heading opening). I jump a sabre2 135 (still). How are you currently packing? Do you have any tricks or observations?

In BASE you don't even use a slider all the time. The slider reefs the lines which reduces the risk of a lineover malfunction, and a fast on-heading opening (even if it's hard) is preferred over a soft slow opening when you are deploying so close to the ground. Take a slider-down pack job to 4 seconds a few times, and it will redefine what you consider to be a hard opening.

@Chase Welch yes!! It is fantastic!

Very few actually (but probably not zero). I believe with good nose placement, proper slider placement relative to the nose, good body position while deploying (so the bag doesn't spin off your back), the rest doesn't matter too much. I suppose if you packed extremely asymmetrically then you could get some line twists. Have you tried any of the tips in this video, and did you get a lot of line twists? What are your concerns with this method that will cause line twists?

Yes John is correct, the packing starts at 6:07. You are skipping a little analysis on hard openings, which is background information but not required.

That makes sense. I suppose one question is: how frequently should you be checking for these things? My first thought is: if my opening was normal (not a hard one, nothing out of the ordinary) I probably do not need to check. But perhaps if the opening is snappy, or there are line twists, then might be a good time to do a more thorough inspection. Thank you for the comment.

There are a few places, depending on where you are located: USA: www.packmonkeydesigns.com GB: www.dzsports.co.uk/pack-monkey Europe: sky-shop.eu/packing-monkey www.360skypro.com/products/pack-monkey-packing-device Australian/NZ shoppers: m.facebook.com/102985348176836/

It sort of depends who you ask. After talking pretty extensively about the merits of single vs double stowing with the PD rep, I fall slightly more in the double-stow camp. The reasoning: When single stowing, there is a section of lines under the stow that are not in contact with the rubber bands, and that *might* allow for the stows to come undone prematurely (though I have not heard of this happening, perhaps there is a small chance it causes some kind of malfunction). However, PD has always double-stowed for their test jumps (they tell me), and they have never had any malfunctions due to the double-stowing. There are definitely differing opinions out there, just like a lot of things in this sport. What do you think? And, anyone else have any opinion they care to share?

it does not

Only if you use incorrect bag size or too small elastics for your lines. Otherwise - a firm NO

Thanks for the reply A K. I guess you must have skimmed the video? At ~6:55 I mention line placement, specifically the C,D, and steering lines. I agree with you about keeping line tension when laying the canopy down, in this video my rig slipped forward and I ran out of space. Though if you lay your rig down carefully (so as to not disturb the lines within the canopy), I am not sure that letting the tension off the lines matters much.

Pack Monkey Designs no, I watched the video fully. You talk about your C and D and steering but don't actually DO anything to ensure that those lines aren't over any fabric and that they have full tension to prevent fabric burn, tension knots, uneven lines, lineovers, etc. Again, even your reply has an "I'm not sure" in it just like your video says multiple times. If you're not sure, don't try to teach it. You're giving bad advice. You're encouraging speed over safety in a thinly veiled attempt to advertise your monkey tool which is usually aimed towards newer jumpers or bad packers. So now you want those same people to skip steps in their packing process that prevent line overs and tension knots? I'm not a fan. You also make false claims about sliders and how they work. They don't slow openings by preventing the canopy from catching air. The slider works by staying up, slowing the widening of the angle of the lines from your risers, until it's pushed down by the opening. Are you a rigger? An S&TA? An instructor even? You shouldn't be giving packing lessons.

Hey AK, sounds like you’ve been cooped up too long during the pandemic or maybe just douche,. “I’m not sure”? He’s just sharing the way he packs and adults can take this formation and make adult decisions. He wasn’t telling anyone to pack this way.

why do you think this is a scam?

@@packmonkeydesigns it’s unnecessary and doesn’t teach how to pack properly.

@@Cameraflyer- there are multiple ways to pack a parachute. For example psycho packing and flat packing are two others. Do you consider those improper pack jobs? Also, while Pack Monkey is not necessary, it does make packing easier for some, depending on there skill level, hand size, health (arthritis etc), and (new) canopy/d-bag combination. To me this is just a tool: much like you can cut down a tree with an axe, it is probably easier to use a chainsaw. I just don't understand why you and a few others feel such a negative emotional response to this tool that you need to come on here and call this a disgrace (as you did on my other video). Yeah, it might not be for everyone, but at least I am trying to contribute to the sport. What have you done, besides anonymously troll me on youtube?

Why would you ever need to know how to pack a reserve??