PREFACE - Many years ago I wrote the following post on a BASE forum called BLinc Magazine and today my opinions on this topic remain the same:
"Because it takes time and training to gain the proper skill to be using toggles as Plan A, I am not recommending toggles over risers or visa versa. Even though I am a toggle guy, I still think using risers is a suitable method of dealing with an off-heading opening. I don't really go for the whole Toggles VS Risers debate. Thats why I called my article Risers or Toggles. It is what it is.
I am pro-toggles and pro-risers.....get the job done!!!
Having said that, I do have a personal preference, which I have expressed clearly with reasons and cautions."
Risers
or Toggles
by Johnny Utah
The
subject of how best to correct an off-heading opening comes down to a personal
choice. Regardless of whether you
use the risers or toggles, you can have an object strike resulting in serious
injury or death. That is the
reality of BASE jumping. I make no
recommendation with this article.
Its intention is only to inform you about my thoughts on this subject. Most of my thoughts contained in this
article were derived from a personal desire to develop and use the most
effective techniques to help me survive BASE jumping. Any and all techniques, methods, styles, knowledge, etc. you
use during a BASE jump, you do so at your own risk. This applies whether you made up that technique yourself or
learned it from someone else.
I am
a toggle guy. Being so has
probably been the critical factor in me being able to prevent my death or
serious injury at least 5 times that I can think of while writing this. Even so, I am in no way trying to
persuade anyone to start making toggles their plan A instead of risers. I have always taught that it is
completely a personal choice and if a jumper chooses to only use the risers in
these situations for their entire BASE career, that is fine; I would never
criticize that. I tell people the
full picture. That way they at
least know the real pros and cons of the options they have in front of them.
Everyone
will agree that the most important thing to avoid an object strike is that
corrective action must happen immediately upon opening (to me that means within
1 second).
In
order to be using the toggles safely as your plan A, two conditions MUST be
met.
Once
a jumper has met the two conditions I mentioned above, then they can consider
making toggles their plan A. It is
a completely personal choice. You
must be dialed-in and skillful. My
plan A on every jump is my toggles, my plan B is my risers, and my plan C is
any line(s) (preferably a rear outside line; the steering line would be ideal).
Here
are some main points that I believe in on the subject of using risers or
toggles as your Plan A for a heading correction.
I
teach students to start out making their plan A using the risers. This is for
two reasons:
I
also teach my students that at some point in their BASE jumping career, they
may want to consider developing a skill that I call a For-Sure-Toggle-Grab. I realize this is a term most BASE
jumpers are not familiar with. It
is just something I made up many years ago while teaching BASE to act as a
descriptive label for one of the requirements necessary to use toggles upon
opening.
A For-Sure-Toggle-Grab
requires skill and proper technique, which takes practice to develop. The term means that through practice
and time, a jumper has developed the skill to instantly have their hands in the
toggles for sure every time using muscle memory (without having to look). If a jumper has developed this skill
well, they can have the toggles released just as fast or faster than it would
take to grab the risers.
Once
a jumper has developed this skill they may want to consider making their plan A
going for the toggles, whereby their plan B will then become going for the
risers. It is completely and
totally a personal choice.
The
reason I tell people about developing a For-Sure-Toggle-Grab is because the
advantages of using the toggles are HUGE.
Anything you can do with the risers, you can do WAY better with the
toggles. But you must have the
skill to be in your toggles every time without fail. Many BASE jumpers will always make their plan A going for
the risers and I do not criticize that at all. I totally understand.
What is most important is that something has to happen immediately. You cannot be fumbling around trying to
get your toggles.
On
jumps using the LRM (line release mod), a basic canopy flight skill that is
important and needed, is knowing how to turn and flare the canopy effectively
with the toggles while using the LRM.
This basic skill will also apply while using the toggles for a deployment
heading correction on a (slider down) jump while using the LRM.
Once
in awhile the risers might be moving all over the place like with a violent
off-heading and you might miss a toggle (keep in mind you can easily miss a
riser like this too). Then
immediately resort to plan B; look and grab the risers, they are easier to
grope.
I
think it is smart to stick with the same plan A on every jump. It keeps you on your game. If you are practicing new techniques
then choose an object without the danger of an object strike. Because new BASE jumpers have not yet
developed a For-Sure-Toggle-Grab, using the toggles on a jump where an object
strike is possible is not an appropriate option, but of course it is always the
jumpers call.
I
have studied the video of Slims wall strike and I talked to him personally
about it. First, his arm motion
and technique were different than what I find to be most effective. I like to do fluid continuous motion where
my arms go out just a little bit while reaching up and then I insert my hands
into the toggles going from the outside moving inward with my 4 fingers
together, thumbs up, and palms facing me.
As my hands enter the toggles they will catch on the webbing between my
thumb and forefinger and I simultaneously take a grip. I then continue the motion inward and
down. Second, the main problem
that occurred for Slim is that he did not have his toggles properly
prepared. You can see it clearly
in the video; his toggles were laying flat against the risers.
The
toggles must be open to perform a For-Sure-Toggle-Grab again and again without
fail. There are two ways to set up
the toggles. (I prefer #1-the
reverse fold method.)
One
more important element of proper toggle set-up is to have the toggle settings
dialed-in. This includes at least these 2 things:
One
of the most common misconceptions about the subject of deployment heading
correction is the belief that using the toggles will cause the canopy to surge
forward. That is not true. The only way the canopy will have any
additional surge upon and after the brake settings being released, is if the
pilot allows the toggles back up or keeps the toggles up after releasing the brake settings.
The canopy pilot is in control of that. If you wish to stop the canopy, keep pulling the toggles
down quickly during and after the brake settings are released. The canopy will hover, then stall, and
then fly backwards. If the pilot
does allow the canopy to surge forward unintentionally, then that jumper is
going for a ride instead of flying the canopy; and that is the problem, not
because he/she used the toggles.
I
have an immense amount of flying backwards time under my belt and in my opinion
a 7-cell canopy flies backwards very nicely with the toggles. I used that technique on my very first
BASE jump...saved my life. That
was on a 1,000 foot antenna and now days I do not use that technique ever really
because I have learned how to turn the canopy on a dime with the toggles; so
that is what I always do in a tight spot.
Keep
in mind, when you are flying backwards, you are in a complete and accelerated stall. That is why I think flying backwards to
get out of a tight spot on a low object is a risky endeavor. If it came down to having to ride the
ball to the ground, I would MUCH rather do that with toggles than with risers.
Here
are four relevant experiences:
A
few final thoughts:
Video References (at johnnyutah.com)
Toggle Heading Correction During Opening
Toggle Training
Air-to-Air Video - Toggle Heading Correction
Dwain Weston's POV video of the jump talked about in relevant experiences #3 above
*** Zakynthos Backflip ***
Cliff Backflip (slider-down). Upon opening facing the wall, only toggles were used to back away and turn away from the wall with little altittude loss.
Because there are so many
aspects to this subject, any duplication is only permitted in whole.
Version 1.5