Are you buying new gear? Why not just find the cheapest price online, or go for kit that a friend recommended or that caught your eye in the latest ad? Because you'd be missing out on our years of free flight equipment experience, when you could be using it to guide and inform your choices, so you buy the best gear for you and get the best support going.
With so many paragliding wings to choose from, finding the best and right paraglider can be a real challenge, even for experienced paraglider pilots. It's all too easy to make a mistake which might end up costing you dearly. The right paraglider for one pilot is not necessarily right for another. It might even be very wrong!
In this series of articles, and accompanying videos, we demystify the paraglider selection process by consider various aspects that affect your choice. First we look at paraglider classes and compare performance. Then we investigate weight ranges and wing loading. We then analyse handling and safety. Finally, we give tips on how to make the most out of test flights.
There is a bewildering choice of paragliding harnesses available. How do you compare the market when there are so many different styles, so many features, and so many brands? We set out the fundamental principles of choosing the right harness so you can develop a clear sense of what suits your flying skills and aspirations.
Round, square, hybrid, rogallo? There are many differences between modern reserve parachutes and buying one can be a complicated decision. A reserve can seem like an unnecessary cost, something you could do without or don't need to pay much attention to. But it's a cornerstone of reducing risk, and it's really important to get the choice right.
With so many different connectors to attach your wing, reserve or speed system, it's important to choose the right one for both your particular flying and the usage. In this series of articles we'll examine connection methods, talk about their advantages and disadvantages, and help you choose the right connectors.
There is a bewildering choice of flight instrument options available to free flight pilots—even just within the range of flight instruments which Flybubble chooses to offer—each with their own features, screen design, sensors and technical capabilities. Especially with flight instruments, what’s right and best for one pilot at a particular stage in their flying progression may well not be right for another pilot, or even for the same pilot at different times or stages in their pilot progression. Let’s examine how to choose the right flight instrument option for you, at this time.
The best glider in the world is no use to you if it isn't the right size for you. We explain how to navigate the different manufacturers' weight divisions.
Our Flybubble MATCH service customers are often asking us which size of Phi VIOLA they should go for. Here's some guidance on this.
In the unlikely event there's something wrong with a new wing, it's best that we're the last stop in the professional quality control line. That's why we offer professional final product checks as part of our service when you purchase your new wing from us. Not all dealers offer these checks, which can put you at risk if you don't know what to look for.
If you've followed the whole series, you'll now have a good understanding of what you're looking for when choosing a new paraglider: which class of wing suits you, how to interpret performance claims, where you should be in the weight range, how important handling is, and what true safety means. Using those criteria you can filter out some wings and produce a shortlist.
