Sabre2

Name: Sabre2
Brand: performance designs
Rating: 4.6 (83 reviews)

CNDHopper · November 28, 2019

I think the Sabre 2 is a great canopy made by Performance Designs. I have owned a 190, 170, 150 and 135 throughout my skydiving progression. Here is a breakdown of my experience with those wings, exit weight around 200lb.

Openings: Usually what the Sabre2 takes the most flak for, inconsistent headings on opening. Overall my experience is really good, most jumps are smooth and on heading, some have a small 90 turn and the random one a bit more. I would say the most consistent thing about this canopy opening is the closed-end cells. Anytime I had a 'bad' opening I would blame it on my body position or not coming out of the track enough, still totally acceptable openings though. Never had a line twist with this wing at any size.

Control Inputs: Risers are a great tool for controlling the canopy, I found all the pressures to be acceptable and I can maneuver the canopy easily without having to use toggles. Fronts are great to get that dive started before a landing and rears feel powerful, though I don't have much to compare too (Mainly a Crossfire 1). Flare is sensational, practice stalls up top and it seems like you can pull the toggles down forever before it stalls. When coming in to land I never have any problem using my toggles to convert all my forward speed to lift.

Harness: I have never really been impressed by the harness inputs on this wing. The crossfire I jumped for a while, was at less wingloading, but had way more control using the harness. I can definitely finish my 90 swoops with harness after some front riser input but I really have to lean to get some output.

Overall, it's a great wing to learn on. I have about 600 jumps across different square footages and wingloadings and have loved every second under this canopy. I would call this wing the jack of all trades and master of none, there is a probably a canopy that does a specific thing better than this one but this is one where you could flare out your big WS, chuck your PC, then ride down and do a 270 and drag pond

Kazzim · May 30, 2018

Started jumping this Sabre 2 after AFF-training and it flies and handles very well with a powerful flare.
I had some off heading openings from time to time. Some of body position and sometimes because of the end cells not inflating.
When I bought it the lines was Microlines that had around 400 jumps on them. They looked very nice but was out of trim. I only jumped 70 on those lines until I set it for a reline to HMA. With some new it felt a bit snappier and less prone to of heading openings. Did another 70 before I switched canopy.

Overall a great first canopy if you like to have something sportier.

Jim007 · March 22, 2016

My first canopy after using rental kit. 140 jumps. After getting used to the long range required for full toggle input I realised how responsive and fun this canopy is. Great landings. Powerful flare. Can stay up a long time in full brakes. Often criticised for off heading openings but after investing the time to work out why I found out that this was all down (in my case) to poor body position upon opening. Since correcting this I now open on heading without an issue. My next canopy will be another Sabre2 (but a little smaller). Current WL 1.1 on the 190.

bjbkkb · October 17, 2015

I have about 100 jumps on this canopy now. I found the openings to be interesting. It seemed that it was always searching for its heading and the end cells were late to inflate. I started Psycho packing it and rolling the 1-4 and 6-9 cells away from the center cell and that has resulted in on heading openings. You really have to pay attention to the slider when you are packing. If it doesn't stay fully in the pack job you will know it with a rather abrupt opening. Very responsive on front and rear risers. I do a carving 90 into final carrying a lot of speed into the flare and the flare power is impressive. All in all this is a great canopy. I am loading this at 1.1 : 1.

May 27, 2015

So I started with a Sabre 1 170 after I got my licence and after one of those well known killer openings and cutaway because of a line ripped apart, I decided to go for a brand new sabre2 150.

I have around 100 jumps on it now and i really like this canopy.
There are 2 minor downsides, even with some jumps on it, it feels like i have a brand new one with every packjob. I´m not a super experienced packer, but i packet a lot of chutes and this one is really hardmode for me.

Even people with 1000 packjobs + are having a hard time to put it in. Everyone on my dz says, that sabre 2 take forever do get a bit rougher, but on the other hands it´s a good thing, the material will live very long (I hope).

I had to learn a new pack technique for this chute, because i wasn´t able to get it in with normal "pro packing" I get really jealous when i see others with a pilot which is close to packing a comfy blanket

The other minor downside are the openings, they are pretty consistent and smooth, but never on heading. There is always a 90-180° spin to the right whatever you do.

Nothing that worries me too much, in general I really like the openings, only had one rough one in 100 jumps and I'm pretty sure it was my packing, not the chute :)

With 170 jumps in total I am not very experienced so I'm just starting to add a little bit of speed in the landings and I'm really enjoying it.
I noticed, that I have much more control over the chute while landing with higher speeds.
I only put some pressure on the front (no spin) and release them approx. 5m over the ground and land it on toggles.
It is super fun and I "swoop" for like 10m.

I know it´s not much but as a beginner it really feels like a 50m swoop :D
The Chute is super forgiving, never had a dangerous situation so far.
You can fly slow and safe if you want to, but even with the size of 150 and 1.4 wl you can go for good speed and kinda aggressive.

I´ve seen people go 50m+ with a sabre 2, so i think i will fly this one for a long time and even after this i would consider to buy the same in 135.
I think this canopy is good for beginners and even very experienced jumpers can have fun with it.
For me it´s the perfect all-rounder and I'm glad I went for this one :)

Grayson68 · September 23, 2014

I am a new jumper, (58 jumps) and I have jumped many different student canopies, along with a pilot 188 and a triathlon (about 190).

I just started jumping my Sabre II last weekend. After two jumps I got a very different landing experience. First, I landed in about 8 kts of wind, it got very good penetration and did not have an elevator effect. It felt just like a landing on my pilot. It was a little twitchy with my input during my flare, but the tapering is likely the cause. It landed great.

My second landing was a no wind landing, I came in very fast (compared to the other parachutes I jumped) and I ran it out. A little more flare might have prevented it. It was awesome.

I am not a good packer, but my two openings were awesome. A little turn each way, but it was a lot nicer to me.

ComicJules · June 7, 2012

The sabre 2 is easy to fly and great for beginners. It's my first canopy and I love it.the only problem is the frequent off heading openings. I guess that's not really a problem though ad long as you're not BASE jumping.

ruanjjoubert · May 9, 2012

I have 50 jumps on my Sabre2 (170) now and it really is a very fun and easy canopy to fly. It flares well, lands well and handles well in strong wind. I have a wing loading of 1.16. It's a great canopy for beginners and if you're becoming a more advanced canopy pilot it is possible to build up that extra speed to put your skills to the test. I do have a problem with off heading openings usually 90 degrees and in both directions. It might also be the way I pack but I see some others are having the same problem. Also my end cells take a long time to inflate if left alone, but pump those brakes once or twice and they open without a problem. All round a very nice canopy with the pros outweighing the cons by far.

Willi91 · September 7, 2011

Okay, I'm editing an old review, since I have put more jumps on it now (60+).

Let me start with the openings. Generally, they're okay. If you want a canopy with on-heading openings everytime and no end-cell closures, you won't get it from a Sabre2, but personally I don't really mind. Mine has a tendency to turn 90 degrees and sometimes up to 180, but I never really have linetwists. End-cell closures are always there, but they're easily dealt with. Pull lightly on your rears of pump once with your toggles, and they're gone.

The flight of the canopy is awesome. The first times I flew it, I couldn't stop laughing. The turns are fast and precise. The canopy does exactly what you tell it. I also love how responsive it is on harness input.

The landings are very, very fun. I have advanced to 270 HP landings, and I love doing them on the Sabre2. I start out with double fronts, but the last part of the turn is all harness. Before doing 270's, I didn't use front at all, only harness on 90's and 180's. This gives you a very comfortable slow turn, but still lots of speed.
Landing on the rears is no problem either. Lots of distance and a nice shutdown at the end. I noticed on the first jumps on it, that flaring all the way to the bottom of the range wouldn't give you the best shutdown, but instead you have to find the right spot for maximal flare.

All in all, a very nice canopy. I really love flying it and would recommend it to anyone. It's very versatile and it can offer you easy flying but it can also be agressive, if you want it to.

ksjumper · September 4, 2011

I love my sabre 2 but it when it enters turbulent air it acordians badly and nearly collapses. I only wingload 1.13 however. Please be aware of this characteristic. I also experience endcell closure but that is never a concern.

freefallfrom10k · August 25, 2011

I got to demo a 120 Sabre2 and all I can say is well done PD. Its fast, fun to land (compaired to what else I've landed), and responsive. Openings at a 1.25 wing loading are about 600 to 700 ft, so its a soft opening. Landing is gentle with a alright amount of surf. This is a great all around canopy.

Kaos666 · June 22, 2011

I've put about 65 jumps on a Sabre2 190 with a WL of 1.15 and can say without a doubt that it's a great canopy and fun to fly. Openings are super soft taking anywhere from 600'-800' to open and are usually on heading but you do get the occasional 90 deg. off heading opening. End cell closures seams to a be consistent occurrence on most jumps which isn't really a big deal, a little pressure on the rear risers and they're inflated.

Toggle turns are quick, stalls are smooth and recovery is pretty gentle provided you don't release the brakes too quickly. You can float around for ages in breaks and flying back from a long spot is a breeze on rear risers. Front riser pressure is fairly light but you do get the occasional buffeting on deep front riser turns. Landings are simple even in nil wind and the flare is powerful. I'd definitely recommend this canopy to anyone wanting a good all round canopy that's also great fun to fly.

woppyvac · May 26, 2011

My DZ has an abundance of Sabre 2's for students and rentals and I've given most of them a try. I'm only posting this because I wanted to focus on their slow openings at lower weight ratios. I'm 190 out the door and taking a 210+ for a spin can get interesting once the pilot chute is out. I know a lot of beginners like jumping lower wing loads but at a .9 wing load I found the sabre 2 will snivel 1,000 -1,400 feet. Granted it's soft - but when pulling at 3,000 feet it can get concerning quick.

fluidflyer · February 15, 2010

This canopy is absolutely awesome. I have approximately 60 jumps on it now and it has been a great first canopy.

The openings are like a pillow, nice and soft. Takes about 600-1000 feet to actually open depending upon packing technique.

Because of the super slow and soft openings, you will experience end cell closure on nearly every opening. This is nothing to worry about. I simply pull down on the rear risers for a few seconds and they open right up. This is due to the slow opening.

The landings are so easy a caveman could do it. Seriously, I couldn't stand up a student rig to save my life, but with the Sabre2, there are very few landings that I don't stand up.

The control is very responsive and I have a lot of fun doing high performance turns. I really enjoy doing high hop & pops just to play around under canopy and I can usually put myself very close to the target when its time to end the ride.

I fly a Sabre2 170 loaded at 1.12:1 and it will be a while before I give up this canopy and that moment won't come easy.

I highly recommend the Sabre2.

Megatron · March 10, 2009

This is my first canopy off rental gear. I was flying a Silhouette-190 prior. I put about 30 jumps on my Sabre 2-170 which I bought new. I jump it at a 1.4WL.

The Good:
From the very first jump it was clear that this was a SPORT canopy. Its agile, very responsive to toggle pressure compared to the Silhouette & student canopies Ive flown. Its generally quicker all around and a hell of a lot more fun to fly. This is what I expected canopy flight to be like before I made my first solo jump! The amount of flare you're able get out of this thing is HUGE! I remember coming in hot on the first no wind day on my Sabre 2 and flaring a bit too low. All of the other canopies Ive flow would've had me picking grass out of my teeth but the Sabre 2 allowed for a pretty decent slide in. Aside from that, all of my other landing Ive stood up and it didnt take much over raw intuition to pull off. I dont swoop but Im slowly learning to bring a 90 turn closer to the ground and from what little experience I have in the matter, I can tell you this thing will level out if and when you need it to (within reason of course).

The Bad:
The openings. Although nice and gentle (so far), they often off heading, always accompanied by end-cell closure, and the slider gets stuck about 1/4 way up the lines on most jumps. Ive tried different packing techniques and even had it packed several times by someone I consider to be a highly proficient packer. The results were generally the same. Granted, pumping the rear risers fixes all these things rather quickly. Ive even tried giving no input at all to see if they would correct themselves. They did. But should you have to deal with it in the first place? It seems this is the rule rather then the exception with the Sabre 2.

Overall, I would recommend this canopy. Its very user-friendly and forgiving in flight and while the opening are a bit quirky, they are nonetheless predictable and too benign to be much of a concern.

Flee · February 13, 2009

I'm looking at getting a Sabre 2 and I went to Eloy today and rented one for the day to see how she fly's. First, I must confess, I went into this fully expecting (based on other reviews here) everything from hard openings, closed end cells, 1000ft plus snivels, off heading openings, canopy spin on opening ect. Well, after 6 jumps in mostly wind calm conditions I didn't experience one single negative event.

The Sabre 2 210 puts me at a 1:1.02 wingload. I'm a very conservative jumper and typically when I'm interested in a new canopy I like to up the footage to about 1:1 and work it down to my ideal range of 1.25-1.3. This puts my ideal size in the Sabre 2 to the 170. My flying style gives me everything I need at this range. However, I was having such a good time with the 210 I decided that I'll just stick with it for the day. I had such a good time with it that I didn't see the need to rush it. For frame of reference I'm coming out of the Spectre 170.

So to wrap this up, I didn't have any of the negative events I mentioned above. This canopy does have an incredible flare. It is very forgiving. I didn't do anything special on the pack. I just PRO packed. I didn't roll anything. I didn't shove the nose in at all. I was very meticulous in my first pack as I was on the lookout for all the crazy openings I've been reading about but after the first 2 no drama openings I did start getting sloppy (gotta make those lifts).

Sabre 2 = Great Canopy!

ijinak · December 27, 2008

I bough a Sabre2 135 about 5 years ago. It always opens nice and soft, flies straight even with mega twists (useful on my wingsuit) and lands really nice with a bit of speed in zero winds. I bought a Sabre 150 to jump with my wingsuit, but the Sabre2 is just so darn stable I got rid of it. All said and done, a great piece of gear sports fans!

Blink · October 17, 2008

I've been flying my Sabre2 135 (WL: ~1.25-1.3) for about 125 jumps and absolutely love it, but wanted to wait until I had a good understanding of how it flew before posting a review.

Although I'm sure what I'm about to say has probably already been said in several different posts or gear reviews, I'd thought I'd post it anyway, maybe it'll help someone decide on what gear to demo/buy.

On with the review already!

I did a lot of research before purchasing this canopy. The specifications I was looking for in a canopy were as follows (in no particular order):
-Decent openings
-Light front riser pressure
-Medium recovery arc
-Good glide ratio
-Tapered/Semi-elliptical

Openings:
My opening are aways soft, and acceptably on heading.

Its very rare to have end cell closure, maybe 1 in 15 jumps, but it's no big deal, just pump the rear risers and they're open.

The only thing that I find a pain, is that my slider likes to say up about two inches from the slinks, and because I've got 24" risers, it's just enough to be out of my reach, but like the end cell closure, a little bit of rears and it drops down. A price I have to pay for using long risers.

I have only had line twists once, and the canopy flew very stable and straight (hence my desire for a tapered planform).

Flying:
Toggles are very responsive, as I'm sure you know it's not hard to put your self in line twists with a hard toggle turn.

Nice light/medium front riser pressure, I can hold this in a dive for a 540 no problem, and when you crank on them, it really starts to dive!

Light rear riser pressure, no problem getting back from a long spot using the rears.

The canopy is set up perfect right now (factory settings), with the combination of the length of risers, length of brake line, and arm length, I have to hold my toggles as far down as I can to get it to stall. The onset of the stall is very predictable, you can feel it start to rock back just before it folds up. If you do stall it, no big deal, recover just like any other canopy.

Landing:
It's not airlocked, but it's a very stable canopy in turbulence, unlike the Sabre1 which had the accordion effect as soon as some wind hit it.

Very powerful flare, there is no need to run out a landing with this canopy, even with a high speed approach. Just when you think you've killed off all your speed and you're ready to touch down, just keep pushing and you can pop yourself right up.

I just started HP landing with this canopy about 100 jumps ago, and can say it is a great learning tool. I am only doing 90's right now, but I can already appreciate it's recovery arc. It's long enough to let you get a nice dive, while lining up with the gates, yet short enough to be forgiving for those rare times you turn a bit too low.

Closing statements:
After doing only 125 jumps on this canopy, I can say without a doubt that my next canopy, will be a Sabre2, hopefully I'll be able to find one used at a decent price, because the only beef I have with the canopy is the damn price! They hold their value extremely well, which is one sense is annoying, because I can't pick one up for cheap, but on the other hand it'll be nice when the time comes to sell mine.

I would recommend this canopy to anyone looking for any of the characteristics I was looking for (at a reasonable wingloading of course). This canopy can be flown conservatively at lighter wingloadings, and can really rip it up the more you load it.

I would have given it 10 stars, but DZ.com only allows 5. ;)

Thanks for reading my review. I hope it's helped someone. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at lanew(at)rogers(dot)com.

Cheers

customguy79 · October 6, 2008

This is my first main off of student status and have only used 2 other mains to date. After reading all the reviews about the sabre2 I was hesitant to purchase one but found a steal on one so I did. In no way am I dissapointed now that the biggest complaint is a simple fix. The openings are nice and soft and if you just roll the tail they will be a little quicker but just as soft. But on every opening I have end cell closures partially due to the light wingloading (.90) but with a light constant pull of the rear risers they fill right up and your off for the rest of your skydive. turns are moderate but if you load up it will spin you for sure and toss you into the harness for some real fun. I generally land in little or no wind so I get more than usual glide on the landing but it has plenty of flare to make the landings either short or ride them for a short distance if you want to. Overall enjoyable main but next step down I will be trying a safire 2.

mmacro · August 3, 2008

I jumped my "new" used Sabre 2 today. As reported in many other posts, I jumped 3 times and had end-cell closures on all 3. The second jump really got my attention when the closures caused the rig to go into a very high rate spin. But knowing the cause and the remedy it was not difficult to get them open.
Once open, the Sabre 2 was extremely responsive to both toggle and body position input. It dove and turned when I wanted it to and returned to straight flight right away.
The landings were surprising... It really pops up mid-flare. It will catch you by surprise if your used to jumping student/rental rigs or older F111 mains.
This is a great main if you know what to expect and how to deal with it. But under uneducated or uninformed hands it could easily get away from a jumper.

June 20, 2008

I demo'd a Sabre2 150 for several skydives and had them put my Silhouette back in my container. Openings are waaaay toooo slow for me. An ideal opening for me doesn't take 1000+ feet and end in closed end cells. The reason I was demo'ing was because I wanted more flare out of a canopy than I was getting with my Silhouette. The flare was great with the Sabre2. Also, I'm not looking to get into swooping or HP landings, and love the glide path of the Silhouette. The Sabre2's steeper glide path was not my cup of tea. Overall, I think the Sabre2 is overrated. If you love the Silhouette, the Sabre2 is not the canopy for you IMO.

scootstevens · June 11, 2008

I own two Sabre2 canopies and love them both. They are the 135 and 120 @ 1.3/1.45 respectively. The 135 was a great canopy to learn all of the fundamentals of higher-performance flight with. It is very tame, flies smooth and goes where you want it to but you can fly it really aggressively if you want to. After one hundred and fifty jumps on the 135, I was looking for more speed and dive for swooping so I got the 120, and I have to say I'm lovin' it! I'm glad I stayed with the Sabre2 because I am very aware and current with the Sabre2's flight characteristics and it was a beautiful transition to the 120. For the record, I have trash packed the shit out of the 135 for sunset loads and I've never chopped it away, granted I do have the occasional off heading opening, but IMO that's part of the game.

If you want a canopy that is safe to develop your skills on, with an increased margin for error compared to a fully elliptical wing, the Sabre2 is for you. In the 1.3 - 1.5 range I have flown it has provided me with an incredible range of flight, and the ability to really step it up hard when you are ready to start swooping. Be aware that the Sabre2 will dive pretty damn hard with a front riser swoop, most definitely enough to break yourself, bad. Be safe, stay on the ball, have fun.

mushimtkd · June 8, 2008

I have completed over 100 jumps on my Sabre 2 170, wing loaded at 1.3:1. It is my first canopy, so I have nothing to compare to other than a lot of jumps on rented transition gear - Pilot 210, Sabre 190 and Triathalon 190. I absolutely love this canopy! I don't know what the recovery arc is like because I'm not swooping yet, but I will tell you this; I have tested the flight characteristics of this baby quite extensively in all kinds of wind conditions. It can get you back from a long spot, glides extremely well on landing with minimal toggle pressure, and turns are very snappy with front, rear risers and toggles.
After more than 100 jumps on it, I have NEVER had end cell closure, NEVER had line twists, and, most importantly NEVER had anything but a beautiful, soft opening. Once in a while it opens slightly off heading if I have done a sloppy pack job. Bet for those who say the Sabre 2 has hard openings, check the line trim charts on the PD website. Talk to your rigger about getting new lines. Just don't blame the canopy. It has treated my like a king, and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the novice/intermediate range.

pre7117 · May 22, 2008

I have only about 30 jumps on my Sabre 2 170 loaded 1.35. Not very happy with the openings, I don't like the 90 or 180. It has great flare power and it will get you back from a bad spot. Great for a novice but not for a beginner. You have to watch your packing and body position. Not for a lazy packer and it will tell you if you pack it like you should. I found out last weekend that it is like a pissed off girl friend that catches you cheating.

acerpb · May 21, 2008

I have a few dozen jumps on this canopy with a 1.2:1 wing loading. This canopy has soft openings and I have only had line twists twice (due to bad body position). I had also put some jumps on a Silhouette 170, but the amount of flare on landing does not compare to the Sabre2 170.

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