Your paraglider fulfills a pretty important job – to keep you in the air for as long as possible, and as safely as possible. It is also a pretty expensive piece of equipment, and the better you look after it, the longer you will be able to enjoy it.
Concertina packing protects one of the most important parts of your paraglider : the mylar inserts.
The mylar inserts help to keep the cells open, which in turn helps inflation and it helps the prevention of collapses in the air. Therefore, it is pretty important to keep them in pristine condition. Careless folding, and some of the more traditional folding methods create bends and creases in the mylar inserts.
Over the last couple of years, a number of major paragliding manufacturers have been promiting concertina folding, which ensures that the mylar inserts are kept flat and crease free. For this method, a couple of tension straps are required, or, you can go one better, and use a “concertina bag”, especially designed for concertina packing. Some of the major paragliding names, like Ozone and Gin, offer concertina bags, at a fairly steep price.
Affordable concertina bags
On a recent trip to India, I discovered a tailor who makes all sorts of paragliding paraphernalia, including concertina bags. They are made from a strong, durable and waterproof material (similar to the Gin concertina bag but slightly classier material). I have used one myself over the past couple of months and found them to be of high quality and as good as the branded ones. They are also extensively used by Indian paragliding pilots and paragliding schools. The main advantage is that they are much cheaper than the overpriced branded versions.
I have brought back a couple of these, and are offering them on Ebay. Please have a look and place a bid if you are interested. There is no reserve price and I don’t mind if they go for a song, because I would like some feedback from those who buy them, so that we can work on improving them as much as possible.
If you are interested in one of these bags but you have not been successful on Ebay, or you have any other queries,please contact us.
Sizes |
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| Large 2.3m (9′6) View on ebay | For a large DHV1 wing |
| Medium 1.9m (10′3) View on ebay | For a small or medium wing |
| If in doubt about the right size, measure the wing from the leading edge to the trailing edge at its widest, it should be a little shorter than the length of the concertina bag. If it is a couple of inches longer you should still be able to pack the wing comfortably | |
There are a number of videos on youtube that shows various concertina packing techniques – is worthwhile reading some of the comments on the videos as well. Here are a couple which I think are worthwhile watching :
