Your reserve is your airbag. Except an airbag needs maintenance.
Let me be direct: a reserve parachute that hasn't been repacked for a year is a reserve parachute you hope will open. Hoping, in flight, is not enough.
In almost 50 years of flying and repacking, I've seen reserves that refused to come out of the container because the fabric had stuck together due to humidity. I've seen them with closing elastics so dried out they snapped like glass. And I've seen them save lives — because they were packed correctly, by someone who knows what they're doing.
Every 6 months. Period.
The rule is simple and non-negotiable: repack every 6 months. Not every year. Not «when I remember». Not «before the season». Every six months, like your car's oil. This is the timeframe beyond which the fabric starts to develop permanent creases, the elastics fatigue, and humidity accumulates in the nylon's pores.
My tip: I align my repacking dates with daylight saving changes. Summer time = repack. Winter time = repack. Simple, foolproof.
Can you pack it yourself?
Technically, yes. There are repacking courses, and some manufacturers provide tutorials. But honestly, I don't recommend it. Repacking a reserve is 30 minutes of precise work: symmetrical spreading, folding the lines without loops, closing the container with the correct tension on the elastics. One mistake = a reserve that opens in a torch or not at all. For 30 to 50 €, the cost of a professional repack, it's not worth the risk.
Round, Square, Rogallo: Choosing Your Reserve
Three main families:
- Round reserves: the classics. Fast, reliable opening, little to go wrong. Descent rate around 5-5.5 m/s. This is what I recommend for beginners — and for most pilots, really.
- Square reserves (SQR type, Square): reduced descent rate (~4 m/s), slight controllable drift. More expensive, a bit slower to open. Good choice for the regular pilot who wants an extra level of safety.
- Rogallo: the high-end option. It's a true reserve paraglider — you glide, you can steer. But they require more altitude to open correctly (minimum 50-80 m). If you often fly in mountains with close terrain, think twice.
A memorable story
A pilot brought me his reserve to repack on a Tuesday in November. Last repacking date on the label: 28 months earlier. When we opened the container, the fabric had developed such deep creases that the panels no longer lay flat. We had to let it dry for 48 hours spread out on a sheet before we could repack it. If this pilot had needed his reserve during those 28 months... I'm not sure it would have opened correctly. Six months. Maximum.
At Rid'Air: Repacking within 48h
Our workshop in Oderen repacks all types of reserves: round, square, Rogallo, SQR, for paragliding and paramotoring. We always proceed in the same way: complete visual inspection, checking seams and attachments, airing the fabric, then repacking according to the manufacturer's protocol. You leave (or we send back) your reserve with a dated and signed repacking sheet.
If you wish to attend the repacking of your reserve, you are welcome — it's even educational. Many pilots discover what their reserve looks like unfolded for the first time on this occasion. Suffice to say, it puts things into perspective.
👉 Book an appointment for repacking · Our reserve parachutes
Fly safe,
Cyrille MARCK and the Rid'Air/CEM team