In article ,
Sven Olivier wrote:
I have taken many 'chutes for repacking some with no
known last repack date but believed to be several years.
Bench test showed that the drogue 'chute worked there
was nothing to suggest the main would not have opened.
I heard one story of a UK jump club who's members jumped
'chutes that had not been repacked for several years
and they worked fine (Note to doubters I cannot support
this with evidence


I have very recently seen a chute where the rubber bungees had decayed to
the extent that they glued the parachute lines together ... the very upset
packer had no doubt that it would have malfuntioned .... I would suggest
that you take no chances and have your chute repacked well within the
recommended time period

Sven Olivier


Was this chute less than six months since last repack?
I bet it wasn't...

On the other hand, if one leaves a chute packed today
inside a nice glider canopy or car for about
a month in 100 degree plus weather in Mexico or El Paso,
I bet the thing melts like a cassete tape...

For the few chutes that need repacking more frequently,
it's a handling and storage problem, not a "date" problem.