The newest model of Mirage System's harness/container system.
Features
1. Quality materials
The true secret of Mirage Systems' success lies in their experience. The production employees of Mirage Systems have been building harness/containers longer than most people have been skydiving. Their experience allows us to set higher standards for quality than are found elsewhere in the skydiving industry. The staff takes pride in the fine detail of their work. Mirage Systems may not be the largest container manufacturer in the industry, but they are committed to being the best.
Properly maintained, your Mirage harness/container system will last for years through thousands of jumps. They've made every effort to find and use the best materials available. Several manufacturers offer lower grade, less durable materials in order to lower their manufacturing costs.
2. Superior comfort
The new G4 yoke is a 2 piece "split" design with several advantages. It allows the reserve risers to flow more naturally over the shoulders and into the reserve container, resulting in a more supple, comfortable feel around the neck. It is more adaptable to variations in reserve pack jobs. It also allows a smaller reserve pin cover flap, which needs smaller tuck tabs, which in turn makes the reserve easier to pin check.
With the exception of the backpad area, all Mirage containers carry identical padding. The legstrap padding is thick, firm and practically indestructible, so that even after thousands of jumps they will feel as comfortable as they do on Day one. The harness padding is mostly over the shoulders, where the rig rests. On the Unisyn harness all ring locations are also padded, so no hardware contacts the wearer.
Much of the comfort of a rig comes from the way the harness conforms to the user's body. The Mirage Unisyn harness was specifically designed to flex at the natural junction points of the human body. This design has helped to eliminate harness buckling and twisting, as the harness takes straight paths between junction points. The Unisyn moves with you, on the ground and in the air, so well that some users have said it didn't feel like they had a rig on.
The G4 comes standard with an upgraded, padded backpad for greater comfort. It is softer and lighter than the G3 optional deluxe backpad. The side panels of the G4 backpad, which contain the most padding, lie on the major muscles of the user's back. They are always black, but the center area of the backpad can be any Parapak color.
For increased comfort and stability, Mirage Systems added an elastic lumbar support across the lower container to comfortably snug the G4 to your lower back without cutting into you. The Elastic Lumbar Support gently provides lower back support while stabilizing the container, making the jumper and container feel more as one. This feature is adjustable, replaceable, and permanently removable. Those who prefer a more fixed solution may select Inset Stabilizers for their G4 at no extra charge.
3. Modular construction
Mirage containers are all built with modular construction, which makes the rig eligible for in-field repairs when flaps become damaged. Modular construction, as opposed to so-called unibody or wraparound construction, requires building the rig out of a number of small flaps that are sewn together, rather than a few flaps that are folded and turned like origami to cover multiple panels. The main container is a great example; the main side flaps are separate pieces which are easy to replace. Damage a main flap on a unibody rig and you are stuck with a huge repair job, or resorting to an unsightly patch. Modular construction is much more time consuming and expensive during the initial build, but pays great dividends down the road.
4. Aerodynamics
In freefall loose flaps are sloppy, distracting and potentially downright dangerous. Mirage containers are well known for staying closed until YOU want them open. In fact, our main pin protection is so tight that the main pin cover doesn't even come open on deployment. We have zero bridle exposure, and our riser cover security sets the industry standard for reliability.
The G4 has a more aerodynamic profile than the G3, for better vertical flying. Where the G3 is basically wedge shaped, the G4 side profile is more like a teardrop. Because they are the same width and thickness, the G4 is slightly longer than the G3, to make up the extra volume of the rounded off main container.
5. Reliable Main Deplyment
The popularity of micro-line has resulted in new malfunctions. 99.9% of these malfunctions can be avoided through proper maintenance. Several years ago there were several incidents, some resulting in fatalities, involving micro-lines snagging flap grommets on non-Mirage rigs. These grommets were either not set correctly in the beginning or had worked loose. The loose grommets then afforded enough room for one or more main canopy suspension micro-lines to snag. Safely releasing and/or landing the main canopy was not possible. Mirage Systems took special notice of this problem and added a simple grommet guard on all leading edges of potentially problematic areas.
To create the Mirage G4's tapered shape, we custom tailored its Main Bag to follow tapered lines. Its radical shape also enhances the teardrop aerodynamics for which the G4 is famous. To allow less restricted canopy deployment from this new design, we chose to split the main bag.
The Mirage main bag line stowage system includes four main locking grommet stows and two inboard stow attachment anchors. This line stowage system is designed to reduce the amount of "bag rock" that takes place during line deployment. We use an uncoated Parapack nylon material in construction for durability.
6. Secure Riser Cover Design
The tuck tabs are designed modularly, to facilitate in-field replacement. The attachment location is placed over the shoulder, near the front of the rig, to allow for variation in reserve pack jobs. The profile of the tuck tabs is squared, for positive retention and fixed release force. Mirage Systems guarantees that our tuck tab riser covers will work as they were designed for the life of the container.
Mirage Systems also provides secondary riser covers. These small riser covers are located under the main riser covers, along the side of the reserve container, to contain the main toggles and steering lines. They prevent any sort of displacement or accidental deployment during multi-attitude (back or head to earth) jumps.
7. Unsurpassed pin protection
Pin protection on both main and reserve containers is critical to safety. Accidental pin releases caused by brushing against something when sitting down in the plane, the door on exit, other jumpers in freefall, or lines in a canopy collision can lead to unintended and/or out of sequence deployments. The design of the Mirage provides the most pin security currently available in the industry.
8. Powerful Reserve Deployment
Another primary advantage Mirage has over its competitors is our reserve pilot chute design. Our reserve deployment system is a straightforward freebag-deployed square reserve. We do not support round reserves. By accumulating incremental improvements in this nearly two-decades old technology, rather than embracing a radical new approach, we can say with confidence that your Mirage has the most proven and dependable reserve deployment system in the world.
We do not use an exposed pilot chute due to the limitations these designs impose on pilot chute design. The conical pilot chute springs used in external reserve pilot chute designs are often based on the original MA1 military pilot chute from World War II, which are inherently weaker than the Mirage spring, and this alone more than offsets the advantages of packing the pilot chute under fewer flaps. It is informative to compress a reserve pilot chute from an external design with your hands in front of you. It compresses quite easily. A Mirage reserve pilot chute is extremely difficult to compress between your hands, and it may injure you if you are not careful!
The bottom-line in efficient reserve deployment, however, is not found in any single component of the system, but rather in the synergy of multiple components acting in concert to produce a speedy deployment.
Mirage Systems uses a custom reserve ripcord handle, rather than the traditional D handle, on all new Mirages. The Mirage handle is shorter than the D, and angled from top to bottom, reducing the risk of snagging while still providing adequate size for a single or double-handed grip. The handle assemblies are built to TSO C23-d specifications and are individually proof loaded to 600 pounds before we accept them for use. These handles can easily be fitted to older rigs in the field.
9. Dependable Cutaway System
All Mirage main risers are equipped with built-in steel hard housings to help prevent entrapment of the cutaway cable ends during severe line twists. The housings are fixed to the risers at the top end with a clamp and encased in a sleeve that floats at the bottom end to allow for cable movement.
Mirage Systems has upgraded the cable housing terminal-end to a single piece cast stainless steel part, a Mirage exclusive. These pieces are significantly more expensive than the aluminum and plastic terminal ends (which are actually electrical connectors) used by the rest of the industry, but we believe they provide an extra degree of security in a critical safety area.
Mirage Systems' has never used anything but full-length hard housings to protect your cutaway and reserve ripcord cables from snagging or friction. By clamping the cable housing ends together, we ensure that your cables stay properly routed without losing flexibility. All Mirage hard housings are made from high-quality stainless steel, so your safety is never compromised by corrosion.
The Mirage cutaway handle is pocketed in the main lift web, not just Velcro'd to the back. This provides protection from dislodging, especially when taking harness grips. In addition, the cutaway handle (and our soft reserve handle) has plastic anti-roll stiffeners to help prevent it from rolling under the lift web, out of sight.
