It’s an accepted fact nowadays that the way you pack and store your paraglider directly affects its longevity and performance.

Careless packing creases and damages the crucial Mylar sections that reinforce the internal cell walls at the front of the wing. These sections are crucial in forming the clean leading edge profile that your glider needs to get the maximum performance out of its design.

Concertinaing your wing is the surest way to protect the integrity of your leading edge, but until now it’s been an awkward and time consuming task that is difficult on your own and almost impossible in a strong wind.

The new XCertina Bag is the quick and easy solution to the problem. It’s quicker than the conventional packing system and retains the longevity and performance of your wing over time. It’s the easiest way to pack up in a strong wind, and better still it’s the simplest and quickest way to unpack and get ready to fly.

IT’S AS SIMPLE AS:

• Bunch your wing as usual and drop it on top of the open bag
• Gather all the Mylar together and fasten together with straps
• Stuff the rest of the wing in to the bag any way you like
• Zip up the bag
• Roll it up and put it away
• Laugh at your mates who are still struggling with their wings in the breeze

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
“Concertinaing your wing keeps the Mylar reinforcing from getting creased and gives better inflation and high speed stability. Plus you’ll maintain a better second hand value on your wing.”
          Bruce Goldsmith, 2007 World Champion

“If the leading edge reinforcements are wrinkled or broken the glider’s inflation will be worse, and you could lose some performance too. We strongly advice this packing method if the glider has Gin’s Rigifoil or Rigifoil Max system. Once you’re good at packing this way your glider will pack away more compact and smaller!”
          Eric Roussel, General Manager, Gin Gliders

I have wanted to concertina fold my glider for a while – seeing the comparison between a Boomerang 2 that had been concertina packed and one that hadn't had me convinced. The creasing and damage to the Mylar stiffeners reduces the performance of the wing, as they are critical to the profile of the leading edge. Inflation characteristics on take off also suffer. Where I came unstuck was trying to fold the glider in a way that took less than 20 minutes, and get it to still fit in the inner bag. I gave up and went back to conventional folding. I always seemed to lose the plot after the gathering of the Mylar inserts stage, and found it hard to get any method to work for me. My excuses were: It takes two people. If I don’t have a helper the already folded stuff comes unfolded or gets disorganised. It takes too long. The glider then no longer fits in the inner bag and is almost too bulky to fit in the rucksack without a big stretch.

Cross Country’s Bob Drury gave me the bag to try out. I was slightly sceptical at first, and the video that the guys had made seemed to be too glib and easy. Yes, I want to maintain my glider properly, but it has to be straightforward.

So how did the first attempt to use the bag go? As per the video made by Cross Country, I simply placed the mushroomed glider on top of the XCertina bag. I gathered all the Mylar insert in one half wing together, laid them flat (turned them through 90 degrees) and tied them in place with one of the ties. I then did the other half of the wing which is usually where I start to come unstuck as the already tidy wing suffers. No such problem now.

Having laid the second lot of Mylar stiffeners on top of the first, both straps can now be used to secure the them in place, laid flat. I then headed towards the trailing edge, to the guaranteed failure stage of all my previous concertina folding attempts. No issue. I simply folded the trailing edge concertina style. It was then possible to zip up the bag, noting the protection the zip has for the glider material. Starting from the end of the bag close to the trailing edge it was possible to Z fold the bag in the usual 4 sections I normally do, but making sure the top section with the Mylar in it is slightly shorter than the rest, so no overhang or creasing can take place. I then used the compression strap that comes with the glider to hold things in place, and put everything into my glider rucksack. The fit was the same as my usual folded method!! I checked the folded bulk on the second pack I did by putting the XCertina bag with glider inside into the inner bag for the glider. It fit.

It took roughly about the same time to pack into the XCertina pack as my old regular fold, possibly slightly longer, but then I’ve only done it 10 times with a mid range 1-2. Where the time was saved was when it came to getting ready to fly, as once the XCertina bag was off the tips could be quickly pulled out and there the glider was, ready to inflate. The bonus is seeing all the Mylar stiffeners standing up, holding the cells open without creases!

The bag is well made, with a full length zip, with a protector for your glider, drawstrings at both ends of the bag, two straps to hold the Mylar inserts together at the end of the bag where the leading edge is placed.

All my reasons for not folding concertina are now shot away, as will yours if you buy one. I’m getting one myself, which I think is better than just a recommendation.