I like the Softie line of chutes and fly with one now. And I agree the folks at Para-Phernalia are great to deal with.

But--the manufacturer is one of the few (only?) in the U.S. to set a 20-year life on their products (see below). It can be challenging to get any chute that's more than 20 years old packed--even when it's in superb condition--thanks to the efforts of Allen Silver. Do a search on this newsgroup for (much) more info. But I suspect it will be even more difficult to get a rigger to pack a 20+ year Softie. I wish I'd known this before I bought mine.

"Independent testing of aged nylon materials has proven that its strength degrades over time, therefore, Para-Phernalia, Inc. and Free Flight Enterprises have established a 20-year service life from the date of component manufacture for the Softie Pilot Emergency System and the Preserve line of emergency parachutes."

Chip Bearden