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so bouldering walls are shut and the older junior antigee has a birthday this month and has been doing a bit of socially distant slacklining but reliant on the guy with the slackline to turnup and has a girlie team that go camping together so what to buy? Gibbon? seem to claim easier to set up?
guess need tree protectors...anything else?
assume a 15m is a waste of money as soon "outgrown" (did beam gym for many years) if buy a 25m can it be set up shorter?
There's kits? I've used a lorry ratchet strap, some climbing slings, and old towels to protect the tree.
Got a Gibbon and it is just fine. Yes you can run them shorter as you just pull the slack through and tighten from there. No reason not to get a Gibbon that I can think of
The kits are decent vfm if you don't have any of the bits already. Can't speak for Gibbon personally but they look decent.
I made 2 A frames and used a ground anchor to set one up in our treeless garden during lockdown.
Hi,
Since lockdown I've dug out my twelve year old slackline and been using it out front of the house.
Things have changed since I used to do it - 2inch wide seems the norm now (mine is 1 inch) but all the major brands have a relatively similar ratchet. My ratchet is the same as what is being sold now.
Gibbon seems the well known name but plenty others to choose that'll do the same job and a bit less price. Just need to check it's safety rated.
Gap I'm using is probably only 8 - 10 metres but plenty long enough for fun for me and the kids. Slackines aren't that expensive so (to me) 15m is an ok length to start and if you outgrow you just buy a longer webbing and use the same ratchet as before. But yes, you just use the webbing you need and leave the rest trailing out the bottom of the ratchet so you can have 25 metres of webbing and only create say an 8m line if you wished.
Couple of weeks ago I brought two Gibbon XL tree protectors for under £20. Could use carpet or towels round the tree but I wanted a neater setup so I don't give reason for the neighbours to moan at me (they always moan!!)
uselesshippy
There’s kits? I’ve used a lorry ratchet strap, some climbing slings, and old towels to protect the tree.
it's a birthday present! pretty sure she is used to parental economic ways and pretty sure have the stuff in the garage..."found" think it was a camelot 4 and a set of jumars looking for ankle weights last week
leffeboy
Subscriber
Got a Gibbon and it is just fine. Yes you can run them shorter as you just pull the slack through and tighten from there. No reason not to get a Gibbon that I can think of
cheers that's how i read their literature and is available locally so that is a big plus
It's been a while since I've slacklined, but when I did I MUCH prefered a one inch line tensioned with carabiner to the ratchet line I started with. Bit more awkward to set up, but I found it an awful lot nicer to walk. Once you start getting the hang of it you can really feel the weight of the ratchet.
Two inch lines with ratchets might be the way to do it now, but that was my experience.
These guys use a Gibbon I think. I'd love to try this. What could possibly go wrong?
Please don't s**** too hard : )
Is mid 50's too old to learn to slackline?
Is mid 50’s too old to learn to slackline?
Nope. That's exactly what I'm trying right now. My only advice would be to stretch before trying as I pulled a muscle in one leg a few weeks ago and it isn't quite right yet.
Nope. That’s exactly what I’m trying right now. My only advice would be to stretch before trying as I pulled a muscle in one leg a few weeks ago and it isn’t quite right yet.
Cheers, pulling muscles is my forte. I’d probably pull one just getting on.
My wife's mentioned wanting to learn to slackline. Our garden's about 8m long at best and has two trees, both less than four years old, so I don't think that's going to be possible.
In your collective experience, how do the general public tend to respond to people stringing slackline gear round old solid trees in public parks? We're very close to a good park but before shelling out on some gear I want to check that we won't get lynched...!
I used to do it in the park all the time. Make sure you use tree protectors, and be prepared for ridicule, people asking for a go and thinking it will be easy and maybe a bit more ridicule, unless you're doing back flips.
It's not easy.
I've got a gibbon set, it's great. I made an A frame and got a ground anchor for one end and use a small tree the other and it works fine for kids. I'm quite heavy so need something a bit more secure and higher.
Thinking of digging a hole and setting some thing in the ground for a dead man's anchor, maybe a couple of concrete slabs then making a bigger frame. Don't think I'll be riding over it any time soon though....
Ours is only 8m long and one end is held by a 1m long post buried sideways in the ground and then up and over an A frame. Holds me no problem
I have a decathlon (Simond) one which I'm perfectly happy with