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My youngest had a ball borrowing the use of a slackline on holiday so thought we would get one, so some advice please.
Is one brand better than another - IE should I get a Gibbon ?
Should I just go for a ratchet system ?
Would I be daft to get a 25m one initially ?
What width ?
etc .....
Buy a truck ratchet strap. Loads of different widths and a lot cheaper.
Yup, big ratchet strap from a agri or auto store, x metres of tubular webbing tape from a climbing shop (I have 30m, but as little as 10m could be enough, a longer line needs to be higher off the deck). Couple of climbing slings can be handy, the wider the better so as not to dig into any padding you use around a tree (cardboard is good or carpet). You can even get away with just using karabiners to create a 3:1 pulley rather than use a ratchet.
Few people in the park doing this the other week as I rode home from a ride. Looked like a fun way to spend an afternoon...
I just use a 25M length of tubular webbing. Here:
http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Cord-Tape/Tape-by-the-Metre/26mm-20kN-Tubular-Tape-m-TPE-TM26T#.UFSy67IiYa8
You can make a 'line locker' out of a bit of old bike chain. I don't bother with a mechanical ratchet, I just use a few old 'Krabs' to tension the line. Google is your friend here.
Hth
Marko
I just use a 25M length of tubular webbing. Here:
http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Cord-Tape/Tape-by-the-Metre/26mm-20kN-Tubular-Tape-m-TPE-TM26T#.UFSy67IiYa8You can make a 'line locker' out of a bit of old bike chain. I don't bother with a mechanical ratchet, I just use a few old 'Krabs' to tension the line. Google is your friend here.
Hth
Marko
the tape alone will be £40 you can buy the whole lot for less
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Slackline-15m-x-50-mm-x-5ton-slack-line-jibline-/190324724757
I havent tried it but looks like fun, whould the above be what is required to have a go?
Yes, I think that sort of thing will probably do Mikeypies.
Not sure if there is more stretch in a cheaper option.
From an engineering point of view I was wondering if the weight of the ratchet affects the performance of the slackline.
Get the proper rated tubular webbing line and forget the ratchet. One good method of setting up the line here:
Loads of variants on this method and if it all goes wrong you will not have a kilo of ratchet flying towards you.
Hth
Marko
Would I be daft to get a 25m one initially ?
Depends, how wide is the canyon?
perfect Marko - that is just what I was after.
Should I still try & do this with 50mm tape ?
That strikes me as quite wide to feed through karabiners.
All the kits come with 50mm but the climbing shops appear to stop at 26mm.