Can’t wait for this to be an Olympic sport! Apparently slacklining is to balance beam as snowboarding down a half-pipe is to skiing through gates. I think I’ll look for some Youtube videos for entertainment. But if you haven’t heard of this before, I doubt you can just “jump in” without some significant natural balance and general fitness ability.
Might be good to keep zombies out of your sanctuary though!
I’d never heard of slacklining before this summer. We went to an outdoor city festival and there was a demonstration / contest put on by Gibbon. Presumably for promotional reasons. They had a lot of loud music and an announcer that used phrases like: “radical moves”, “awesome slacking”, and (my personal favorite since he used it on nearly every performance) “that was epic”. He coupled that in with some false drama and the back stories of the guys doing the hopping/bouncing on the thing. It was definitely targeted towards the X-Games crowd.
Basically, it is a nylon strap that you tie off on each end and bounce/balance/flip on it. A cross between a trampoline and a balance beam. I would not advise anyone beyond their teens and twenties to try this without having some first rate padding (or a net) underneath.
Cheers!
So it’s fun for kids these days to play with tow straps?
Personally I am not a fan of gibbon lines. They are wider and don’t have the same elasticity of a typical slackline. The original solution is to use 1" wide climbing webbing. You can get some from your local outdoor shop and with a few metal chain link bits (or some fancier climbing carabiners and what not) you can make your own really efficient tightening and tying system and save a ton of money.
Bear in mind, if you plan on getting into this sport and show up somewhere to meet a bunch of slackliners with a gibbon line, you might throw some people off. Most people have heard of gibbon by now so it’s not a big deal but they are definitely not a traditional slackline.
Gibbon lines are 2" wide rather than 1" which some people might think is easier, but it’s not really easier as much as it is just different. I suspect it is a marketing ploy to prevent people realizing they can just use any cheap webbing from any outdoor store.
I am not an expert but I have some experience with both types of lines and my good friend is a professional slackliner (he was filmed for national geographic on a couple highlines) and he definitely does not prefer gibbon just for their lack of consistency with the rest of the sport.
Well, Gibbon is definitely not a traditional slackline, but they aren’t really trying to be. They also make traditional one inch webbing. These 2 inch lines are more focused on the newer discipline of tricklining rather than traditional highlining.
I have been slacklining for 3 years now. I have used kits from other brands as well, and I think the Gibbon lines are my favorite overall. I own a classic, jibline, and a surfline and have been pleased with all three. For anyone new to the sport, this is a great way to see if you like it for a great price. I would recommend the classic for first timers and the jibline for people wanting to learn how to jump and bounce. I even like the treewear kits to protect your line and the trees.
Yes, you can save money by using your own climbing webbing and towels rather than treewear. The Gibbon kits just make it more convenient. I am buying a new jibline at this price since my current one has started to wear a bit. There, that’s my two cents.
Good point, the wider line might be easier to land, although my friend has no issues whatsoever landing on the 1" webbing. Just google “Robin Avery Slackline” for some insane flips and tricks on highlines and normal lines by an old university classmate of mine.
PS: Name drop ftw, I know, whatever.
PPS: As long as people are just looking for something convenient and fun then ya these will do and the quality is probably not bad. I just prefer the feel of 1" webbing over the feel of these lines and it is definitely the more common way to go in the sport. I think the traditional 1" webbing also has better elasticity for tricks. My friend Robin could not do half his tricks on a Gibbon line when he tried one, but that could be a practice issue too.
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I thought this was going to be you trying to sell me the shoes jammed in my face in that picture.
How can you post a link to Gibbon website and show us inflated “list” prices here? Shameless.
Yep…Harbor Freight is a nice source for all the other items you’ll need to pull trees down on top of you or your house cause you know some fat@$$ is gonna do it.
The coolest thing to try is attach between two pickups, balance on it with a little slack and have one truck romp on the gas…human slingshot.
I paid almost $100 for my Red Classic 25 meter (at the beginning of last summer, so these prices are fantastic. The prices have dropped a lot since then (maybe the fad phase is passing?) and I picked up another (in yellow) for about $50 from REI’s daily deal.
If you look around you can find deals this good (for example, http://www.rei.com/product/852450/gibbon-ladies-line-slackline-15-meters-2012-closeout) but this is as cheap as I’ve ever seen them, really.
If I didn’t have an unopened one, I might buy another.
The jibline is bouncier for tricks, I believe.
Don’t let the slackline snobs put you off. yes, the “traditional” way is to use climbing webbing (1" or 2") but getting the right tension is pretty complex. Sure, the webbing is cheap, and if you’ve got all the required anchors/caribiners etc, it may be cheaper than even this. The ratchet-strap setup of the Gibbons is super easy, and I doubt you could get all the stuff you need to go old-school for $50.
And I guess I’m a geezer at about 40, but I have no need for padding. I’m not doing sick flips or anything, but it’s still challenging and a lot of fun.
(I also use strips of carpet tile to protect trees and the line where it wraps around the tree- at least as good, if not better, than the treewear.)
How fun are these if you don’t want to get into doing tricks and such? My son has a 9yr birthday coming up and I was thinking of doing an American Ninja Warrior type obstacle course theme in the back yard and was considering these. When ever we seem to go out somewhere, by kids are always trying to walk on the edge of the curb, walls, etc.
I wish they were selling the 1", or I would buy it. I’ve only slacklined a couple times and that was on a 1" my friend had.
Might get the tree savers though.
I have 10, 11, and 14 year olds.
When I set up the slackine, it’s good for a few hours of fun, even though none of them can do more than a few steps unaided.
In my experience, kids love it. However, if you get it, set it up with the expectation that every single one of them will fall off. So make sure to set it up so when they get off, they won’t be stumbling towards something that could hurt them, don’t have it set up too high, etc. Making sure these are safe is the main thing to make sure people still have fun.
Dang Woot limit of three…I wanted to connect a bunch of these to slackline the Grand Canyon. 
does any slackline video not feature annoying music?
Psst hey, how sturdy does the post/tree/dude-planted-in-your-yard have to be to hold the tension in these things w/o ripping out a sapling, or pulling over your raised porch?
I wouldn’t attach to anything less than a 6" diameter tree- less than that will hold, but it’s pretty rough on the tree.
Your porch- a 4x4 will hold, IF it is actually connected properly at the top and bottom to something reasonable. (Concrete footing, roof diaphragm)