By Chris O
Gibbon “Funline”
See the website at http://www.gibbonslacklines.com/
Specifications:
? Length: up to 15m (49.2 ft)
? Width: 50mm (1.97 in)
? Max. tension: 4tons
? Ratchet with safety lever
? Ratchet strap length: 2m (6.56 ft)
? Protected loop slings
? Box size: 15″ x 12.25″ x 2.875″
? Box weight: 6.5 lb
Slacklining is a great sport that is gaining ever-increasing popularity. The sport is played by stringing a piece of webbing or other material over a gap and attempting to walk on it. (Notice I say attempting because it can be hard to get the hang of it!) Imagine yourself as a circus entertainer walking the tightrope, now widen the rope a little bit, make it a little looser and allow it to sway and you have yourself a slackline! Slacklining is a great way to get the whole family outside and is a great activity for picnics, camping, or anywhere else one might want to have a little fun!
Fun for all ages!
The biggest part of setting up a line is to make sure that there are no twists in the line and that it sits flat. The second most important thing is the height. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD A BEGINNING LINER PLACE THE HEIGHT OF THE LINE ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE INSEAM! BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN (Your future children will thank you later.) The third consideration is the tightness of the line. For beginners, the line should be tight enough that the middle of the line doesn’t sag more than four or five inches when under the full weight of the liner. More expert liners often have the line much more loose so as to perform tricks and jumps. This line is a great introductory line for kids and beginners as it is so wide (2” web compared to the standard ¾” webbing normally used) and is also coated with grip for making sure your feet don’t slip off. The ideal distance to sling a line for a beginning liner is between 20 and 30 feet. The shorter the line the less movement will be allowed in the line, thus making it easier to get the hang of it. Some professional liners string slacklines over 300 feet! The current world record for distance is held by a man named Stefan Junghann who walked a line that was 306.8 meters (1,007 ft) in length!!
MY TAKE
I’ve never seen a professionally made slackline before and I love it! This line is great because of the ease of setup. Before owning this line I had to go with two or more people so that I could set the right tension on the line, now with the convenient ratchet system I am able to set up the line all by myself. Walking the thick line (a 2 inch webbing on the Gibbon line as opposed to the ¾ inch
Getting Started Funlining
webbing used in traditional lines) seems to be much easier for the beginning liner. I am a little disappointed with the traction on the line though. There is a printed logo down the center of the line which causes friction making it difficult to slide one’s foot, thus making it difficult to do certain tricks and techniques that can be done with a traditional smooth line. The weight of the ratchet also has a tendency to cause the line to twist since it is so top heavy, this makes it much harder to walk the line or keep balance because the line is twisting rather than staying flat.
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