At Mary Helen’s suggestion we made a quick tutorial showing a few different turning styles (and with commentary from the respective slackliners). I hope this helps newer slackers get a better idea of the various ways to approach turns.

I got an e-mail from a reader asking if we could do a tutorial on multi-directional lines (triangles, pentagons, etc). Luckily today was our mid-May meetup, so I whipped up a 3-way line and brought the camera. Here’s a quick video howto and some shots of the line in action.

Today marks the first installment in our “destructive testing” series.  The purpose of this series of posts is to investigate what happens when stuff breaks, and how much force it takes to make stuff break.  Safety is my number one concern, and my hope is that these experiments will help everyone to better understand how […]

Recently I saw someone rigging a “primitive” slackline with five carabiners (one on the static end, and four for the tension system). The “elegant friction lock” method I use was also not being employed. Basically this is as far as you can get from how I setup my primitive systems and still be considered the […]

So I finally got around to editing a video on how to rig a primitive line. If you’d like the pictorial version of this, see [here].  Some other useful posts (with skills utilized in this video) include [using a line locker] and [making anchor slings].  If you want to know how to get the line […]

Seattle Parks and Recreation is going to spend $500,000 to put in a new playground at Golden Gardens park in Ballard.  Kids love slacklines.  I see some possibilities here.  The benefits are manifold.  First off, kids would get a more safe (rubberized surface if they fall) and more accessible (lower + shorter) slackline (or slacklines!) […]

So I was sitting on the couch tonight while it’s raining outside, decompressing after several long weeks of school and work, and I started wondering if I could rig a slackline without any carabiners at all.  So now I have a new “elegant ring method.” [ angle #2 | angle #3 ] Of course I […]

There’s a new line locker on the market that shows great promise for short lines.  SMC (Seattle[ish]-based-rigging-hardware-manufacturer) has just released a collar-shaped 1″ inner diameter aluminum ‘rigging ring’ that looks to make a great line locker ($4.50 at REI as well as from SMC directly).  I picked up a couple today and (magical time traveling […]

Katie and I talked about where we could go volunteer today, to make MLK day a “day on” rather than a “day off.”  There were a few projects going on across town, mostly landscaping related.  When we woke up today and saw the beautiful weather, we had no choice — today would be a day […]

Have you seen me mentioning making slings with your own webbing by tying a “water knot?”  Confused as to what the heck a water knot is, or how to use it to make a sling?  Well, here’s a video that shows you how to do just that.

All of you should be familiar with the basic “Ellington” or “primitive” system.  It uses 4 carabiners: 1 to hold the end of the line to one anchor; 1 hitched or line-locked about 80% of the distance from that anchor; 2 more at the other anchor, and a very ‘primitive’ looping of the remaining 20% […]

(NOTE* This now exists as a video too) WHAT: Rigging a 3:1 primitive slackline. WHY: Because ratchets are lame, and this setup is cleaner, lighter, and fun. HOW: This assumes you already have all the gear needed for a primitive setup.  If you need to build a primitive setup, see: this link.  We’re going to […]

It’s important to understand the strength ratings of your various equipment.  Carabiners are rated for a couple of different types of loading, and without exception the pull-load (coincident with the spine of the carabiner) is the highest rating.  Loads in other directions (pulling on the gate, for instance) are usually substantially lower.  Simply put, this […]

I’ve absconded to Wisconsin for a short while.  I wasn’t slacking much in Seattle with the “cold weather,” but after a week or two here and some -20°F weather, I have a new appreciation for the relative comfort afforded by weather that allows water to remain a liquid.