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KilaTsunami
October, 2024

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Homemade Slackline?

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Inline.
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 432
I'm looking to get into slacklining, but don't have $100 to drop on a jibline.
http://www.gibbonslacklines.com/us/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=264&Itemid=309
I've seen some videos of people creating their own slacklines, such as this:

or this: http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Slackline
Has anybody on here made their own? Got any tips?
May 19 2012 11:48PM
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Jakx~
Posts: 653 - Karma: 503
I've never done it. But they originated in camp 9 in yosemite buy a bunch of homeless climbers. So you should be able to make one yourself. i know an original slackline is made out of inch wide webbing like so: http://www.rei.com/product/783605/1-military-spec-tubular-webbing. Buy some of that, some carabiners and knowledge of a pull tight knot and you should have yourself a slackline.
May 20 2012 12:40AM
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Jakx~
Posts: 653 - Karma: 503
I've never done it. But they originated in camp 9 in yosemite buy a bunch of homeless climbers. So you should be able to make one yourself. i know an original slackline is made out of inch wide webbing like so: http://www.rei.com/product/783605/1-military-spec-tubular-webbing. Buy some of that, some carabiners and knowledge of a pull tight knot and you should have yourself a slackline.
May 20 2012 12:40AM
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Flacko
Posts: 1495 - Karma: 788
repost?
May 20 2012 12:45AM
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Flacko
Posts: 1495 - Karma: 788
my bad i meant double post
May 20 2012 12:46AM
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Inline.
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 432
I was looking at 2 inch line but thanks for the info. K+
May 20 2012 12:58AM
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Flying~Squirrel
Posts: 6494 - Karma: 192
1" tubular webbing is the stuff you want, plus a couple oval ring carabiners.

webbing goes through the carabiners like this:
Click for larger image
the green is the carabiner

doing this works like a charm, and holds just as well as a ratchet will.
May 20 2012 1:31AM
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yourthemannowdog
Posts: 4541 - Karma: 313
They weren't homeless, just content with tents ;). Alex honnold is a boss
May 20 2012 1:45AM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,123
uh, it depends on your definition of "home made". Slacklines are just caribiners and webbing...
May 20 2012 1:59AM
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Steezy.Taught.Me
Posts: 104 - Karma: 5
I do it the same way the guy in the video does it. works great

May 20 2012 2:23AM
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Inline.
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 432
Do you use 1 or2 inch line?
May 20 2012 2:25AM
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Steezy.Taught.Me
Posts: 104 - Karma: 5
1 inch. i like it, but it's kinda tough at first
May 20 2012 2:30AM
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I_Am_Mod
Posts: 13214 - Karma: 3,753
i'm personally a big fan of the ratchet type of slackline setups, they're much easier to set up/ adjust and you can generally get these tighter, especially if you're on your own ....
May 20 2012 7:45AM
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dubtwo
Posts: 590 - Karma: 114
I have the exact same setup as the one in that video. It works really well for me, ended up costing like 60 bucks I think. The only thing is once you get over 30-35 feet, you need a second person to help pull it tight. But, once you get the hang of it, you can set it up really fast and walking it is a lot of fun.
May 20 2012 11:09AM
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IBAM
Posts: 1954 - Karma: 2,351
I use 2" flat webbing with a ratchet, I had it lying around from towing some stuff on a trailer. You can get it really cheap I've tried both 1" and 2" wide webbing and find that 2" is a lot nicer IF you plan to do tricklining, which I find to be a lot more fun. It really does not have to be that long, my line is about 20 feet, sometimes I secure it at max length, sometimes I go shorter, but for tricklining you want it as tight as possible, so distance is less of a factor than if you were doing long lines. You can pick up the stuff for 60 cents a foot from a bunch of places online, and you could pick up a ratchet strap for like $15-20. If you don't want to use a ratchet, carabiners are fairly cheap, you just want to make sure you get really good quality ones, ones with screw-in locks. Personally, I like ratchets; they're easier to set up, you can get them really tight. You may be able to get all of this stuff from some online craigslist/freecycle type place. In the end, really, a slackline is just what you make of it, there is no wrong or right way to do it.
May 22 2013 5:02PM
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
I make mine like the first video but without the line lockers with 1in tubbing and it's worked great for years.
May 22 2013 5:19PM
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panojibber.
Posts: 1041 - Karma: 683
It's way easier than you'd think to set up a home
Made one. Go to MEC or a climbing store and they should be able to help you out. Mine cost me like $50.
May 22 2013 5:32PM
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Mr.Mitten
Posts: 1325 - Karma: 3,834
1 Inch tubular spec webbing works very well. I made one myself and it works wonderfully. It doesn't get torn up like one with a ratchet does, and they're pretty easy to setup.
May 22 2013 5:34PM
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saxon
Posts: 1159 - Karma: 551
oh, the irony ;)
May 22 2013 5:38PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
Climbers, who originally "made" the slackline, do not use those Gibbons kits. Also, it isn't Camp 9, it's Camp 4 in Yosemite. Climbers originally walked the chain link fences, then someone got the idea to use webbing. All you need is a decent section of webbing and some locking carabiners. Oh, and a little know-how, which you can acquire from teh Internets.
May 22 2013 7:33PM
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