Elegance, rappel ring be thy name
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 don’t think I’d ever probably rig the entire line without carabiners, but I could definitely setup one end without a ‘biner for a cleaner look. The upside of using a ring (the black one) in place of a carabiner in the typical “line locker” configuration is that the ring can be safely tri-loaded! Click here for view of this rigged with more contrasting webbing. I’ve talked before about using a spare ring and carabiner to avoid triloading, but this new method actually requires only the spare ring (and potentially eliminates 2 carabiners … see below). Cheaper, lighter, more elegant.
If you want to get really crazy, you can even make an adjustable sling using only rappel rings. I did this just for fun, but don’t think I actually would ever do this for slacklining as it would take too long and slings of varying sizes are cheap to make. Still, it goes to show that you can find myriad ways to set lines up. Those of you who know me personally know that I am headed to Africa this summer to do a variety of humanitarian things, but I have plans to teach a bunch of kids to slackline (and give them gear) and have thus been putting a lot of thought into the ultimate lightweight setup.
Hi
I am a climber in South Africa interested in slacklining and I see that you might be coming to Africa. Can you advise me on the best way ro set up a slackline with the least gear because slacklines aren’t cheap here.
Thank you
EDIT: Sorry for the late reply, I was in Nigeria when you posted this, heh. This is the best way to build a cheap slackline.
I like the simplicity of this.
More importantly – how can we help with the gear for the kids in Africa? Does it need to be new, or can people donate some older lengths of line? An extra Biner or three they don’t use any longer… etc.
Great site and appreciate all you’ve done!
EDIT: thanks for the offer! My Africa trip is now over, sadly, but was an amazing experience that I will never forget (and there are now many new slackliners in Ghana!).
I love this. I tried to work out rigging both ends of the line like this (not for a slackline – just for a good puzzle) and I think it’s not possible unless the second side has a large enough rappel ring that the first side can fit through when threading. Am I right or do I need to go back and work on it some more? Love your site. Thanks for all the information.
EDIT: If I understand what you’re asking, it is do-able, but would be very tedious unless your line was just barely long enough (you’d have to thread a bunch of extra line through, otherwise).
Hey, I’ve been trying to figure this one out for a bit now. Do you think you could explain how you do this? Thanks
Hey Adam, don’t worry about explaining this one…I figured it out once I had it in my hand. Thanks