Here at the ATB Warehouse we want to know what you would think about having a indoor or outdoor Slacklinging spot? We have space in the warehouse/ skate park for a Trick line and when the sun starts shining out in the back garden also. In our shop we mostly stock Elephant lines 15m to 25m long, all 2 inch and perfect for the new spot. If we put the lines in and had a dry winter spot and nice summer spot we could also start Swindon first Slackline club where people can come together and share tricks. The space we have is perfect for any age and any level of slacker, even if it would be your first time!! as slackling is a balance sport it would help with skateboarding, scooter and roller blading so the 2 sports are an amazing mix. We’d love to know what you think, so drop us a line in the comments box below.
What is a Slackline? Slacklining has been around since the early 80s when 2 rock climbers Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington decided that they could put there climbing webbing across the gaps in the cliffs they climbed and walk across. Some of these lines could have been hundreds of feet high and when you add things like wind speed and direction that will push you around this is very dangerous, so safety equipment is essential, you do have people that still want to push there walking to the next level, that use no safety equipment and this is called free soloing.
The line itself is flat making it easier to land tricks instead of a round rope that your foot would roll off, as the years went by slacklining has taken on many different forms and the lines you have can vary in length, width and height. The most common type so slacklining you will see is called Trick lining this form of slacklining is close to the floor so can also be called lowlining and is easily accessible as long as you have 2 secure points to rig off and is normally 2 inch wide. Trick lining is still fairly new, so new tricks are being landed all the time and people are still pushing to see how high they can go, how they can fall and twist to make new combos. Tricks can be as easy as walking the line, single drop knee, walking backwards and go up to advanced tricks like butt bounces, chest bounces and back flips.
You also have long lines normally around 50m and longer this will take a lot of determination and skill to get across and as you may be on the line for long periods of time it will build you fitness and stamina, Tricks can still be done on a long line but normally you would just walk one of these.
Highlining is the last form of slacklining normally you would use webbing that is 1 inch wide, high lining is more for you expert slackers that know about safety and how to rig these line properly. You can see these lines going across quarries, buildings and cliffs. Even though safety equipment is used this form of slacklining is very impressive and will normally draw a crowd of people staring up in amazement.