Tightrope walking has been around for thousands of years as a form of entertainment and amusement. In recent years, a new form of walking on a taunt rope has developed – slackline. Rock climbers used to walk on the cables and chains used by the National Park Service to stop the flow of traffic on trails or roads in the parks. This cable/chain walking provided the climbers with practice balancing and building of core strength when they were no on a rock face. In the 1980s two climbers, Adam Grosowsky and Jeff Ellington, who frequented Yosemite National Park started stringing the webbing used in climbing as their ‘rope’ to practice their balancing skills. With Yosemite being filled with climbers, the sport caught on like wildfire.
(Set up video after the jump)
The webbing used for slackline is not as taunt as the rope used in tightrope walking. The webbing is meant to move more as this causes the user to counteract the motion which in turn uses more muscles ultimately building core strength and balance. The modern webbing used in slacklin is one-inch wide as opposed to the webbing used by Adam and Jeff which was ¾” wide. This wider webbing offers more surface area to walk on and makes it easier to use with bare feet. Of course you can run out to your local climbing store and pick up some webbing, but getting it tight enough may prove to be a challenge. Freeflow Lines, based in Jacksonville, Florida is selling a number of kits with detailed instructions on stringing and using their line of slacklines.
Freeflow Lines was started to bring slacklining to the masses. They sell six different kits ranging from, $68 (ultra light kit) to $134 (the full blown beginner kit). Along with the kits, Freeflow Lines also sells numerous accessories to help you anchor your line, protect a tree that you are tying to or just show off that you are a slackline athlete.
Some slackline walkers are highline walkers, sometimes several hundred feet off of the ground, but a majority of users set their slackline up just a couple of feet off of the ground. Surfers, skaters, cyclists and in recent years, people doing yoga have been using a slackline as part of their training. If you are an athlete wanting to improve your balance and core strength, a kit from Freeflow Lines might be something ‘fun’ to add to your arsenal of workout equipment.