FAQ


General Questions about Slacklining


What is Slacklining?

Slacklining is a balance sport in which you string a piece of webbing between two objects and walk on it. After learning to walk on the line, the next step would be to start doing tricks. These tricks consist of doing jumps, or swinging the line side to side (a.k.a. surfing), or even doing different yoga poses on the line. There are many different ways to slackline, with new ones being invented all the time.

What are the benefits of slacklining?

Not only is slacklining very fun, it can be a great workout! Balancing on a piece of webbing uses many muscles that are hardly ever used and working these muscles helps with many other activities. You will notice how much easier everyday activities, such as walking or general balance, become after you start to slackline. Also, slacklining serves as a wonderful form of relaxation and meditation as you must only think about balancing when you are walking on a line. This intense focus forces you to forget about your daily stresses while getting stonger, a physical and mental workout all-in-one!

What kind of equipment (gear) is needed to slackline?

No matter what kind of slackline you setup you will need a few things: 2 strong anchor points (usually trees to start out), two anchors to attach your line to, a line to walk on, and a way to tension this line. There are a variety of products in our shop that will meet your needs for every aspect of this setup. A good place to start as a beginner would be our BC Primitive Slackline Kit, which is an all-inclusive slackline kit that is super lightweight and easy to use. It's great for travel or as a standard slackline kit.

Do I need to wear shoes to slackline?

Some people like to wear shoes while they slackline while others like to do it barefoot. If you are doing big tricks and a lot of yoga poses on the line, it might be better to wear shoes in order to protect your feet. Some tricks can be quite painful and a good pair of flat-bottom shoes helps quite a bit. On the other hand, if you prefer to longline and have more physical feedback from the line on to your feet, then we suggest going barefoot. It isn't the same for everyone though. We would recommend trying both with shoes and barefoot to see which method suites you the best.

Is slacklining dangerous?

Great care should be taken when setting up and walking a slackline. If the proper rigging techniques are not used there is a possibility for injury and death. Your anchors should be strong and able to hold a minimum of 25kN (6,000 lbf). Large diameter trees (greater than 30cm or 12") should always be used. Also, take care to not over-tighten your line as the webbing we use is rated for moderate tensions. Never have less than 30 cm (1 foot) of sag for every 12m (40 feet) of length you have (ie a 30m/100ft line should have 1m/2.5ft of sag or MORE). It also should be noted that the more dynamic tricks that are possible on a slackline tend to be a bit more dangerous. A controlled falling technique should be learned and practiced as falling is bound to happen to everyone on a slackline. Keep your lines low at first (i.e. below 1m/3ft high at the anchor-points) while you are learning the basics.


Product Questions


What kind of slackline should I get?

All of the different Slackline Webbings that we offer at Balance Community are meant for different use cases. For example, our Slack-Spec Tubular is a really good beginner line that will also be fun as you become a better slackliner. The super springy feel has the traditional 'slack' feeling that the sport was based off of, but yet it still has a nice tight bounce to it for the more dynamic tricks that are becoming more popular. Our Lift webbing is a super strong, very soft nylon webbing that is great for longer lines as well as a great highline webbing because of it's strength and stretch. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference when you are choosing your webbing. If you have a chance to try out different types of webbing, you definitely should as any good slackliner will have a variety of webbings in their gear collection.

How do I get my line tight enough to walk it?

There are a number of ways to tension a slackline, each with their pros and cons. The most efficient option is to use a Pulley System. A pulley system uses Mechanical Advantage in order to multiply the force you apply to your slackline in order to reach much higher tensions. With a simply pulley system using the components in our shop, you can reach tensions as high as 25x your body weight. Using the components in our shop, you can build yourself a pulley system that will last you years to come and will allow you to tension whatever slackline you could ever dream of. For more information on our pulley systems, check out Slack Science for information on various rigging methods.

Can I use climbing equipment to set up a slackline?

As the sport has progressed, we have learnt that slacklining is much different to rock climbing. In rock climbing the only time the gear is loaded is when you fall. In slacklining you are forced to rely on the gear at all times. This contributes to the need for slackline specific gear. As a result, we have and continue to develop slackline-specific products that are designed to withstand the demands of slacklining. For these safety reasons, we only recommend the use slackline-specific gear for slacklining.


Shop Questions


Is online the only place Balance Community sells their products?

Currently, in the US we only sell our products online and sometimes locally if we host festivals or events. We also sell products through a few other retailers around the world. Australian customers can purchase Balance Community gear locally from Climbing Anchors. We have plans to get our products into other slackline specific retailers around the world. We believe that currently, online gives our customers the most flexibility to order when and where they please. It also allows our customers to find out a lot more about our products and mission by browsing around our website.

If you are a slackline retailer looking to carry Balance Community products in your shop, please contact us for more information.

How long does it take for my purchase to arrive?

Depending on where you live, which shipping option you choose, and what products you order, it can be the very next day or up to 5 business after your purchase. For more information about our Shipping procedures, please read our shipping page.

Do you offer a bulk discount for very large orders?

If you plan on making a large corporate or group purchase, please contact us directly for more information.

Do you ship to my country?

Yes. We can ship anywhere in the world that has a post office. For more information on our Shipping Policy and how much it will cost to ship items to your country, checkout our shipping page.


Shipping Questions


Please refer to our shipping page.

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