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Backpacker Magazine – April 2009

Editors' Choice 2009: Gibbon Slacklines

Here's a cheap, crazy-fun way to build mountain skills.

by: The Backpacker Editors

Gibbon Slacklines (Ben Fullerton)

MORE EDITORS' CHOICE WINNERS
See more gear that made the cut in our 2009 awards.

Teetering across greasy shards of Snowdonian slate, we were glad to have spent time pretrip improving our balance on this German company's new-age tightrope. Popularized by Yosemite climbers, slacklines are the best tool we've seen for building stability for steep or sketchy trails. They're also the most fun you and the kids can have in the backyard without marshmallow guns.

Use the simple cam-and-loop system to string the webbing knee-high between two trees. Put one bare foot up and weight it until your leg stops quivering (the shakes are natural), then stand up and try to walk across. Price, construction, and setup are all top-notch, and Gibbon's two-inch-wide webbing beats the usual one-inch line, which requires a Yosemite climber's equilibrium to master. $79/$99 (15 meter or 25 meter); gibbonslacklines.com

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READERS COMMENTS

EDITORS CHOICE: SLACKLINE BROS, INC
Posted: Dec 25, 2011 Anonymous

Benjamin is a tard. Do you always act like this when you don't get your way? Backpacker ROCKS! and is the best outdoors magazine IMO. You need to chill and quit acting like a child.
Posted: Apr 02, 2010 Jeff

wow the dude above me needs to take a volume. Bro relax. A slack line is a slack line wherever you buy it relax.
Posted: Mar 10, 2010 MY NAME

uh oh. apparently backpacker magazine has really aggressive caching turned on their webpages and my comment didn't show up. please disregard my last rather irate and rude message.
Posted: Dec 27, 2009 Benjamin

What the fuck, Backpacker magazine just removed my comment. Don't trust any review on this website. They apparently don't want to help people make decisions.

And a note to backpacker magazine editors: I will post this every hour until you shape up. this is ridiculous. My comment was legitimate and helpful. What is wrong with you and your company?
Posted: Dec 27, 2009 Benjamin Thomas

As an avid slack liner, I implore you to remove this "Editors' Choice" recommendation. All the Gibbons slacklines are 2" wide which is not a good slacklining width. The standard is 1" for a reason: 1" lines are more fun.

ANYONE CONSIDERING PURCHASING A SLACKLINE FROM THESE PEOPLE SHOULD SERIOUSLY THINK TWICE.

Just go to REI, buy one 40' piece of 1" webbing and two 10' pieces. Then buy four carabiners. You'll save money and you now have a very easy set up! Watch this video for an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18qbgwCn2ZA
Posted: Dec 27, 2009 Benjamin Thomas

Check out a line specifically designed for yoga And body awareness exercises at www.YogaSlackers.com take your practice beyond walking....
Posted: Nov 03, 2009 Sam Salwei