Yesterday Teale, Sean and I set up a short 3/4" rope between the trees in my front yard that are only 15 feet apart. This was my first serious attempt at slack rope walking and I knew that the line would roll a lot but DANG it was surprisingly difficult to do even the most basic stuff. It took about 4-5 minutes before I kept slipping off while walking. If your foot gets even the slightest bit uneven it would just roll and shoot off to the side. It was also evident I didn’t have the right shoes for the job. I think with another hour of practice I’d be fine with most intermediate tricks but the difference in line behavior is very notable. You keep the side to side swing but nearly zero bounce and recoil. I’m pretty sure I could keep juggling much the same as I can on a slackline but I’m not quite sure jumps are going to happen. With a slackline when you jump it automatically recoils back to the straight line between the trees and it does so quickly. With a slack rope it might still be swaying side to side when your feet are looking to land. Surfing however was pretty easy with a nice solid predictable path that lacks a recoil adjustment. Either way, I’ll have to explore the option so there is more to come on the topic.
- Slackline Joe
No funny pics of me from this outting – sorry. Instead enjoy a nifty slackline picture sent in from Robbie Walsh from his slackings in New Zealand.
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