Slackline

slacklining is addictive!
barefoot is he way to go, you get a better feel for the line. I have a 1 inch wide line they are the best! to be honest it just takes time, you have to build up muscles you hardly ever use. when you are holding on to someone for support and let go to try on you own you whole balance is thrown off, so it is best to learn by mounting the line by yourself. that helped me a lot. you can try bouncing or pressing down when you feel like your about to fall or your line starts to wiggle side to side.

eh, i miss the slackline..sadly we don't have properly space trees here...

I got a line for my birthday

Managed about 4m of travel after an afternoons playing.
Got a couple of turns too, tried (and failed) some jumps.

Haven't tried jumping mounts yet - maybe tonight...

Highly addictive

Got a Slackline, looking forward to taking it out this weekend! First time!

Taking one to Nick Woolsey's next Bali retreat in a few days. Just waiting for it to appear in the post....

Does anyone have any reccomendations for progression?

As far as I can tell, a good tick-list is to master for beginners:

Balancing - 2 feet
Balancing - 1 foot
Walking forward
Walking backward
Turning
Surfing - Feet forward and/or side-on
Jumping on the line
Jumping on to the line
Sit start
Standing -> sitting (Nearly got that)

Anything else worth getting the hang of?

nah I think thats a pretty good list Durbs. Now it's just working towards getting more and more air between your feet and the line.

I've been in Slack withdrawals, cuz its been raining a lot lately

your feet stop hurting after about 5 to 6 weeks... just massage your feet after a session.
it is addictive, very much so... been slacking for about two months now, almost every day. (rain) i think i've averaged 5 1/2 days a week for the two months that i've been doing it...
dont do many tricks, but i can now walk 50ft on a regular basis..

Sooo I want to get a slackline

where is the best place to get them in/for Australia/New Zealand?
or perhaps make my own, though i'd really have no idea where to look for pieces...

you can make your own with climbing gear, just remember.. once you use the gear for slacklining, its not recommended that you use that gear for climbing again...

you can get tubular webbing, the line you use for top rope setups. and some carabiners, you can set up a line...

check here: http://obergma.blogspot.com/2008/08/slackline-setup.html
its one way of doing that works well..

In Australia;

http://www.slackline.com.au/

their lines are fairly well priced for what you get, and they are designed for quick setup. If you just usse climbing gear, there are a few knots you need to know how to tie, and getting the tension right is a bit of work when you are starting out. If I were just starting out again, I'd recommend getting a fast fit eg;

TITAN 15 Metre Rachet System Slackline -$150.00AUD
http://www.slackline.com.au/index.php?pa...t&Itemid=30

J

I got a chance to try one of these out at a fest and it was way harder than I thought it would be!

I want to learn in the future though!

Try not too put too much weight on the line when you first get onto it. A bit like freemounting on a uni (if you have gotten that far).

Me playing at the Bristol juggling convention.

Using a football/soccer goal and rigging a line between the posts is a very easy way to start and get you used to standing/walking without having to get on again and again.

Shorter line don't always mean less stretch. It depends on your webbing, moisture, tightness, etc. It's better to start on a longer tighter line to avoid too much pitch in the line.

To get a slackline tighter doesn't require fancy equipment or more strength, just wrap your tightening end around carabiners in a pulley lever system can easily have a 120 lb / 55 kg person dip less than 1 ft / 30 cm on a 8 ft / 2.5 m line.

Pyrolific provided almost all the tips I can think of. For an added challenge start trying to do slackline yoga!

Good luck and I wish you all the best of luck.

I keep forgetting to organise myself one of these.