Everything You Need to Know About Slacklining

Obviously, people have been doing balancing activities forever. Slacklining is not really that new in its most basic form, balancing in general, but the sport has taken on a new identity in the the last 30 years. Lots of people are naturally attracted to try to balance on things. I can’t pass by a retaining wall or guard rail with my kids without one of them asking to balance on it and usually they want to hold my hand so they don’t fall. Throughout the years, people have done tight rope walking and other feats of balance. The great thing about slacklining is that it’s opened up a safer and easier way for many more people to try out the sport of balancing. Most people don't have access to a tight rope and a lot of other things that are available to balance on are too high and too hard to be safe. In spite of that, some have risked life and limb to balance on things anyways. Since slackline have been developed there is a much better option. Although some still need the risk of bodily harm to truly challenge them, most are happier not to have to worry about this! The actual sport of slacklining got its start in the famous climbing area of Yosemite National Park back in the 1970's. The climbers needed something to do to fight off boredom on rainy days or rest days when they weren't climbing the valley walls. By the way, trying to fill gaps of time between recreation with another type of recreation sounds like a nice problem to have! Apparently, they would challenge each other to balance on the hanging chains in the local parking lots. They decided at some point to take webbing that they normally used for climbing and tie it between two trees for their balancing game. This gave them a portable option that they could easily set up anywhere. It also made it possible to suspend low to the ground. The slackline webbing was also not hard like chain or a metal bar, so if you fell on it, it wouldn’t hurt much. To this day a lot of rock climbers use slacklining as a type of crosstraining. Slacklining can help you become a better rock climber because of the way it improves your balance and agility. Eventually, more and more people have gotten into it besides just climbers and several great options have become available to buy It was somewhat difficult to set up a slackline in the past. It took several people to get it tight enough and it required special equipment that most people didn't have unless they were rock climbers. Several manufacturers have put together kits for slacklines that make it simple to set up, and they are very reasonably priced. With these kits anyone can get into this sport. Slacklining has always intrigued me. As a rock climber and a person who's always enjoyed a challenge slacklining is natural fit. I've been trying to balance on anything I could find ever since I was kid including fences, playground equipment, hand rails, and retaining walls. When I found out about slacklining it was something I immediately wanted to get into. I'm really wantiing to get better at this sport, so I just ordered my own slackline kit to set up in my backyard. I’m really excited about having another “play time” activity that I can do relatively safely with my kids. Maybe investing in a slackline that we can balance on in our backyard will keep them from doing some of the dangerous things that I did when I was a kid. YIKES! I would highly recommend slacklining to anyone who's interested in checking out a new sport for several reasons. It can increase your balance, joint strength, and agility. You can get into it without spending a ton of money. You can do it almost anywhere. Whether you have a group or are alone, it can be a lot of fun. You’ll be excited as you get better and better. Let's get slacking!