# Another Popeye Review



## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*AliExpress Popeye Review*​​
There are several versions of the popular "Popeye" frame on the AliExpress web pages. The version that I have seems to be the smallest of the group with a mere 102 mm overall length. Another version has more length with wood handle scales and no pinky hole. A third version looks like what I have but the forks appear to be slightly skinnier at the bottom and they have knurled & slotted knobs for the clamps rather than Torx screws. All of these frames are referred to as the "Sailor" or "Popeye" and seem to share the same fork style with the thick tips and narrower towards the handle. The original Popeye cartoon character had a similar shape with very thick forearms and thinner upper arms. Possibly this is where the slingshot name came from.

The Popeye slingshot has a small but hefty stainless steel frame with streamline fork clamps that blend smoothly into the forks. The finish on the frame is matt or possibly blasted for a very mild non-glare texture. If given the choice, I would take this surface over the shiny surface we see on most stainless steel frames. The handle has contoured scales on the front and back that appear to be aluminum. The frame that I am reviewing came from the Piaoyu Outdoor Store on AliExpress. Frame details are as follows.

Length = 102 mm

Width = 80 mm

Fork tip width = 20 mm

Gap = 40 mm

Thickness (without scales) = 11 mm

Weight = 240 grams

Material = stainless steel

Handle scales = aluminum

With my average size hand I find the Popeye to be very comfortable to hold and shoot. All edges including the pinky hole on the frame are well rounded for comfort. The corners of the fork tips are left squared and provide a very precise point for aiming.

The con that I see with this small frame could be the fork width for those who enjoy wide bands. The 20 mm width could be limiting but it's not something that would adversely affect my shooting or enjoyment at all. I shot 3/4" to 7/8" fork tips for many years. If I wanted more power I could choose thicker bands but these days I mainly stick with light bands and ammo.

I found the small Popeye design to be quite accurate using a thumb brace hold. The pinky hole helps with frame stability and the low forks seem to aid in accuracy. The bevelled fork tip design allowed me to slightly lean the forks forward when shooting to give a flatter wrist position and further help with accuracy. I found no problem hitting pop cans at 18-20 yards with ¼" steel ammo flying at 232 fps.

A lot of shooters insist on using a lanyard for safety. The Popeye comes with a metal lanyard nib that securely threads into the solid steel frame. A piece of #95 Paracord works well with the hole size but thicker material is possible if a small split ring is used through the nib.

As is common with many Chinese steel frames, the inside clamp surfaces and screw holes will often be somewhat gunked with a black residue. It's a simple process to disassemble, clean with rubbing alcohol or a solvent and then reassemble the parts. Asking the manufacturer to add this process would increase labor costs and might mess with the attractive low price of $15.70 US. Some customers have complained about the residue on product reviews but I would likely do a cleaning myself anyways so I find no inconvenience.

If you prefer small frames then this little gem might be something to add to your collection. It's very solid construction and feels great to shoot.


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*Video Review for Popeye*


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*More shooting with Popeye*


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## AKA Forgotten (Jan 26, 2019)

Another excellent review covering all the points.

Interesting that you mention the Stinger as that was one of the things I was hoping for when I saw it advertised and instantly wanted one. I now use it interchangeably with my Stinger(s), often during the same session. Slightly narrower forks means a very slight change in anchor or aim point, so no big deal


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*Your reviews are the best and so are your shooting skills. * :thumbsup:


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Alfred E.M. said:


> *Your reviews are the best and so are your shooting skills. * :thumbsup:


LOL... far from the best but still having fun! This little Popeye is slick!


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*Here is a short Popeye video with 30 yard shooting on a pop can. The bands were unknown AliExpress and ammo was 1/4" steel. I zoomed in 4X with my cheapo camera but that cut me out of the picture.*


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*One more video for today. This time the Popeye was used for 50 yards on a 9 1/2" pie plate. All shooting was with 1/4" steel ammo and Precise Yellow bands. I recorded 4 other vids from 50 but they were all 2/5 hits for each. This one was my best attempt. *

* If you want to see "real accurate" long distance shooting then try to find the vid with Bill Hayes smashing a pop can at 100 yards. Maybe one day I'll try a large metal garbage can lid at 100 but even that would be extremely difficult. I don't know if I can control the required draw weight to get a projectile that far. *


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## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

Excellent shooting!


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Great review and great shootn buddy. 
My good friend Alfredmonkeynipples sent me one of these last week. It was a bit smaller and much heavier than I thought it would be.
Me being a complete traditionalist thought Popeye happened when the band clips cut the top band and "popped "me in the "eye " but it was so cool looking and heavy I had to give him a go. I set it up for a 67" draw and just had a blast! Checking the bands at the forks each shot. 
It absolutely just sits there upon release just like a heavy bow. It's quite easy to be accurate with and you could back your truck over it without hurting it. 
Does it seem like the screws are a bit short to get the bands in? My only complaint so far. 
I might come around to the industrial side after all. lol. Thanks again Ward!!


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Hey Joe... My buddy Alfred sent me my Popeye too. He's a great guy who is also full of creativity and intellect.

The clamps are a great feature to have and they give a streamline appearance to the frame. No bulky ties or apparatus sticking out. They hold very well too. I have 3 steel clamper frames and several ABS resin frames and never had a problem with them yet.

You can back out the screws quite a bit before they get to the end of the threads. Make sure you push firmly on the domed screw head while inserting the band and make sure the edges of the screw head enter into the screw recess on the fork. Just wiggle the screw if it doesn't enter the recess. The actual fork is not threaded, just the clamp.

The screws are as long as possible without allowing any to extend beyond the frame after tightening. A thicker frame would be needed to hide longer screws after tightening. If you wanted longer then the size is metric *M4 x 0.7mm. * I picked up some in Minnesota a few days ago (for spares) so they are a common size and available in the US. I think the OEM is about 10mm length so a 12mm or 14mm would give you lots of extra length.

Below are some pics showing how wide the clamps will extend. I unscrewed the clamp much more than needed and still had 1 1/2 turns left until the threads disengaged. I don't have to go nearly this far when installing double layers (folded) of Sum Pink. Just make sure the screw head is pressed into frame recess to get max gap.


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

The day was good for shooting so I tried the *Popeye at 75 yards*. The video below was my second attempt. I tried a couple more times and ended up with another 4/5 and a 3/5. Then I got tired after experimenting with ammo size and started to miss almost everything. I ended up walking to 50 yards to shoot for a while and build up the confidence again. The 75 yard shooting requires that I am fresh and focused or it's a mess.

I did try 80 yards but did poorly. The extra 5 yards must severely loop the trajectory. I already had a spot for 90 yards and possibly 100 but I don't have the speed for those distances. I'm guessing that 300+ fps would be needed and I have never seen that kind of speed with my latex assortment and a 32" draw length. My old thumb would probably break off.

75 yards

Popeye Slingshot

Precise .55mm Yellow bands

Band cut 19mm x 12mm x 170mm

5/16" steel ammo

32" (81 cm) draw length

246 fps

18" metal gong target


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## AKA Forgotten (Jan 26, 2019)

Another excellent shoot and love that delay between release and impact. Enjoying my Popeye so much have ordered a second,this time from Aliexpress


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

AKA Forgotten said:


> Another excellent shoot and love that delay between release and impact. Enjoying my Popeye so much have ordered a second,this time from Aliexpress


*Me too, a second one is on the way. I convince myself that I need a backup, and bc they're so inexpensive, resistance is futile lol.*

*Seriously, the design is so fine, it's hard to believe the price is that low. Politics be damned, this is amazing quality.*


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## AKA Forgotten (Jan 26, 2019)

Alfred E.M. said:


> AKA Forgotten said:
> 
> 
> > Another excellent shoot and love that delay between release and impact. Enjoying my Popeye so much have ordered a second,this time from Aliexpress
> ...


The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it lol It is a little gem


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