# Flatband review



## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I have bought bands and slingshots from many members here and I must say that my recent first experience buying from Gary was outstanding for three reasons:

Gary is super to deal with. He's patient and helpful and had no issues with shipping overseas or selling band material. I have found few vendors ready to sell raw elastic that wasn't already made into bands. Most want to sell full band sets or at least cut strips. I am not sure of that rationale; maybe they want to add value. Gary knows he adds value selling elastic because his vast stock of many hard to obtain elastics is second to none anywhere in the world.

Gary doesn't just sell bandsets or elastic strips. He sells carefully tailored bandsets for the discerning target shooter. You can tell a lot from any custom service from the amount of information the artisan gathers. Gary needed to know what size and weight of ammo I was shooting, what I was shooting at, my draw length, and which of 4 pouch types I preferred. He also asked for the dimensions of the extra material I planned to test for its elastic properties.

Gary went the extra mile and then some! Knowing me to be a fellow experimenter, he threw in some exotic elastic for me to try out. These included several elastics that he doesn't even supply as standard yet, but potentially offer superior elasticity or durability. I didn't expect that at all and it shows the genuine enthusiasm he has for his quest for ever better bandsets.

I can see that I'll be ordering from Gary time and time again. He's the go-to guy for custom bandsets and untied elastics.

I'll post more details of the hysteresis, velocity/kinetics and accuracy stats as I run them. I've got to run some commercial lighting product safety tests soon and that'll ensure I've got free workshop time to do that. Watch this space!


----------



## Sam (Jul 5, 2010)

Awesome, I must try them out some time. Could you please do a power efficiency test, by measuring the draw weight then the kinetic energy produced?


----------



## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Agreed, Gary is one fine individual to deal with. I dont recall why now but he sent me 5 superb pouches as a Freebee. Im saving them for a special occasion. Gary is top notch quality too.


----------



## juliusjonzon (May 6, 2010)

I could Noe agree more! I have purchased different bands from him and all are great! First from eBay, and then from the forum here! Great stuf every time! And the comunication works like a charm! 
Great work


----------



## harpersgrace (Jan 28, 2010)

He's the best...all around great guy..


----------



## jephroux (Dec 21, 2009)

HEY CAN I GET IN ON THE FLAT BAND PARTY
JUST ABOUT EVERY SLING SHOT I HAVE HAS HIS BANDS
ON IT AN HIS SLING SHOT ARE AS GOOD AS YOU COULD
EVER ASK FOR SUPER GREAT GUY


----------



## Jaybird (Dec 20, 2009)

[Now you can see why I call Gary the SLINGSHOT PROFESSOR,been dealing with him for years.He is great.

quote name='jephroux' date='13 July 2010 - 10:29 AM' timestamp='1279034945' post='14130']
HEY CAN I GET IN ON THE FLAT BAND PARTY
JUST ABOUT EVERY SLING SHOT I HAVE HAS HIS BANDS
ON IT AN HIS SLING SHOT ARE AS GOOD AS YOU COULD
EVER ASK FOR SUPER GREAT GUY
[/quote]


----------



## Peresh (May 3, 2010)

Agreed! Gary's flatbands are awesome.


----------



## baumstamm (Jan 16, 2010)

he is the man! he is what i call costum maker! i own two of his catty´s. with him, i traded my first catty´s, what makes me very proud!


----------



## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I took some time today to put some 10.2g (.36oz) shot over the Chrony with Gary's bean flipper.

48.2m/s
52.1m/s
43.6m/s
40.4m/s
38.5m/s
44.3m/s
43.3m/s

This gives a mean of 43.9m/s (144fps) and a median of 43.6 (143fps). The band was shot in 31C (89F) and about 90% humidity at around 150k MSL. I must say it felt faster and maybe the readings are off. It's a very fast band with a smooth draw and a snappy delivery. Gary's bands are designd for lighter ammo and this is probably the upper end of the usable weight range, but I've been having trouble with my copper .177 and 6mm BBs not registering over my Chrony in the poor light of my workshop. A lighter shot like 3/8" steel or lighter would make better use of the fast bands.

I was initially a bit skeptical about the slit forks as I shoot flipstyle, but in the end enjoyed the slingshot's accuracy. It shot straight and true with a flat trajectory. I managed one fork hit, which the wood took well. I put my crappiness down to the fact I was shooting over a chrono at a small backstop 10m away.

I found the frame to be small and very light, but with plenty of bulk and a comfortable grip.

I'll post pics and maybe some high speed video later.


----------



## boyntonstu (Jul 16, 2010)

Sam said:


> Awesome, I must try them out some time. Could you please do a power efficiency test, by measuring the draw weight then the kinetic energy produced?


This is a very important post and it should be a sticky!

The whole point in shooting performance is power efficiency.

Beyond PE, next most important element is the life of the rubber.

I wish that every band came with a PE rating.

We have SEER, MPG, etc. so why not PE?


----------



## NightKnight (Dec 16, 2009)

Z, which rubber were you using when you did the velocity tests? I found the latex to be faster than the red stuff(forget the name right now).


----------



## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I'll be doing all that. It takes time and I'm a bit busy right now. Note that science alone does not make a good band.


----------



## USASlingshot (Feb 25, 2010)

i am lookiing forward to getting the money to buy one of his slingshots. i have heard nothing but great things about him and his product


----------



## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

This is the shooter from the tests!


----------



## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks for the nice words Dan. Real kind of you Bud! Thanks to everyone else too-I Just LOVE SLINGSHOTS!!!!!!







Flatband


----------

