# Ok, I get why people like Flats so much now...



## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

Hey guys. I'm still getting used to a lot of the evolution of slingshots and materials since I've just come back after over two decades. I hope this doesn't bore anyone, I just have no one else to share my slingshot fandom with.

I have been using tubes and having great success with that, I just liked the way they looked better than Flats. Although I have heard Flats are much faster for the same pull weight. I have a bum wrist so anything that will let me have the same power with a lighter pull is welcome.

So anyway I made a quick and dirty set from some red theraband I was able to buy locally. I only bought a yard as this is very light stuff.

So I just cut a length of it, then cut it in half and folded it to make the Bands. So it's a full 5 1/2" strip of Thera-band I'm using.










My initial testing has me really impressed. This is super easy to pull back but it's throwing 10mil steel fast enough to punch through 5 layers of corrugated cardboard at 15 feet. The trajectory is pretty flat out to maybe 50'

So I guess I understand now why they are so popular and I think I'm changing to Flats for EDC.

My local drug store sells basically a year worth of stuff very similar to Thera-band black for $22. It smells like very pure latex and uses the official Thera-band color scale. I did a pull test on it and it's very fast. If I buy it I will post pics of the box and how well it works.


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## TheNewSlingshotGuy (Oct 11, 2014)

Awesome! But, are those zip ties you're using to tie the bands to the pouch? That won't last very long, it will cause the rubber to tear very quicly. And i imagine it would make handslaps much more painful. Here are some tutorials on how to tie bands to the pouch with either cotton string or a small strip of rubber (the latter being my preffered method), videos by Nathan Masters and my friend Josh, he goes by SharpshooterJD on the forum.


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## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

Thanks. Yea. I typically use zip ties for quick and dirty stuff to test things out. I'm trying out using scrap Thera-band or soft nylon cord tied in double constriction knots. Rubber seems to be the preferred option.

I'm definitely going to watch the video though, thanks!

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## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

Haha, the very first thing he says in the video is don't use nylon cord!

Definitely learning. Thanks again man.

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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

*Well my friend use cotton thread for pouch ties or make cuff's...y opinion cuff's work the best..*

*check out the tutural section for any video's on making cuff's.....I think I may have a video posted..*

*~AKAOldmiser*


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## TheNewSlingshotGuy (Oct 11, 2014)

inconvenience said:


> Haha, the very first thing he says in the video is don't use nylon cord!
> 
> Definitely learning. Thanks again man.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


You're welcome!


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

If your into archery at all , fiber string silencers work great. Or fishing, a piece of spinner skirt works good. Very light weight.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

That's supposed to say rubber string silencer. I hate spellcheck! You know the guy that invented it died .......... His tombstone said restaurant peace.


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

Flats are the shiznizzle. I was all tubes until I realized you can do a no-tie rig with flats almost as easily. Now i'm livin the dream!


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

At first I used latex tubes 'cause I couldn't get TB here at all in bananaville (til some wonderful expat brought some back from civilization for me). Then I switched to flats and have not used a tube since. Many however swear at tubes and swear by tubes, depends...a highly individual thing here.

I tried zip ties also, not particularly good, they hurt if they brush your hand or face too. I just take old broken bands and cut them into ties...did that for a couple years now and it's fine and a good use for recycled broken bands.

The "best" rubber is what you like best, not what someone else likes best which means you gotta try stuff to make an opinion that works for you. Slingshotting is a constant R&D thing.


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## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

Chuck Daehler said:


> At first I used latex tubes 'cause I couldn't get TB here at all in bananaville (til some wonderful expat brought some back from civilization for me). Then I switched to flats and have not used a tube since. Many however swear at tubes and swear by tubes, depends...a highly individual thing here.
> 
> I tried zip ties also, not particularly good, they hurt if they brush your hand or face too. I just take old broken bands and cut them into ties...did that for a couple years now and it's fine and a good use for recycled broken bands.
> 
> The "best" rubber is what you like best, not what someone else likes best which means you gotta try stuff to make an opinion that works for you. Slingshotting is a constant R&D thing.


I couldn't agree more.

Sorry if I bounce around over excited about things. I have the Zealotry of the newly (re) converted.

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## ol'school42 (Feb 13, 2016)

I definitely can identify with the zealotry thing. I purchased a couple of Trumarks just prior to encountering this forum. I have since made 6 slingshots from bamboo cutting board, 2 Boo shooters, purchased an Ocularis slim-line from Nathan Masters Simple-Shot (great little invention!), lucked out on an e-bay bid and received an ebony slingshot that's truly accurate, and have opted for Perk #9 from Bill Hays's (Pocket Predator company). And that's since February. I've also found another Army Veteran I feel I can trust (I do not say this lightly) and my trust level is pretty low. The vendors are incredibly free with their advice and time. Now I live in North Dakota and the weather is not the most conducive for all year shooting, I've made a range in my basement and am using the slingshots as a medative exercise similar to the mind set I use playing shakuhachi, bamboo Japanese folk flute used for zen meditation. I am a writer, that was suffering a stifling block till I began again with this sport. Since then, I've been writing my butt off and having a ball. Thanks.

You know, I began this thinking only to ask, "Where is the best place to purchase looped tubes?" I've got enough Alliance 107s to last a year but would like to try tubes just to... well, just to."


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## Yosemite Sam (Feb 18, 2016)

I bought 10M of black 1842 tubes from www.dankung.com.

Yosemite Sam


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## ol'school42 (Feb 13, 2016)

Thank Sam.


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## inconvenience (Mar 21, 2016)

Yosemite Sam said:


> I bought 10M of black 1842 tubes from www.dankung.com.
> 
> Yosemite Sam


While I am still loving the amazing power for the amount of pull you get with flats, I think looped tubes are the most aesthetically pleasing and the most practical. And they are super "hot" too.

When I talk bad about tubes I am only talking about the slow tubes that come with Wrist Wreckers etc.

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