# POM X6 'Conglin' Slingshot



## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

*POM X6 'Conglin' Slingshot*​
The appealing design of the ergonomic POM 'Conglin' Slingshot quickly caught my eye but the plastic material immediately rang a warning bell in my head. A front image view of the frame showed thin forks that I believed would awkwardly flex, bend, and possibly break. Plastic frame? It looks unsafe!

The internet has a wealth of information on POM so I dove in and summarized what was useful for the review. Polyoxymethylene (POM) is a light-weight engineering polymer known for high strength, low friction, good performance in cold temperatures, and resistance to impact and fatigue. It was first developed in the late 1950s and is commonly known as Acetal. Hundreds of different grades are available for different applications. Dupont developed a well known grade, marketed as 'Delrin'. The durability and stiffness of this thermoplastic make it very suitable for slingshot applications.

This X6 POM frame is manufactured by the well known Conglin company and made available for purchase from DanKung. The slingshot is available in solid black and also a variety of color designs. My example is called 'coffee' and is characterized by swirls of beige and cream color throughout the shiny dark brown frame. I find it rather attractive.

The shiny ergonomic POM frame seems much harder than HDPE. Although the forks are thin for a plastic material, I could not detect any annoying flex when shooting. The fork loops are the only section that have the round pencil-like thickness. The fork is actually noticeably thicker near the handle and tapers towards the ear loop (0.70" - 0.42"). This feature is not evident from a top view but a side view shows this stiffening characteristic.

I also have the Antelope frame which is the stainless steel version of the X6. The POM is only a quarter of the weight of the stainless steel model (55g vs 210g). The weight is the same as some of my small self-made 'board-cut' frames with similar length, but the POM is much less bulky. Part of my frame collection includes some small examples made from ¾" thickness hickory, maple, merbau, laminated bamboo and 5/8" HDPE. These frames all weighed in at 45 to 65 grams. At 55g the X6 POM falls right in the middle for weight.

Under magnification I can see seam lines around the perimeter of the frame. This leads me to believe the frame is injection molded. Fork grooves are found on the front of the forks to aid in keeping the tubes in place during the shot. I found that they work very well at preventing the annoying tube roll that can happen with plain fork loops. The frame also has a generous pinky hole that allows a lanyard attachment without interference with pinky placement.

Yes, this frame is comfortable. It comfortably fits into my hand and allows the same hold as I use with my stainless DK frames. With a sideways hold my thumb locates on the bottom fork ear and index finger wraps around the upper fork, right under the upper ear. My pinky gets a deep hook in the dedicated hole. The frame magically 'locks' into my hand and feels quite secure. There are no sharp edges, points or corners to cause discomfort. The frame holds as nice as it looks.

In other reviews I mentioned that I am a fan of small slingshot frames. The Conglin POM X6 definitely fits into this 'small' category. The length and width between the tubes is similar to the DK General II, Black Bat, and Ergo Dancing. The frame length provides adequate leverage without excess handle hanging below the lower edge of my palm.

Measurements

Overall length = 4.85" (123 mm)

Width across frame at fork loops = 3.80" (96.5 mm)

Width between forks (at widest) = 1.44" (36.5 mm)

Fork loop outside diameter = 1.18" (30 mm)

Fork loop inside diameter = 0.38" (9.5 mm)

Width at top of handle = 1.04" (26.5 mm)

Width on outside of handle at widest = 1.70" (43 mm)

Handle thickness = 0.70" to 0.90" (18 to 23 mm)

Fork thickness = 0.42" to 0.70" (10.5 to 18 mm)

Total weight without tubes = 2.0 oz (55 g)

Total weight with tubes = 2.3 oz (65 g)

Tubes & Flatbands

Like all DK 'looped tube' frames, the X6-POM will easily accommodate the thin Malaysian tubes such as 1632, 2040, and 1745. These skinny Malaysian tubes can be shot with single strand on each side, full doubles, or even in a pseudo taper style (partial doubles). I'm enjoying double amber 2040 with 6 3/8" from fork to pouch. With my 32" draw length this rig is shooting right at 200fps with 3/8" steel ammo.

Overall Opinion

It should be obvious that I enjoy this little frame design. It shoots quite well for me and the light weight will make it a sweet frame for my cargo pockets during the summer. It's a comfortable design to shoot and I don't have to make any adjustments when switching back and forth between my other DK frames.

If you are searching for a light-weight ergo frame with more durability than wood, the X6-POM might be worth considering. The price sure is reasonable.


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

*Another excellent review, you certainly have a gift for that.*

*I agree, this POM model is totally satisfying and visually sensuous - the designer packed a lot of sculpture into this small form. *

*Ten bux, 12 days, free shipping - who can resist ... so I didn't, recently ordered the blue version which is also quite a looker.*


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

An excellent review of an attractive shooter.

Do you have any links to sheets or blanks?


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

flipgun said:


> An excellent review of an attractive shooter.
> 
> Do you have any links to sheets or blanks?


I have never tried working with acetal (POM) but you should be able to find some sheets on the internet. Maybe try High Tech Plastics.

http://hightechplastics.com/?act=viewCat&catId=3

http://stores.ebay.com/hightechplastics/Acetal-/_i.html?_fsub=4682736014


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

Nice and curvey! I like it!!


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## Fiveshooter (Nov 15, 2016)

Great review and spot on. I bought one in same color a few months back and liked it so much I bought a couple more that were just delivered a couple few days ago. Like you, I was concerned about strength of the POM material. Once I realized it was a generic name for Delrin all my concerns went away. I can't imagine you could break these things with any band set light enough to control with the frame. Mine came with bandsets that were too heavy for me so I made lighter ones.

The Dankung site shows the weight at 100 grams but they do not weigh anything near that much. Overall they are great little shooters.

Listing at Dankung:

http://www.dankung.com/Gcontent/super-lightweight-pom-conglin-slingshot_1693?line_item_id=19261


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## kooniu (Jul 14, 2011)

good review !! I did order


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## kooniu (Jul 14, 2011)

very nice and comfy frame - I'm very happy with it


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

I got one last week in 'coffee'. I am a huge fan or Eastern style looped tube frames - and was after something more pocket friendly and impervious to the elements.

Think 'light' is an understatement - almost feels hollow. Its tough - not worried about it breaking.

The only thing is how chunky the posts are compared to the metal ones, they seems to obscure sight picture, more so with thinner tubes like 1632 (almost a bit more instinctive shooting biased). Find it also seems far happier with 'full-power' 2040/1842.

For $12 posted - its fantastic - fits the hand very well, very happy with it.


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