# Off Brand Elastics



## M.J

In my area I don't have any shops that sell Theraband, but I do have a Wal-Mart and a Target that sell yoga bands under the Gold's Gym (W-M) and Embark (







) brands. I've measured the thickness of these and compared it to Theraband. Here's the TB color chart and a comparison with the dept. store bands. Thickness listed in inches:
Theraband
Gold- .025
Silver- .022 
Black- .015
Blue:- .012
Green- .010

Gold's Gym
Pink- .022
Blue- .019
Purple- .0145

Embark
Black- .0175
Blue-.014
Green-.010

Both off brands are sold with all three colors in 5' lengths for about $10. I haven't actually used the







ones yet, just measured them. The website www.rbonly.com also sells off brand exercise bands with free shipping if you get $30 worth. One of their's is a tick thicker than TB Gold, which is cool. I will have some of this in my grubby mitts pretty soon and will report my findings.


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## radray

M_J, thanks for sharing and please keep us posted as to how you like the off brand elastics. I am curious to find out.

Thank you.
Raymond


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## bullseyeben!

I waited months to get my tbg, so I resorted temporarily to an Aussie brand, cause I'm in Australia, that compared well to tbb in thickness but was blown away by the speed I was getting.. shot straight through corrugated iron with 9mm steel. I don't think it wore faster than thera blue either was impressed. I think as long as they're Nat latex you can get good results.


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## Egregious Ed

I've used the Embark bands in black and blue with great success. One set of blacks gave about 250 rounds of service in a fairly high performance 2:1 taper before suffering a tear at the pouch end. Subjectively very fast yet still quite consistent with 3/8 steel and would shoot 1/2 steel at adequate speed although the pouch I used was a little small for larger shot. A lot of fun for $10. When this batch runs out I'll get some more. The look in the checkout questions what this old grouch could want with pilates bands-if only they knew


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## slingmike

I am using gold's gym green flat band. It is 0.55mm (.022in.). Just recently got back into slingshots since I was a kid with a wrist rocket in the 80's. I shot 75+ shots of 1/2" in glass. no breakage or fatigue as of yet.


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## Adirondack Kyle

Ya, theres a new golds gym color, green, its like the red.


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## Adirondack Kyle

I dont think the target brand ones are as good as golds gym,
My opinion.


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## treefork

Why go with an off brand when you can get the best delivered to your door for the same or less money?


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## M.J

treefork said:


> Why go with an off brand when you can get the best delivered to your door for the same or less money?


Yeah, once you've tried actual Theraband or pure latex, it's hard to go back. The off-brand stuff just doesn't have that bottomless stretchability of real Thera.

I've compared identical cuts of Theraband Black and the blue bands from Embark (which are the same thickness) and the blues bottom out at around 500% stretch and seem to loose their snap if stretched that far. The Theraband will go 600% and beyond and keeps getting better the farther you stretch it.


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## NaturalFork

I use the off brand stuff all the time. Nothing like a fresh box of thera though. I am a weirdo and like thera more than pure latex ... I know .. it is blasphemy. .


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## beaverman

treefork said:


> Why go with an off brand when you can get the best delivered to your door for the same or less money?


cuz i can get off brand for less than half the price.


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## slingmike

I picked the gold's gym up so that I could shoot that same day. I didn't have to bother to order anything. I will probably buy some theraband or natural latex before this stuff runs out. Yeah, it isn't any cheaper than theraband, but like I said it allowed me to shoot that day, and it is nice to know that I can pick some up locally in a pinch. I am just target shooting anyway in the back yard, and they are keeping my 1/2" glass marbles in a straight line for about 35 feet plus ricocheting back to me when I miss my catch box. I got to shoot about 50 more rounds, and I don't see any signs of fatigue yet, so. So far so good.


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## Knotty

I simply ordered TBG by the foot on eBay. Four feet for $8.50 shipped. Seemed reasonable.


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## Viper010

i got some blue Rucanor brand excercise bands.
2 rolls, 4ft by 6inches for 9,95€ thickness approx 0,5mm/0,020inch

some 'break in stretch' (a bandset measured out at 7" active will end up about 8" active after the first ten or so shots, after that they stay the same)

they seem nice n zippy, draw smooth, and are available cheap n locally, atleast around here. so i like em. im too lazy to keep shotcounts, but so far durability seems reasonable on a 3:2 taper.

cheers, remco


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## bullseyeben!

On occasions a retailer or sports physio will know only if it is latex or latex reduced.. often retailers don't know at all... latex is the key to success here, and so far the best generic brand I have tried is " sanctband" possibly as good as thera, but I have not tested life vs speed properly... could well be sanctband is as good...


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## Viper010

bullseyeben! said:


> On occasions a retailer or sports physio will know only if it is latex or latex reduced.. often retailers don't know at all... latex is the key to success here, and so far the best generic brand I have tried is " sanctband" possibly as good as thera, but I have not tested life vs speed properly... could well be sanctband is as good...


i havent been able to try them for myself, but ive read a post by Flatband where he said he was quite imressed with the LATEX FREE TheraBand black, both with speed and longeavity. so there is some hope for latex sensitive slingshot shooters yet...

cheers, remco


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## tradspirit

I was at a flea market last weekend and came across some fairly heavy sets of red exercise 3 foot rubber tubes still attached to plastic handles, but having inserts in the free ends that appear to be plastic tubes with a ball swell in the middle of the insert. At a buck apiece, I puchased all six sets and am working on setting up a couple of naturals to handle them. Although they are not in new condition, they appeared fairly resilient and seem to return once stretched to their original length. They are 3/8 OD with fairly thick walls. I plan on setting them up for TTF shooting with holes in the forks. I will utilize the ball inserts if possible otherwise will double the tube through the fork hole and secure with sticks on the far side. Interestingly the fellow that I purchased them from asked me if I was going to use them on slingshots...felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar....


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## chico

Ive been using off brand resistence bands for a good while, but never compared them to theraband gold. Ima poor man with poor ways, and im looking forward to your results. Because if i can spend less money AND get theraband gold level performance, Im all over it.


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## Viper010

chico said:


> Ive been using off brand resistence bands for a good while, but never compared them to theraband gold. Ima poor man with poor ways, and im looking forward to your results. Because if i can spend less money AND get theraband gold level performance, Im all over it.


well said chico, couldnt agree more!


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## GHT

bullseyeben, what colour sanctband would you recommend ?


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## bullseyeben!

GHT said:


> bullseyeben, what colour sanctband would you recommend ?


I've only tried the blue, and unfortunately can't tell you its thickness off hand, although I think its been mentioned here previously... any way it seems around tb black in pull.... here's a chrony run... def got some snap in em..


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## GHT

thanks for the info bullseyeben.


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