Here are a couple of posts that I put into a new thread to collect comments:

I appreciate the more authentic and traditional slings pictured on this site, showing the weaving, complexity, ingenuity, materials, release mechanisms, projectiles, slinging styles, etc. that people come up with. It is interesting to see so many variations on such a seemingly simple design as a sling. Although I like the braided designs, I don’t think I am up to making them (yet), so I have been experimenting with more simple designs using paracord.

One modern material I think may have been overlooked for making slinging pockets is hard mesh replacement pocket material for lacrosse sticks. I used to play in college and it occurred to me that this would make a good sling pocket. This material is designed for making cupped pockets. The hard mesh is fairly stiff, but conforms well. The mesh replacement pockets cost about 8 bucks on the internet, come in many different (and bright) colors and you can make many sling pockets out of one piece of replacement mesh.  

The first sling pictured was built horizontally and has a large pocket for golf or tennis balls. It doesn’t need to be nearly so large, but I am only starting to experiment with this material. Used in the horizontal direction, the mesh makes more of a rectangle and expands when pulled at the ends, like an accordion. I am guessing this is best for larger projectiles like golf or tennis balls since the mesh stretches out and might grab too much with smaller and pointy projectiles such as rocks.  

The second sling uses the mesh in the vertical direction, where the mesh makes more of the diamond shape that seems to be best for slinging pockets. When oriented this way, the mesh pulls together tighter and doesn’t stretch much when pulled at the ends.  This seems to be best for odd shaped rocks since the holes in the mesh stay smaller and there is less wind resistance.

For a basic mesh sling, total construction time with paracord is about 10 minutes. I used simple larks head knots to tie off the paracord to the mesh and allow the paracord to be adjusted for length very quickly and easily without cutting off excess. I have also been experimenting with using a fly-tying bobbin to wrap the ends of the paracord to the mesh, instead of using a knot. Although it is more permanent, it looks cleaner to me this way. If you find the right kind of fly-tying thread, you can use a lighter to melt it a bit when you are done, just like with the paracord.

I could see other ways of using this mesh that I haven’t tried yet, such as using the mesh as a base to thread the paracord thru, filling up the holes of the mesh to make more of a solid pocket. The mesh can be pinched together at the ends as well, depending on your design, to make more of a cupped pocket. I have seen some sling designs where the cord diverges into two pieces and makes the pocket, where the mesh could be used in between. I’m sure there are lots of ways I haven’t thought of.

I would really like to see what the more experienced slingers think of this material and the different designs that can be made using it. Hope this inspires some more ideas for slings and I look forward to seeing how other folks use it.  

Interesting site.

Here is a picture of the fly-tying bobbin that I use to help wrap the thread real tight. I am using thread to wrap the paracord ends together, instead of using a knot to attach the paracord to the mesh. It makes it look cleaner and maybe you get a little bit less wind resistance without a paracord knot? Once I get done with wrapping the thread, I finish it with a couple over hand knots to tie off the thread. I found that if you use a polyester-type thread, it will melt in the same way that paracord does, so that you can (lightly) melt the ends of the wrap to prevent fraying, like you do with the ends of paracord. This takes a light touch, so as not to burn the wrapping, but works pretty good. As Masiakasaurus pointed out, if you melt the wrapping itself, it might get too hard and crack under the repeated stress of throwing. If you use the same color as the paracord, or something bright, like red, it gives it a real finished look.

Hi, alpine;
   Welcome.  Those are some good looking slings.  I don't think that anyone has used Lacrosse stick material for sling pouches before.  Nice work.

This should be on the FAQ. A good design for people with few braiding skills.

Rockman wrote on Feb 24^th, 2011 at 5:29pm:

Yes, I agree. It is done. Congrats, alpine.  You made Frequently Asked Questions and Tutorials with your 8th post!!

Rat Man wrote on Feb 25^th, 2011 at 6:44am:

Well, heck, that is really cool, thank you. I'm glad I could bring something to the forum, since I have taken so much away from this site already. The real test is going to see how this stuff performs over time and with different designs. I suppose if you wear out a pocket though, it is not too hard to replace. Also, the breaking strength of a single mesh joint (where you connect the paracord to the mesh) is pretty high. I couldn't tear apart a single joint with my hands, so it should do ok there.

I am thinking about another design that folds the diamonds together at the ends, so the paracord goes thru two diamonds. This might help the pocket cup more and prevent the projectile slide-outs.

I like a little cupping but too much can definitely work against you by causing the projectile to hang up.  Just enough is great though. I use a lot of cupping in making my pj and similar type slings, but I almost never sit the projectile inside.. it sits on top perpendicular to the pouch, so hanging up isn't a problem at all.  Only the smallest projectiles go inside. Though I don't make my pj type sling pouches like this anymore, below is an example of such cupping.  I now make such pouches without the big, ugly knot at each end.  I also like a small wooden bead before the release knot.

Well I found a great place to sling today. It is an old construction road a short walk away, had a giant puddle of water in the middle and an orange survey stake right in the middle. Perfect target for distance practice and I could actually see the hits b/c of the splash. I paced off 80, 100 and 120 paces from the stake and started testing my mesh and pj type slings. (I am 6'2" for reference.) The results were very interesting and not what I expected at all.

I first tried my vertically oriented mesh sling. It threw perfectly fine, but I was losing projectiles once in awhile out the side. It can only hold up to golf ball sized rocks, so I didn't feel like I was getting a good hard throw. Throws were about 80 paces but I knew I could do better with bigger, heavier rocks. Good sling, though I might tweak the design by increasing the size of the pocket to accomodate larger rocks.

Then I tried my pj type paracord only sling. Same experience, I could throw well, but could only hold projectiles up to a golf ball size and had a few slip out. Not bad at all. Good sling, but for me, at this point in my experience, needs a bigger pocket for larger rocks.

Then I switched to my horizontally oriented mesh sling and it changed everything. I started throwing asphalt chunks and rocks from golf ball size up to racketball size. I estimate some of them to be more than a half pound. That sling will hold whatever you put in it and nothing slipped out. With that confidence, my throws got really long at that point and my best throws were about 120 paces or more with a good trajectory. With the resistance of the larger rocks, my timing improved and I could really get my body and legs behind the throw. The mesh expands to a point, but it actually seems to 'set' the projectile into the pocket during the wind up. Once it is up to speed, it is fully stretched out and performs well. I could actually start to guide my throws where I wanted them and started throwing really straight. It even seemed easy.

I noticed that sometimes I was stepping to the side and out from under the figure 8 throw, if that makes sense. It caused me to lose power and my throws went off to the left (I am left handed). Once I staightened it up a bit more, I could really throw straight and far. Nice and relaxed like a golf swing, straight arm to the rear on the wind up and I was really getting the hang of a hard throw without putting too much strength into it. Just like someone else on the forum mentioned, a nice relaxed throw and good form gave me the best results. Seeing the rocks splash made it that much more fun! I learned a lot. I had to re-tie the knots once to re-connect the paracord to the mesh as they tended to loosen up, so I think I will go to a wrapped connection, instead of using knots on this sling. I think a release bead would help too. By far, this was the sling that worked the best for me and the pocket turned out to not be too big at all.

I used to pitch way back when and there is no way I could have thrown so many rocks by hand without throwing my arm out. With the sling all I did was get tired, but my arm feels fine. Just for fun I threw a rock with my hand out of a baseball windup. Seemed really pathetic in comparison to the sling...