My most used sling is a seatbelt sling made from 2” wide nylon webbing. Good for rocks and golf balls, occasionally does not hold tennis balls if I don’t center the ball in the pouch. The pouch is 7” long which is the recommended length for tennis balls, just being 2” wide it is a bit narrow (2.5” width would have been better).

So I made a noodle sling just to throw tennis balls. Works good except not a big fan of separating the pouch noodles by hand to fit the tennis ball every time I throw.

Next I made a split pouch seatbelt sling using the same 2” nylon webbing. No problem holding tennis balls and can quickly/carelessly load a new ball into the pouch.  But wow! This thing is a parachute being so wide. I am really thinking about making another split pouch but with 1” wide webbing instead of the 2” wide webbing I used.

I really like making slings, so it is fun. But seems like the ammo choice is really forcing all this construction.

Do you make the sling first and see what ammo you can throw, or do you choose ammo first and make the sling custom for that ammo?

Pic is split-pouch, seatbelt, and noodle slings.

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I've spent a lot of time thinking about this myself because I'm in a fairly unusual situation that I don't get a chance to throw rocks often. I live in a suburb and it's hard to find the space to make rocks safe.

So all my initial slings were built around tennis balls. But then I quickly realized they were not going to work well for smaller ammo like rocks or golf balls.

So then I went on a sling design vision quest to find the perfect middle ground that works for everything. And I found what just about everyone else has found. There really isn't any one perfect design ;D

If you keep at it with different designs, you'll learn to be able to immediately see what sorts of ammo a certain design will be able to throw without even having to try it.

Anyways, I found my preferred general-use design is an overlapped leather strip pouch often called an aussie design. Not quite a split seatbelt pouch, but similar. Rather than a whipped connection to the cord, I prefer a spliced pouch connection so there's no change in stiffness. Anyways, you'll see this design in a lot of places like neandrthal, pan slings, etc.

More recently I've been using traditional split pouch braided slings, but I'm not quite sure I'm going to settle on those yet, and they're definitely not as flexible for different types of ammo(particularly smaller ammo like golf balls) as the overlapped pouch style.

I throw plastic whiffle golf balls in the living room. Rocks into my woods and at the beach (lots of rocks in Maine!). Tennis balls and foam practice golf balls at the YMCA racquetball court or indoor tennis court. Golf balls and tennis balls at the high school baseball field.  Luckily I have many options. 

I do want to goto a golf driving range to sling one day. Think that would be fun.

Don’t know if you are missing out by not throwing rocks. Their weight varies alot and their funny shapes causes all kinds of curved trajectories. But throwing rocks does have the advantage that they are free and you don’t have to go retrieve them. Ultimate fire and forget projectiles!

As a general statement, I would say I prefer a pouch that has ease of use (can load quickly) and has versatility (ability to throw many different things).

For example, a bit of duct tape on my noodle sling would fix the noodle strings in the perfect position for tennis balls…but I like the sling can be versatile to throw different sized rocks at the beach, so I don’t add tape. 


I need to get into braided/woven slings. I tried making one earlier as my second sling ever but it was a mess. Need tighter and much more consistent assembly.  Thinking might re-try using six strands of #18 nylon Mason line, but have the whole thing in flat, not round, braids.  I think additions like the “smiley” pouch cords are acceptable and increase versatility, so would probably add that feature.

I don't have much to add. I have lots of slings for different things.
But finding the perfect EDC sling is still out of reach. I've come close but there are still some features I don't like.

Mostly there's a trade off of sling stiffness that I prefer for lighter/heavier ammo (floppier for lighter, stiffer for heavier).

Being new with a limited inventory of sling types, guess I am surprised new ammo choice (tennis balls in my case) has dictated my last two sling builds. 

And I can see if I get into long distance throws, special ammo will need another sling type I also don’t have yet.


Just curious if this is how your sling inventory grew as well - having to add new slings because you switch to new ammo.

Nope.  My inventory grew 'cause I just kept making them.  Either to pass the time, or 'cause I saw a picture and wanted to try one like it.  😆😂

I have particular types of ammo available in my area, and typically balance my sling type to suit. The balearic type slings i use are pretty flexible, though. Pretty much anything that isnt too small (i.e. cast lead) will throw just fine.

Yes, I will match a sling to ammo (most of the time).  The vast majority of my slinging is tennis balls or ice balls.  While they are the same size and shape, they behave very differently in a sling pouch.  One is light weight and has good grip, the other is heavier and has terrible grip.  I have slings that will work with both, one or the other, or neither.

I do sling stones once in a while.  Most of the time that's done with a sling that's used for ice balls.

The only thing i really have to add here is the factor of abrasion. Luckily i have a wide variety of projectiles and spaces i can sling in. I most prefer smooth oblong river stones but due to their relative rarity i find myself using the more common jagged, freshly eroded rock. This can tear up slings fast. I have a few slings designed specifically for rough rocks. They implement leather wrapping and multilayer designs to help slow sling abrasion.

Some of my more delicate slings would be torn up very quickly and not throw nearly as well with this ammo. I have a couple slings i only use with smooth stones or glandes.

I think overall performance can definitely be enhanced by matching the ammo to the sling but is not necessary for functional use.

@bandit111964
For ammunition, I mainly use river rocks of all shapes, sizes, and weights, as well as tennis balls.
I also use pieces of rock, anti-gravity balls, baseballs, golf balls, ice balls 5-6 cm in diameter, oddly shaped chunks of river ice, etc. :)
And for all of this, I use a minimalist, noodle-shaped paracord sling, survival-style. Like the one you have in the photo on the far right.
I also have braided ones like the Balearic slings or ones with leather straps, but after practice, I always return to the "survivalist sling."  ;D

Swift: you are right about rocks abrasions. I use the same sling for rock throwing and it is easy to choose this sling out of the several I keep in the car because the black paracord has a worn thru spot at the stopper knot that shows the very visible white inner cords. The stopper knot is exposed a bit in the pouch and I guess the rocks hit the knot on their way down range.

But at least the abrasion damage is very easy to notice so I am not damaging all the other slings.

Pocket: second time ice balls have come up ammo. Definitely going to try throwing ice!  I imagine they explode pretty good if I hit any one of our many trees. Also winter will bring unlimited free snow balls and also icicles I can chop into 3”-4” long segments. Should be fun!

I just make a few simple designs that can basically hold any ammo. A seatbelt sling or Balearic sling can hold any practical size of rock and tennis balls quite well
But if I'm throwing mini rocks for distance I'll make a special sling with a smaller pouch

Most of my slings are pretty general purpose, but I do have one I specifically built for slinging baseballs after another forum member and I got into a baseball slinging contest years ago, and another that I overbuilt for use when slinging 10oz steel ball bearings.

-Brian G.

BrianGrubbs wrote on May 21^st, 2026 at 3:57pm:

10oz steel ball bearings

https://media1.tenor.com/m/rfYrq2lFKrUAAAAd/jumpscare-kid-jumpscare.gif

BrianGrubbs wrote on May 21^st, 2026 at 3:57pm:

another that I overbuilt for use when slinging 10oz steel ball bearings

Sling pic?  Need to see that one!  :)

And also a pic of the target if there was anything left from that 10oz impact.

joe_meadmaker wrote on May 21^st, 2026 at 10:11pm:

Sling pic?  Need to see that one!  :)

Let me dig around and see if I still have it, not sure if it made the move from Alabama to Washington!

Brian G.

I am a solid pouch man. I find fiddling with split pouches bothersome for throwing tennis balls.

I have a few split pouch seatbelt slings for throwing tennis balls. I also have a noodle sling. Both work fine except for the fiddling around with the pouch to load a tennis ball.

So not happy with my tennis ball slings, wanting to throw more tennis ball forced me to make a new sling today.

This sling starts as a noodle sling. But then using whipping I add two short lengths of paracord, each forming a half circle (with the circles meeting in the middle of the pouch) to fix the middle noodle string and turn the entire pouch into a “cage”.

I formed this “cage” around a tennis ball, so this “cage” pouch will only be able to throw tennis ball sized things.

Definitely a case of matching sling to ammo!

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Ooh i like it! Again, very clean whipping.
How heavy is it? Do you notice the small amount of added weight having any effect on your throw?

Honestly I do not have a scale that will measure the weight. The noodle sling is 32.50” long. I added perhaps 8” of paracord and maybe 24” of #18 mason line. So not much weight was added.

Of course there are lighter materials than paracord if light weight was a goal. And really no need to add the whipping if you use knots or splices, which should be even lighter than the whipping possibly….or even just a strip of duct tape to keep the noodle lines spaced correctly.


I did the sling with this “cage” pouch because I did not have duct tape on hand actually. I was going to use knots but they did not look smooth. So I went with the whipping. Inspiration was this sling that used knots.

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Mainly what i notice when i do small adjustments like that is a slight difference in the way they release. Adding material can change cord density, stiffness and the overall balance of the sling. For example the change from a regular splice sling to a fully whipped pouch is extremely noticeable in the feel as i spin it and the release. Then adding a tapered whipping from where the pouch joins the release cord has another noticeable effect on the trajectory and tendency towards a clean release. My fully whipped and tapered splice sling is a completely different sling than the plain splice sling of the same dimensions. Id say the whipped version is my preferred one but they each have their pros and cons.

Do you have a regular noodle sling to compare it to?

Yes absolutely, the sling should be suited to the ammo.

Most slings will do a range of ammo types/sizes somewhat competently but nothing is perfect for everything.

I like the pouch designs you have pictured here.  Especially the second picture.  The interlocking loops in the center look pretty cool. :thumb:

Joe:  I found the picture of that “interlocking loops” sling online.

Not sure exactly but my guess is that pouch is four (4) pieces of paracord. That is, the “loops” look like they are prusik knots to me. (Circled in pic)

Could that pouch be only 2 pieces of paracord and if so what knot is used for the interlocking loops in the center?  I tried and I just can’t figure out how to do that.

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bandit111964 wrote on May 31^st, 2026 at 9:17am:

the “loops” look like they are prusik knots to me.

Agreed.  On the green side it looks like we can see the knot where the loop is tied to make the prusik.

But yeah, the orange side looks clean.  I would guess there's a knot on the other side that we can't see, but there might be a way to do it without.  I played around with a piece of cord for a little bit but couldn't get anywhere with it.  Admittedly I'm not the best person in the world with knots though.

This is getting a little off topic, but oh well.

I was doing some searching on a single strand prusik knot.  I found one that's referred to as a Purcell prusik in some places.  Here's a diagram: https://www.reddit.com/r/knots/comments/16crw80/self_prusik_my_father_showed_me_this_one_trying.  It's not exactly what's needed because the ends of the cord aren't in the correct position.  But it's not far off.  I haven't tried anything with this yet, so not sure if it can be adjusted.