Hello.

I've been experimenting with various sling designs, most of which have been based on tutorials here   This one is my favourite so far.

I really like the modular nature of this, as I only started slinging a month or so ago I'm still figuring out the ideal lengths for myself, so being able to reuse the pouch for various length cords and with different release and retention knot configurations makes a lot of sense. Plus if the release cord ever wears out it will be a doddle to replace.

Also I feel like it's possibly the ideal size and shape for accuracy with large or small stones. I started out with more deep shaped pouches, but I feel like these tend to hang on the stone a little more as it exits. The minimal wear pattern I've seen so far with this woven split pouch design seems to suggest that it's a particularly efficient one. No doubt I will be experimenting much more soon enough so I imagine my opinions will change again

Here is my latest pouch, the third of this design I've made so far. It is made with 1.3mm dyneema (UHMWPE fibre) with the release and retention cords being 1.8mm of the same material, which I was using for my previous two pouches. When I used the 1.8mm stuff I couldn't seem to manage the weft faced weave and ended up with just a basket weave, which is probably still fine for material of that size and density. For the 1.3mm cord pouch I managed to get the weft facing much better, not quite perfect but I should improve each time I make one. I'm considering getting another reel of the 1mm (I used my previous 31 metres for some previous slings, David Morningstar's Mexican woven pouch) as I'm aiming to get it as lightweight as possible as that seems to feel best to me, the 550 paracord slings I've made so far have felt really heavy and awkward.



I've mostly gone for the medium length of sling so far, thumb in retention loop with the start of the pouch coming to my shoulder (a way of measuring I got from Luis Pons Livermore in a short bit of documentary on youtube), but for this one I wanted to try something a bit longer, so it's going from my thumb in the loops with the middle of the pouch at the centre of my chest - 35 inches , which also happens to correspond to just under half my height. I've found this length to be one of my favourites so far, tons of power and still reasonably controllable. Firing stones over a small reservoir I'm doing over 150m pretty easily. I don't think I could make it that much longer though, I did try it from thumb to opposite shoulder once and that was quite unusable, but it's probably a case of finding the right technique.

The retention loops there is made with the fairly simple double figure 8 knot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n2w4SN5oF8 

The release knot is the "EStar stopper knot" - https://www.animatedknots.com/estar-stopper-knot But with an additional pass down and back up through near the thinnest side in order to even it out and make it a little thicker. I've found it necessary to have a knot that size when casting really large rocks, with a long sling once it gets up to near final speed the amount of pull it has is pretty intense, and dyneema can be a little slippery so a fat knot makes it much easier to hang onto.

Looking forward to trying out many more designs and materials!

Thanks very much to all those who've put together all these excellent guides and information.

Nice!

[Crosspost from my thread in the Trading Post section - http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1567711049, got some new pics and details of my latest slings of this design   BTW the sling in my post above was made with 1.3mm, and ended up thinner than the later 'No.3' below, I've given the above to my Dad and he loves it]



Hi. After a bit of experimentation with different sling designs, I've settled on the woven split pouch as my preferred sling. It accommodates large and small projectiles equally well, I find it to be very accurate as it is minimally cupped, it is highly durable not just because of the material I use but also because the cords can be easily replaced and swapped, and it is very easy to keep with you due to the light weight and minimal size. With a small tool like a pocket knife screwdriver attachment you can easily swap between different cords when out in the field, just takes a few minutes.

It is based on the instructions here by Matthias, my thanks to him and others that have contributed in that thread - http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1168848146

For my current favourite variation I weave it from 1mm dyneema, and use 1.8mm for the cords, and 0.36mm for the whipping. The whipping is fishing line that moves from blue to light blue to white and back again, so I use lengths of the particular colours to more easily identify different lengths of cord, white being the longer ranges and blue being close for me.

I've found that the design seems very durable so far, there is minimal wear on the edges of the pouch, which is something I've noticed with more cupped designs. The release cord takes the brunt of the impact, but the 1.8mm dyneema will hold for quite some time, and can be easily re-whipped or replaced. It's quite difficult to cut this stuff, UHMWPE (dyneema is a brand name) is used in artificial joints, so incredibly tough for how light it is. I've put hundreds if not thousands of rocks through the above slings, and apart from the black dye on the surface of the fibres wearing off they really don't seem to be damaged yet, and I expect them to last for a long time yet.



Initially I tried making this design with thicker cordage, a version with 1.3mm can be seen above (3). Personally I prefer the thinner and more lightweight pouches made with the 1mm. When moving to the 1mm cordage I found that adding an additional warp on each side for 10 total helped to make it wider and compensate for using the thinner cordage. The No.3 with 1.3mm is a little heavier and chunkier, and will presumably last a little longer, and might suit those looking for a heavier sling.

In the top image No.1 is my latest sling using 10 warps, No. 2 is using 8 and is a little thinner. Both work fine generally, but I prefer the slightly wider pouch for a shorter sling and larger ammo, I use the thinner No. 2 for a longer sling and it works great. No. 3 with the 1.3mm is 8 warps.

The measurements for No.1 are: about 35mm in the widest part across in the middle, 16mm width for each split side, the split is about 73mm before the two sides are rejoined, and 170mm long for the whole pouch body. I don't have access to accurate scales, but I believe they are only a few grams with cords attached, maybe around 5 grams or less.

For the retention cord I like to use a double loop knot and put my index and middle fingers through, this is very secure and comfortable. For the release knot I do an 'EStar' stopper knot with a additional pass back up to make it a little thicker and more even to hold.

I can offer it made to your spec; 1mm or 1.3mm pouch, 8 or 10 warps, with or without retention and release cords, multiple cords lengths (I like to do thumb to shoulder, centre of chest, and opposite shoulder), and knots/loops made to your preference and measurements.

I would be very happy to trade for another sling. I have yet to get into more traditional designs using natural materials, so I would love a nice natural sling, perhaps a Balearic or leather pouch, or something woven or knitted. I'd also be happy to exchange for money too. Keep in mind that making one of these is pretty much a full day's work, so considering the time taken and shipping cost of course I'd like a reasonably fair trade, whatever that might be

Thanks.