My Life Outdoors

I live in the middle of a flat, dry dessert. There isn’t much in the way of outdoor recreation. At least not locally. Not even a good bike trail. Being active outside is a challenge for my family. So I recently started looking for ways my family and I could spend some quality time together without diving several hours to be outdoors. My solution? Slacklining.

Slacklining in Midland Texas. Any trek fans out there?

Slacklining has appealed to me for sometime. It seems every time I’m on the web looking at outdoor blogs and the like I come across a picture or video of someone slacklining. It looks challenging and fun, and is something I can do locally without spending a ton of money.

Slacklining in Midland Texas

So a week or two ago I bit the bullet and bought a Gibbon Classic 49 foot 2 inch slackline. Counting tonight I have been slacklining for about 2 hours a day for 4 days. At first my leg shook uncontrollably anytime I put some weight on the line. This seems to be pretty normal and after about 30 min it went away. But it took almost an hour of just trying to get on the line before I could balance even a little. After about 3 hours I could walk about 5 feet before falling off. Now, after about 8 hours of total slackining experience I can walk about 20 feet pretty consistently.

Gibbon Classic 2 inch Slackline

I started off barefoot with the line stretched across my driveway. (Only solid trees I have are on opposite sides of the driveway.) Since then I have moved to local parks. We have a huge sticker problem in Midland which keeps me from going barefoot. So I have been slacklining in some Patagonia loafers which have a nice flat sole but no support. My next step is purchasing some better shoes, which presents a problem. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of info out there on what types of shoes are best. The only shoes (that I can find) made specifically for slacklinging are the 5.10 line king. But I’m having a hard time spending $90+ on some ugly shoes. So if anyone has some recommendations. I would greatly appreciate the advice.

My wife slacklining barefoot over small but pokey rocks.

Slacklining in Patagonia Loafers. It looks like I’m about to fall, but I’m actually doing fairly well.

All in all I have really enjoyed slacklining. Especially with the extra daylight in the evenings and the warm springtime temperatures. If you are looking for a fun and exciting, yet inexpensive hobby (about $55 at Campsaver.com which is where I got mine) I highly recommend slacklining. Buy below to support MyLifeOutdoors.com