SSW001 rubberboutique.indd 26 20/07/2018 16:26 S S 1 6 : 2 6 SS 16:26 THE RUBBER BOUTIQUE 026 SlingshotWorld ElasticFantastic VARIETIES OF SLINGSHOT ELASTIC Theraband Gold plus other colours as sheets and tubes from Hygenic Corp in Ohio: Simple Shot Black and Natural Latex undyed sheet: ‘Squares’ in red and green: Spanish Gum rubber: ‘Roylan’ DubDub tubes: ‘Linatex’ sheet: GZK: Precise: Dankung tubes: USOPP: SUMEIKE: Burning Skull Brand… There are LOTS. And as a natural product, they all vary from batch to batch, so talking about elastics and which is best, never stops! H ad we made this magazine a year ago, it would have been hilariously out of date by now! As if from a previous era, not just one year! For although it was the superior transport and storage capability of Theraband Gold that has enabled the modern slingshot explosion, the Chinese, for whom slingshot shooting is one of the most important shooting sports they can access, have created a whole new world of flat band and tube slingshot- specific elastics. First, after asking their market, Dankung, the outdoors and slingshot kings of Chinese trade, decided to re-make their premium dipped latex tubes. More cheaply created by extruding rubber, the dipped kind of cost a lot more to make and are much more consistent for slingshot experts. Then there are other new brands of flat band. First Nathan Masters at Simple-Shot pulled a wizardly cool manoeuvre, when he got the original makers of TBG, to create Theraband Black just to sell to him. Then the Chinese product started to arrive, GZK and PRECISE and now, USOPP, as well as Ali Express vendors and a few others jumping on the bandwagon. The fact is that all the sheet elastics are subject to natural variations in temperature and in the raw materials they are using. Expecting a perfect consistency even batch to batch of the same product is pretty futile. Theraband Gold remains a brilliant option but the choice now is spectacular. The really difficult thing is working out exactly what you like, yourself. I like an easy draw, not maxed out, with a nice steep taper. Even if that means changing bandsets a lot, and a pouch that most people would think is too big. You will find your own path, especially if you get to to talking to any of these three experts. In which we look at all the different elastic products now available to us, from American flats to Chinese premium dipped tubes. Then, the top folks who make them into bandsets for those not keen or unable to make their own… SSW001 rubberboutique.indd 26 20/07/2018 16:26