svenx

Inspired by Jake Varah's slingshot, I wanted to try my hand at making something similar myself. In the end, it turns out to be quite capable. It easily throws my quite heavy 350g/12.3oz bag up near the top of tall pines without problems. * 2.1 meters of steel tubing, painted. * M10 threaded rod to hold the rubber bands. Heat-shrink tubing around the rod to protect the rubber bands. * Cheap exercise bands, rated "heavy". Wrapped in loops for twice the strength. 4-strand paracord constrictor knots to keep them together. * Home-made pouch of cow's leather, glued and stitched together with 4-strand paracord. Dyed black. Ended up looking more like a BDSM accessory than anything else... * AliExpress trigger for bows, gripping a 550 paracord loop. The trigger is surprisingly capable and doesn't let go even at significant tension. * Cheap single block for sail rigging, attached to the trigger with stainless steel wire. * Cheap rope cleat to hold tension, with some eye bolts to guide the rope. * Cheap pulley at the end, so I can pull tension upwards or sideways. We'll have to see how it fares over time, but so far it's been working well.

The supplier confirms that it's an spLIFE splice, which answers the original concern with the slim eye. I asked some further questions about how they're able to offer such a splice, even with a certification mark, but the conversation fell apart, maybe due to language issues. They said that the splice was done according to the "instructions for the Squir rope". Dunno if it means there's some sort of special use or licensing of the spLIFE method for Courant ropes. Not sure where this leaves me with the eye; I'll probably not use it.

Woah, thanks for that detail, Joe. I had completely missed it, and maybe the supplied did as well. I'll ask them about it. I ordered from a reputable specialist dealer in Czech Republic. Unsure exactly who handles their splicing work. Additional detail from Courant in this Instragram post: I can't find that follow-up post, though.

Just got a new rope and thought I'd order a proper eye splice. A professional splice is a first for me, but it has me doubting: The eye itself feels pretty weak. It folds flat and feels a bit flimsy, like multiple core strands have been removed. The eye certainly looks like other eyes I've seen, even in professional splicing documentation, and it has proper sewing and markings. But it folds so flat that it makes me think of the "when to retire your rope" warning figures where the rope no longer has proper resistance to bending. I guess it's normal? It just doesn't feel intuitive that this splice has higher MBS than a figure 8... The picture shows the splice and another section of rope that I'm pinching with medium finger force. The rope is Courant Squir 2.0 11.5 mm.