Tricklining Tricklining has become the most common form of slacklining because of the easy setup of slackline kits. Tricklining is often done low to the ground but can be done on highlines as well. A great number of tricks can be done on the line, and because the sport is fairly new, there is plenty of room for new tricks. Some of the basic tricks done today are walking, walking backwards, turns, dropping knee, running and jumping onto the slackline to start walking, and bounce walking. Some intermediate tricks include: Buddha sit, sitting down, lying down, cross-legged knee drop, surfing forward, surfing sideways, and jumping turns, or "180s". Some of the advanced tricks are: jumps, tree plants, jumping from line-to-line, 360s, butt bounces, and chest bounces. With advancements in webbing technology and tensioning systems, the limits of what can be done on a slackline are being pushed constantly. It is not uncommon to see expert slackliners incorporating flips and twists into slackline trick combinations.
Highlining Highlining is slacklining at an elevation above the ground or water. Many slackliners consider highlining to be the pinnacle of the sport. Highlines are commonly set up in locations that have been used or are still used for
Tyrolean traverse. When rigging highlines, experienced slackers take measures to ensure that solid, redundant and equalized anchors are used to secure the line into position. Modern highline rigging typically entails a mainline of webbing, backup webbing, and either climbing rope or
ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene rope for redundancy. However, many highlines are rigged with a mainline and backup only, especially if the highline is low tension (less than ), or rigged with high quality webbing like Type 18 or MKII Spider Silk. It is also common to pad all areas of the rigging which might come into contact with abrasive surfaces. To ensure safety, most highliners wear a climbing harness or
swami belt with a leash attached to the slackline itself. Leash-less, or "free-solo" slacklining – a term loosely taken from rockclimbing ("free" refers to free of aid equipment vs free from the slackline) – is not unheard of, however, with proponents such as
Dean Potter and
Andy Lewis.
Rodeolines Rodeolining is the art and practice of cultivating balance on a piece of rope or webbing draped in slack between two anchor points, typically about apart and off the ground in the center. This type of very "slack" slackline provides a wide array of opportunities for both swinging and static maneuvers. A rodeoline has no tension in it, while both traditional slacklines and tightropes are tensioned. This slackness in the rope or webbing allows it to swing at large amplitudes and adds a different dynamic. This form of slacklining first came into popularity in 1999, through a group of students from
Colby College in
Waterville, Maine. It was first written about on a website called the "Vultures Peak Center for Freestyle and Rodeo Slackline Research" in 2004. The article "Old Revolution—New Recognition - 3-10-04" describes these early developments in detail.
Urbanlining Urbanlining or urban slacklining combines all the different styles of slacklining. It is practiced in urban areas, for example in city parks and on the streets. Many urban slackliners prefer wide lines for tricklining on the streets, but some use narrow () lines for longline purposes or for waterlining. One type of urbanlining is timelining, where one tries to stay on a slackline for as long as possible without falling down. This takes focus of will, and is great endurance training for postural muscles. Another type of urbanlining is streetlining, which combines street workout power moves with the slackline's dynamic, shaky, bouncy feeling. The main aspects include static handstands, super splits—hands and feet together, planche, front lever, back lever, one arm handstand and other unusual extreme moves that are evolving in street workout culture. ==History==