Certified Slackline Gear

There are a number of slackline and slackline gear manufacturers to choose from for kids, youth and adults sets from beginner to expert and everything in between. While most slackline sets have traditionally been fastened between two trees outdoors, kids sets are now available for indoor use on the floors so that young kids can take part too.

The question is, which products are quality ones that you might consider and which are ones you should avoid?

There are several main certification bodies and organizations that you will see pop up from time to time that certify slackline products that can help assure you that the gear you’ve chosen is legit.

TÜV

TÜV is a German and Austrian standards organization that provides automobile and product certifications globally. TÜV stands for Technischer Überwachungsverein which in English means Technical Inspection Association. In Germany, everyone knows it simply as TÜV since they get involved in a number of aspects of German life including warrant of fitness for passenger automobiles every 2 years and for products that people buy in the stores for their own consumption.

In actuality there are four TÜVs you may come across when searching for various products:

• TÜV Nord based in Hanover, Germany
• TÜV SÜD based in Munich, Germany
• TÜV Rheinland based in Cologne, Germany
• TÜV Austria based in Vienna, Austria

Nord is German for north and SÜD means south so they are geographic distinctions. Rheinland-Pfalz is a German state known in English as Rhineland-Palatinate.

TÜV has certified a number of slacklining products you’ll find available online including many from Germany manufacturer GIBBON Slacklines. You may see the blue 8-sided TÜV logo on slacklining gear or may additionally see the TÜV GS logo where GS stands for geprüfte Sicherheit which is German for “certified safety.”

International Slackline Association

The International Slackline Association (ISA) has developed a special safety label for slacklining products called the ISA SAFETY LABEL which was developed by their Safety Commission of the International Slackline Association. From the ISA’s website they are working on developing safety labels for various slacklining gear including leashes, webbing, webbing lockers and webbing grabs.

Having the ISA safety label means that the product has been independently tested and meets ISA standards. In order for a manufacturer to have their product(s) approved by the ISA they first have to become an Industry Partner and illustrate that each product meets the ISA standards through an application and independent testing among other steps.

After a product has been approved it can have its safety label removed for four main reasons including if the applicant ceases to be an industry partner, the safety label is misused, the product no longer meets the necessary standards or the product is recalled for safety reasons.

You may find the safety label affixed to the slacklining equipment itself and/or in listed in the product manual.

Conclusion

While you may see a number of slackline products available for sale from various manufacturers, as with products in our every day life some are good quality and some aren’t. You don’t want to go cheap with slackline gear but you additionally want to know that the products you do buy are well-built and safe.

Two certification bodies that work to test and approve slackline gear include the German-based TÜV and the Swiss-based International Slackline Association (ISA) that was founded by slacklining associations from Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the United States.

TÜV-certified products are easily found through Europe and Germans themselves must get their cars TÜV-certified every 2 years to ensure they are safe to drive so it’s an organization with broad safety experience.

The ISA specifically focuses on slacklining gear to approve only products whose manufacturer belongs to the organization as an Industry Partner and have satisfied ISA standards and procedures to prove their product’s quality and safety. While no certification can guarantee 100% safety, it may go a ways to ensuring that you are only purchasing and using products that are well-built.