Modern Throwing Sling

This project demonstrates our lean product development process applied to a sporting goods product. It is demonstrative of exactly the kind of work we do with many inventors, and it yielded a market-ready product in just a few weeks. The device reimagines the Paleolithic era throwing sling as a modern piece of sports equipment. It is intended to introduce young "outdoorsmen" to the responsibility of owning a projectile weapon by slowing down the process by which they become deadly with it to more closely align power and maturity.

Solution

The solution is a piece of production sporting equipment that provides affordability, independence, and the development of martial skill through mastery over a long period of time. The design shown is based on an ancient technology — the throwing sling — but updated to be manufacturable using modern, high volume production equipment and affordable enough to be an impulse buy at any major sporting goods retailer.

What is it?

The Modern Throwing Sling is a modern redesign of an ancient innovation. 
Everyone who knows the story of David & Goliath knows the elegant power of the shepherd’s sling — the deceptively simple device that allowed a shepherd boy to overcome a seemingly indestructible adversary. The oldest surviving slings date to 2500 BC, though the innovation likely dates to the Upper Paleolithic Period over 10,000 years ago. The Shepherd’s sling is a low cost, high impact projectile device that leverages human ingenuity to enhance the strength and skill present in all of us. 
Like its Paleolithic ancestor, the Modern Throwing Sling is a simple and elegant device. Unlike the traditional sling — made of low durability braided plant fibers, leather or other natural materials — the Modern Throwing Sling is constructed of high performance, durable manufactured components. It combines low stretch, high strength paracord for enhanced throwing power and molded TPE components to securely grip stones and provide grip to the user. 
By combining the simple elegance of the Shepherd’s sling with the high performance of modern materials and manufacturing processes, the Modern Throwing Sling provides today’s outdoorsmen with an affordable, elegant, sporting, and high performance alternative to increasingly expensive and automated equipment.

How Does It Work?

Easily stashed in a pocket and far more powerful than the cheap, plastic Chinese alternatives, the Modern throwing sling is a fantastic way to burn off some of your dog's excess juice.

Like the ancient Shepherd’s Sling, the Modern Throwing Sling works through the principle of leverage. 
By extending the length of the thrower’s arm, it enhances the speed and distance a projectile can be thrown. To use, the thrower holds the ends of the sling (ring on one finger, bead held between thumb and forefinger) and places a projectile in the molded rubber pouch. With one simple swing and release, a practiced user can propel a small, dense projectile with the accuracy, range and force of a large caliber handgun or cast a lightweight tennis ball long distances at the dog park to burn off the excess energy of your furry friend.

Who Is It For?

The target end user for this device is twofold — recreational users and serious hunters and outdoors(wo)men. The benefits to each group are different but profound.

Recreational Users

For the recreational user, the Modern Throwing Sling provides a low cost, portable ball launcher for tennis and racquetballs or a new and exciting target sport. It stows easily in a pocket and can be used at the dog park to hurl tennis balls extreme distances. (More running = sleepier dogs!) Protected with racquetball glasses and armed with a pile of old balls, kids can have exciting tennis ball wars as a safe, affordable and less militant alternative to paintball or Airsoft.

Paintball is an extremely expensive pass time that requires complex and costly equipment. The outlay of cash associated with it does not stop at the purchase of equipment. It continues in the form of field fees, paint, air, and myriad other expenses. Reliance on breaking paint and referees leads to a culture of "wiping" (cheating) at even amateur levels of the sport. A low cost, honest alternative to paintball ("SlingBall?") might use inflatable Sup'Air fields like that shown below. Players would use slings and racquetballs in place of paintball "markers" and would need only be protected by racquetball glasses. With no paint to break, the honor system would assure sportsmanship and reduce the need for refs and costly paint.

Outdoorsmen | Target Shooters & Hunters

The benefits to outdoorsmen are more complex. Even “minimalist” hunters rely on complex and expensive compound bows and other high tech equipment — often at the expense of the purity, excitement and honor of traditional bow hunting.

The Modern Throwing Sling returns hunting to its ancient and simple roots and upholds the fair chase ideology. It builds skill and respect without the need to master any special primitive fabrication skills (e.g. flint knapping, et al.) or get a second mortgage. A high performance compound bow can cost upwards of $1,000 for the bow alone, and you still need arrows. With (free) stones as ammunition, the Modern Throwing Sling frees the outdoorsman from dependence on manufactured arrows or ammunition. (This is also handy in the event of a zombie apocalypse… Seriously, where does Darryl get all those arrows?)

The compound bow is a double-edged sword when it comes to empowering its owner. The power it provides through high tech components and materials is more than offset by the inaccessibility of those materials and components to the average human. Modern archers and firearms users are dependent on the producers of equipment and ammunition in a way that ancient hunters, who could craft their own equipment, were not.

According to the Archery Trade Association's 2013 Participation Report, there are over 18.9 million archers in the US alone. Of these, 55% participate in target archery only, 35% participate in target archery and bowhunting, and just 10% participate in bowhunting only. Low cost and convenience could make slinging an attractive alternative sport that could span this entire market to serve target shooters and hunters alike.

What Makes It Cool?

As a recreational product, this sling is fun, inexpensive, portable and represents an exciting mastery skill. As a hunting weapon for survival situations, it is affordable and empowering. As a business opportunity, it is sustainable, scalable and uniquely American.

The Modern Throwing Sling is exactly what a product should be. In the hands of a skilled user, the throwing sling has better range and accuracy than a recurve bow and more stopping power than a .44 magnum (Dohrenwend, 39). It replaces high tech with high skill, allowing the user to quickly and affordably practice and master a powerful skill that will last a lifetime. 
The outdoor recreation market is over 140 million Americans strong, $646 billion in annual sales, and is responsible for over 6.1 million jobs (Bureau of Economic Analysis).It longs for authenticity, purity and the fair chase.

Using just 3 molded components and adaptable cables (colors & lengths), customers can achieve a custom fit even as the business maintains low costs. As the product line expands, it will grow to include tactical, hunting and recreational (tennis ball specific) slings and supporting accessories (targets, scales and ammunition).

Detail Development & Manufacturing

The development of the beta prototype shown here was accomplished in less than three weeks, including quotes for production tools and patent drawings. 

Initial proof-of-concept prototypes were constructed of braided synthetic fiber and used to determine technical specifications for the finished product, including cord length, ring and pouch sizes. User insights were identified during testing with these prototypes. (These included the need to enhance the security of the projectile prior to throwing, which led to the incorporation of a rubber pouch.)

A CAD model was generated in Solidworks and used to create Alpha prototypes. These were fabricated in silicone, using RTV tooling, and combined with cut-to-length paracord in a variety of colors to produce functional alpha prototypes. Packaging was sourced from Placon and assembled for product photography. Custom rock bags were prototyped by a manufacturer of rock climbing chalk bags.

CAD models were submitted to a US manufacturer for single cavity tooling quotes and further refined to streamline manufacturing and assembly. The resulting cost of goods (with packaging) indicated a fantastic margin for the finished product, providing a 6x multiplier, even made in the USA.

Future of the Modern Throwing Sling

This project has been transferred, in its entirety, to a new owner — Elliot Stanton of the U.S. Marine Corps. For more information about the future of this product, please contact Elliot by using the submission form below.