Product / Experience Design
To meet the needs of the original design brief, we needed a product that would deliver what gun owners want without the lethality of a modern firearm. To deliver the emotional attributes we believe the firearm provides, the device needed to offer enough perceived power for self defense and/or hunting. It also had to provide the foundation for a multi-generational community of users and a sport or hobby around which that community could grow. And like any martial art, it had to take time and discipline to master. Lastly, the device had to offer real independence in a way that firearms cannot.
On the Modern Throwing Sling project, we had seen the potential of a throwing sling to deliver on most of these aspects. But like a firearm or modern archery equipment, that product still failed to deliver true independence, because its injection molded construction could not be easily replicated by a user. To improve on this foundation, we reimagined the throwing sling in a slower, more empowering embodiment that would deliver real independence in a way even a firearm cannot. The result is as much an experience as it is a product.
The Product
The Danger Goods Sling Kit produces a shepherd’s sling — a weapon of antiquity that’s been used as a toy for over 500 years. Replaced on the battlefield by firearms as early as the 16th century, the shepherd’s sling is all but unknown to modern outdoorsmen. What better device to serve as methadone for modern gun addiction than the tool the gun replaced?
The Danger Goods Sling kit is designed to teach users the history, construction and use of a shepherd’s sling for the purposes of sport and/or survival. It is not designed for combat, nor could it effectively serve that purpose today. The sling itself is meant to serve as the foundation for a new precision sport, like archery or target shooting. Like those sports, slinging shares martial roots. Unlike those sports, the projectile a sling fires need not be lethal. Performed with lightweight projectiles, such as tennis balls, it is virtually impossible to cause lasting harm to anyone who is inadvertently hit by a sling. Even misused, the natural limitations of the sling make it useless as a modern tool for violence.
Designed for the same projectile and slightly shorter in length, the safety of the average throwing sling is likely to be comparable to that of the Chuckit! Pro 26xl pictured above.
In the hands of an expert slinger and equipped with a heavy enough projectile, theoretical data indicates that the sling of antiquity had stopping power similar to that of a modern handgun. Though no modern slinger is likely to achieve lethal proficiency, this nugget of data may provide enough allure to make it interesting to those who enjoy the firearm for this reason. However, due to its limitations in power, range, projectile speed, rate of fire, accuracy and projectile weight, the sling itself is incapable of inflicting the kind of mass harm a gun can if used inappropriately. Nor is it a likely weapon for suicide, any more than the cord from which it is constructed. Used with lightweight projectiles such as tennis balls, the sport can be practiced almost anywhere and more safely than lacrosse or even tennis. And like other difficult martial arts, the time it takes to master the sling should ensure that by the time a user develops enough accuracy to reliably hit a target, (s)he will have enough respect for the art not to misuse it. Survivalists and doomsday preppers can practice slinging safely as a sport, while imagining its use as a self defense or small game hunting tool in a survival situation. Meanwhile, the majority of slingers will enjoy the community, sport and affordability slinging provides relative to other target sports.
Though competition will be as intense as Olympic archery, success in the sport of slinging will be determined not by the size of an athlete’s wallet but by the depth of her character.
The modern target shooter or archer is forced to buy expensive equipment just to remain competitive; its high tech nature makes creating their own equipment or ammunition an impossibility. By contrast, anyone can braid a sling from just a few pieces of cord. This makes slinging a more accurate test of individual skill than virtually any other precision sport. And because it is less equipment intensive, the community it fosters can be larger and more inclusive. Though competition could be as nail-bitingly intense as that of Olympic archery, success in the sport of slinging will be determined not by the size of an athlete’s wallet but by the depth of her character.
Slinging is a sport that can be shared by old and young alike; indoors and outdoors; in competition, play and construction. The leverage a sling provides means that experience, not strength, will yield results. This makes the sling a sport that older athletes can compete in — likely outperforming the young. The lightweight and safety of a tennis ball makes it an excellent sport for indoor and outdoor practice and groups. And like fly fishing, the sport encourages creativity of expression in the design and construction of slings — an activity that can be shared among friends and family and passed on to younger generations. Handmade slings are gifts that, though inexpensive, are imbued with all the time and care it takes to construct them. All these aspects make the sling a perfect vessel for family and community traditions that can be cultivated and handed down for generations.
It is for all these reasons that we created a kit rather than a finished product. A kit slows the process down even further. It forces a user to read about the history of the sling and to learn about its potential power. It provides a craft project and through it, a new skill that can be used to introduce new users to the sport and foster community. The lower cost of a user-assembled kit makes it even more accessible to a larger group of potential users and stickier. Lastly, by basing this product on a 40,000 year old invention rather than a novel technology, it saved the cost of patenting a new device and got this product to market quickly, cost effectively and with little financial risk.
