Introduction

Today we are going to be taking a closer look at the BC LineBag: what they are, why we should use one with our lines, and how to use them properly.

What Is A LineBag?

The BC LineBag is a high quality cordura bag that has been specially designed to protect and store your webbing. The bags are available in three different sizes (small, medium, and large), and are incredibly durable. They are made from super tough Cordura Nylon and have very strong stitching along the seams. There are a number of handles on the bags in order to better facilitate flaking and unflaking your line into them. There is also a tag inside each of the bags so that you can label what the line is for easier and quicker rigging.

Why Do I Need One?

The reason BC LineBags are so important is they protect your line during transportation, storage, and rigging. The tough Cordura Nylon that the bags are made from is ultra abrasion resistant, which means you can literally throw the LineBag around and not harm the webbing inside.

Another great reason to use a BC LineBag is how tightly it enables you to pack down your webbing! Using a linebag you can reduce the size of your webbing significantly (especially if you use the flaking methods below), which will reduce the overall size of your kit, making it easier to transport. This is especially important for those alpine missions where space is critical. Pack your line down in a BC LineBag to gain huge amounts of space!

Yet another good reason the BC LineBag is a must-have is that you will virtually eliminate all tangles in your webbing! This is super helpful for rigging longlines in the park when you have very little time. When walking your line from one anchor to the other, oftentimes a regularly coiled line will become tangled, forcing you to go untangle it and end up wasting valuable walking time. With the LineBag, the line will smoothly unflake right out of the bag tangle free (provided you flake it in properly, which we will discuss below).

How Do you Use A BC LineBag?

There are a few methods of flaking your line into a BC LineBag that will make it very easy to unflake when you are rigging. The first method applies when you have your line all in one pile and can sit in one location to stuff it in your bag. To do this properly, first lay out your line in a pile on your carpet, grass, or on some other acid/oil free location. Do not lay your webbing on asphalt or cement, or near any swimming pools or other liquids that contain chlorine. Ideally, you should be doing this indoors in order to keep your webbing away from any harmful chemicals. Now you can stand your linebag up on end and open up the mouth wide so that you can easily stuff the line in. The bags are sturdy enough that they will stay erect on their own. Now you can simply feed your webbing into the bag. As the bag starts to fill up, you can press down on the contents in order to make more room. If your line length is near the capacity of the bag, you may have to do this several times towards the end. Once the full length of your line has been flaked into the bag, you can use the drawstring on the mouth of the bag to close it off. Now you have an easy-to-grab, safe way to transport your line!

When you are at the park, you will want to pull your line out of the linebag in order to set it up. There is a nice and easy way to do this as well. First, you should have your full linebag with you on the static side of your slackline (non-tensioning side). Then, take the end that is trailing out of the bag and connect it to your static anchor with your Webbing Anchor. Now, with one hand holding the linebag and the other hand on your webbing, walk towards the tensioning side of your line, ensuring the line stays flat the entire time. If you flaked your line into the bag properly, you should have zero tangles during this process. With this method, you can easily stretch out your line without dragging it across the grass, which could lead to a decreased lifespan for your line.

Once you are done rigging your line, there is an easy and fast method for flaking your line back into the linebag. First, you should end your slackline session on the tensioning side. Before starting to flake the line into your linebag, you should first derig your entire tensioning side anchor (more info coming soon). Now that your tensioning gear is packed, you can walk towards your static anchor while you flake your line into your linebag. Start by flaking in a few feet of your line into the linebag. Now, take hold of one of the handles on the inside of the line bag in your non-dominant hand. With the other hand, make loops with the line into your non-dominant hand as you walk towards the static anchor. Once you have 4 or 5 of these loops formed, stop and stuff them into the bag all at once. Once stuffed, continue towards the static anchor, creating more loops as you go. Continue this process until you get the static anchor. Now derig your static anchor and flake the last few feet of line into your bag. I like to leave a bit of the tail protruding from the bag so that I can easily grab it next time.

Discussion

Using the above methods for flaking and unflaking your line in and out of your linebag, you can easily shave several minutes from your rigging/derigging time while ensuring your webbing does not get damaged during the process, which will ultimately leading to an increased lifespan for your line. The BC LineBag is an essential tool for any slackliner looking to keep their gear pristine while making transportation, rigging, and derigging easier.