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This is my review of my latest slingshot, which is designed and produced by Jim Harris at Performance Catapults. It is called the SPS.
I ordered mine in Cocobolo. I chose Cocobolo because of its beauty. I find the Dark wood, with defined grain pattern very pleasing to the eye. Well, my eye anyway. But, I also chose it for practical reasons. Cocobolo is a naturally oily wood. Thus, it can hold up well to water exposure and repeated use. That is why you find it so often used in gun grips and knife handles.
The SPS is a very versatile slingshot. The fork tips allows multiple band types:
Lets look at each of my 5 Slingshot Review Points
Construction Features.
Multi-layer Lamination (I am unsure of Lamination Adhesive, but a visual inspection would suggest an epoxy of some sort.)
3/16 Hollow stainless steel pins
Form Factor
The SPS seems to be designed to be used primarily as a finger braced slingshot, as it has Shoulder Supports for your finger and thumb. However, it can be used with other grip types. The small overall size makes for easy placement in your pocket, or in a belt holster. It has low profile forks, which should result in lower wrist strain and better accuracy.
The dimensions are:
Fit and Finish
The overall fit and finish to the SPS is very good. The laminate layers are even, so there are no edges to scrape your hands. It also has virtually no tooling marks on it at all. That is pretty hard to do on a multi material laminate.
Cocobolo wood has two colors, dark heartwood, and a pale yellow sapwood. This particular slingshot has a small amount of the sapwood visible on the fork tips. That does not bother me though, as I think it gives it character and makes it unique.
Those who know me know that I generally like high-polish finishes. This slingshot is an exception though, as it has a very attractive matte finish.
Quite a bit of attention was given to details on this slingshot. An example off is the alignment groove for Chinese tubes. It is right in the middle of the vertical part of the upper section of the fork tip(between the hole and top), and holds the tubes in the center of the tips. It also has counter sunk RRT tube attachment holes, which helps the tubes to stay locked in place when using the ball-bearing in-tube lock.
Safety & Durability
There are obviously quite a number of things done to make this a safe and durable slingshot. I like the fact that adhesive was not the sole method of ensuring long-term lamination. Adding the stainless steel pins were a nice touch. The combo of stainless steel and G10 core, reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure in the case of fork hit or some other damage. As mentioned before, Cocobolo wood has superior durability.
Versatility
Multiple attachments makes this a very versatile shooter.
For RRT tubes you can shoot through the fork or over the top. For Chinese tubes, you can use them over the top, or through the fork. The flat band attachment is strictly over the top.
I haven't been able to take any pictures of mine yet, but here is one very similar to mine:
I ordered mine in Cocobolo. I chose Cocobolo because of its beauty. I find the Dark wood, with defined grain pattern very pleasing to the eye. Well, my eye anyway. But, I also chose it for practical reasons. Cocobolo is a naturally oily wood. Thus, it can hold up well to water exposure and repeated use. That is why you find it so often used in gun grips and knife handles.
The SPS is a very versatile slingshot. The fork tips allows multiple band types:
- Chinese Tube (Came with 1842 tubes)
- RRT tubes
- Flat bands
Lets look at each of my 5 Slingshot Review Points
Construction Features.
Multi-layer Lamination (I am unsure of Lamination Adhesive, but a visual inspection would suggest an epoxy of some sort.)
- 1/4" Cocobolo wood
- 1/16" black G10
- 1/8" stainless steel core
- 1/16" black G10
- 1/4" Cocobolo wood
3/16 Hollow stainless steel pins
Form Factor
The SPS seems to be designed to be used primarily as a finger braced slingshot, as it has Shoulder Supports for your finger and thumb. However, it can be used with other grip types. The small overall size makes for easy placement in your pocket, or in a belt holster. It has low profile forks, which should result in lower wrist strain and better accuracy.
The dimensions are:
- 3.5" (w) x 5" (h) x ¾" (d) overall
- Fork gap is 2"
- Fork tips (concave) are 3/4" wide
- Hammer Grip, for those with smaller hands
- Finger braced
- Finger Wrapped, for those with larger hands.
Fit and Finish
The overall fit and finish to the SPS is very good. The laminate layers are even, so there are no edges to scrape your hands. It also has virtually no tooling marks on it at all. That is pretty hard to do on a multi material laminate.
Cocobolo wood has two colors, dark heartwood, and a pale yellow sapwood. This particular slingshot has a small amount of the sapwood visible on the fork tips. That does not bother me though, as I think it gives it character and makes it unique.
Those who know me know that I generally like high-polish finishes. This slingshot is an exception though, as it has a very attractive matte finish.
Quite a bit of attention was given to details on this slingshot. An example off is the alignment groove for Chinese tubes. It is right in the middle of the vertical part of the upper section of the fork tip(between the hole and top), and holds the tubes in the center of the tips. It also has counter sunk RRT tube attachment holes, which helps the tubes to stay locked in place when using the ball-bearing in-tube lock.
Safety & Durability
There are obviously quite a number of things done to make this a safe and durable slingshot. I like the fact that adhesive was not the sole method of ensuring long-term lamination. Adding the stainless steel pins were a nice touch. The combo of stainless steel and G10 core, reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure in the case of fork hit or some other damage. As mentioned before, Cocobolo wood has superior durability.
Versatility
Multiple attachments makes this a very versatile shooter.
For RRT tubes you can shoot through the fork or over the top. For Chinese tubes, you can use them over the top, or through the fork. The flat band attachment is strictly over the top.
I haven't been able to take any pictures of mine yet, but here is one very similar to mine:
