ZipLineGear

This 200′ Mammoth Deluxe kit was installed over a large pond in early 2008, right here in our beautiful hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon. The kit was slightly customized to fit the location; the bungee stop was removed since we could drop into the water or coast to a stop before reaching the far end, and a full line of attachments were added to allow multiple types of riding.

The zip line starts about 20′ above the surface of the water. The Mammoth Deluxe kit uses an 8′ cable sling to wrap around the tree on each end and connect to the cable with a 12″ turnbuckle.

The cable ended being far too slack for the first run, and the first ride ended abruptly, with our test rider drenched and sitting on the seat in about 10 inches of water in the middle of the pond! We tightened it up a bit and tested it again- standing on the seat this time!

We eventually tuned it to where the seat would hang above the water, just high enough to reach down and skim the water as we zipped across.

We put the younger kids in a climbing harness and swung them around over the water with the return line (3/8″ braided nylon rope), before pulling them back to dismount at the top.

The 20″ straight bar was great for dropping off- it’s weight (about 5 pounds) keeps it from bouncing around too much when someone lets go. Even so, our favorite was the dual handlebar; it doesn’t rotate like the straight bar does…

…and you can ride it upside down and backwards!

We also found that having a lot of slack in the cable allowed us to swing people side to side over the water, using the return line. This ends up being even more thrilling than the straight ride down- it’s a giant swing over the water.

One of the guys finishes a back flip off the zip line seat.

This is a short video of the zip line in action!