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Buyer's Guide
Rigging Slings & Strops Buyer's Guide
A fixed loop sling holds a set length reliably, while a whoopie sling adjusts on the fly to choke around branches of different sizes — useful for redirects and balancing an uneven limb without carrying multiple lengths. Dyneema cuts weight and resists abrasion better than polyester, though polyester often costs less for general use. This range of arborist slings and rigging slings spans whoopie, loop, dead-eye and rated lifting configurations from Marlow, STEIN, Notch, Courant and Treehog.
Whoopie Slings
A whoopie sling adjusts its loop size on the fly by sliding the cover over the core, letting one sling choke around branches of different diameters without carrying multiple fixed lengths. The Marlow Whoopie Sling (0.9-3.6m) covers the widest adjustment range, while the Sterling Streaked and 19mm Rope Logic Whoopie Slings suit setups where a fixed adjustment range is enough.
STEIN OMEX-12 & OMEGA-RQ Slings
STEIN's OMEX-12 range covers general rigging: the Spiderleg Sling (12mm/5.0m) gives a longer fixed-loop option, while the Loopie Sling suits shorter, quicker connections. The OMEGA-RQ Low Friction Ring Rigging Sling (16mm/3m) and Dead-Eye Sling (10mm/3m) both terminate in purpose-built hardware rather than a simple sewn or spliced eye, reducing wear where the sling contacts a karabiner or anchor point repeatedly.
Fixed & Rated Rigging Slings
The Sterling Streaked Ultra Sling (1.5m, 12mm) comes with a Pinto Rig 2 attachment, while the standalone Ultra Sling (19mm x 3m) suits heavier fixed-length rigging. Courant's AKA Rigging Sling (14mm x 4m) and Texora's Compact Multi Colour Slings (80cm) round out the range for shorter, lighter connections and colour-coded identification across a kit.
Treehog Lifting Slings
Treehog's 4 Ton and 5 Ton Lifting Slings (both 2m) are rated for straight lifting rather than dynamic rigging shock loads, useful for controlled hoisting where the load is being raised rather than lowered under friction. Check the stated working load limit against the job — a lifting sling's rating assumes a steady pull, not the sudden loading a dropped section puts through rigging hardware.
Notch Speedline System
Notch's Speedline Sling (available in 65cm/26in and 100cm/40in) is built for quick, repeated redirects during pruning and small removal work, and pairs with the Speedrack 25mm Sling Storage to keep slings organised and untangled between uses on the truck or in a kit bag.
Dyneema vs Polyester: Choosing a Construction
Dyneema cuts weight and resists abrasion better than polyester, making it the better choice for slings that get dragged over bark repeatedly through a job. Polyester costs less for general use and still handles typical rigging loads well — choose Dyneema where weight and wear matter most, polyester where budget or occasional use is the priority.
Sizing, Choking & Load Rating a Sling
A sling loses strength when choked around an anchor rather than used as a straight loop — check the manufacturer's choked rating, not just the straight-pull figure, before rigging around a branch or stem. Match sling length to the anchor you're working with: too short forces an awkward angle on the connecting hardware, while too long adds unnecessary slack to manage.
Pairs Well With
- Rigging Equipment — pulleys, slings and hardware to complete a full rigging setup
- Lowering Devices — bollards, portawraps and capstans to control a rigged descent
- Rigging Rope — 10-20mm rigging rope built for friction and shock load
- Rigging Karabiners & Connectors — steel hardware rated for rigging shock loads
- Rigging Plates & Rings — single-point connections for multi-line setups