super lightweight POM 'CONGLIN' slingshot

Sturdy, light weight, easily pocketable, Should be a great EDC carry with light to med tubes. Have a second on order now (late getting here) for my girl.

This is my 3:e slingshot from Dankong.
And I just love it.
Shots god and I have no problem to hit my "spinner" att 10 and 15 meter.
This is from now my "everyday carry" slingshot.
Strong and light.

(In Swedish)
Den här bellan är både lätt och stark.
Lite bulkigare vilket ger ett bra grepp.
Priser är lågt och bellan är bra och lättskjuten.
Den får numera hänga med i min ryggsäck eller i jackfickan när jag är ute i skogen.
Jag skjuter inga djur, men gillar att försöka träffa olika föremål, grenar osv, som jag stöter på under mina promenader.
En plinking bella av bra klass.

Mvh
Johan Karlsson
Stockholm
Sweden

The appealing design of the ergonomic POM ‘Conglin’ Slingshot quickly caught my eye but the plastic material immediately rang a warning bell in my head. A front image view of the frame showed thin forks that I believed would awkwardly flex, bend, and possibly break. Plastic frame? It looks unsafe!

The internet has a wealth of information on POM so I dove in and summarized what was useful for the review. Polyoxymethylene (POM) is a light-weight engineering polymer known for high strength, low friction, good performance in cold temperatures, and resistance to impact and fatigue. It was first developed in the late 1950s and is commonly known as Acetal. Hundreds of different grades are available for different applications. Dupont developed a well known grade, marketed as ‘Delrin’. The durability and stiffness of this thermoplastic make it very suitable for slingshot applications.

This X6 POM frame is manufactured by the well known Conglin company and made available for purchase from DanKung. The slingshot is available in solid black and also a variety of color designs. My example is called ‘coffee’ and is characterized by swirls of beige and cream color throughout the shiny dark brown frame. I find it rather attractive.

The shiny ergonomic POM frame seems much harder than HDPE. Although the forks are thin for a plastic material, I could not detect any annoying flex when shooting. The fork loops are the only section that have the round pencil-like thickness. The fork is actually noticeably thicker near the handle and tapers towards the ear loop (0.70” – 0.42”). This feature is not evident from a top view but a side view shows this stiffening characteristic.

I also have the Antelope frame which is the stainless steel version of the X6. The POM is only a quarter of the weight of the stainless steel model (55g vs 210g). The weight is the same as some of my small self-made ‘board-cut’ frames with similar length, but the POM is much less bulky. Part of my frame collection includes some small examples made from ¾” thickness hickory, maple, merbau, laminated bamboo and 5/8” HDPE. These frames all weighed in at 45 to 65 grams. At 55g the X6 POM falls right in the middle for weight.

Under magnification I can see seam lines around the perimeter of the frame. This leads me to believe the frame is injection molded. Fork grooves are found on the front of the forks to aid in keeping the tubes in place during the shot. I found that they work very well at preventing the annoying tube roll that can happen with plain fork loops. The frame also has a generous pinky hole that allows a lanyard attachment without interference with pinky placement.

Yes, this frame is comfortable. It comfortably fits into my hand and allows the same hold as I use with my stainless DK frames. With a sideways hold my thumb locates on the bottom fork ear and index finger wraps around the upper fork, right under the upper ear. My pinky gets a deep hook in the dedicated hole. The frame magically ‘locks’ into my hand and feels quite secure. There are no sharp edges, points or corners to cause discomfort. The frame holds as nice as it looks.

In other reviews I mentioned that I am a fan of small slingshot frames. The Conglin POM X6 definitely fits into this ‘small’ category. The length and width between the tubes is similar to the DK General II, Black Bat, and Ergo Dancing. The frame length provides adequate leverage without excess handle hanging below the lower edge of my palm.

Measurements
Overall length = 4.85” (123 mm)
Width across frame at fork loops = 3.80” (96.5 mm)
Width between forks (at widest) = 1.44” (36.5 mm)
Fork loop outside diameter = 1.18” (30 mm)
Fork loop inside diameter = 0.38” (9.5 mm)
Width at top of handle = 1.04” (26.5 mm)
Width on outside of handle at widest = 1.70” (43 mm)
Handle thickness = 0.70” to 0.90” (18 to 23 mm)
Fork thickness = 0.42” to 0.70” (10.5 to 18 mm)
Total weight without tubes = 2.0 oz (55 g)
Total weight with tubes = 2.3 oz (65 g)

Tubes & Flatbands
Like all DK ‘looped tube’ frames, the X6-POM will easily accommodate the thin Malaysian tubes such as 1632, 2040, and 1745. These skinny Malaysian tubes can be shot with single strand on each side, full doubles, or even in a pseudo taper style (partial doubles). I’m enjoying double amber 2040 with 6 3/8” from fork to pouch. With my 32” draw length this rig is shooting right at 200fps with 3/8” steel ammo.

Overall Opinion
It should be obvious that I enjoy this little frame design. It shoots quite well for me and the light weight will make it a sweet frame for my cargo pockets during the summer. It’s a comfortable design to shoot and I don’t have to make any adjustments when switching back and forth between my other DK frames.

If you are searching for a light-weight ergo frame with more durability than wood, the X6-POM might be worth considering. The price sure is reasonable.

By Northerner

Received my Blue POM - Love it!
I want to buy another one - COFFEE.

I bought one of these "plastic" X6's just to see what it's like.
Now, I cant' wait to get a metal one, better yet, maybe an Antelope!!!