Over the last few weeks, I’ve become very familiar with the Slant Roller. This is the happy result of when a world-class industrial designer happens to also be a huge slingshot fan. The designer in question is Mark Seljan, a respected shooter and enthusiast from Hungary, and a long-time friend of SimpleShot. His mastery and care really showed through on this unique frame. Let’s talk about it!
First Impressions
I must confess that I was never visually drawn to this frame on the website, instead favoring the more curvy, organic-looking designs like my beloved Axiom. That all changed when I saw it in-person. It’s quite a bit smaller than I was thinking, and that made its chunkier, squared-off design much less jarring. In fact, it reminded me of the squared-off design that makes pocket knives, multitools, and even cell phones so pocketable and comfy in-hand. The more I looked at it, the more I fell in love.
How It Shoots
When you put the Slant Roller in your hand, you immediately “get it.” Your pinky naturally hooks around the coffin-shaped handle, and the hole in the middle creates the perfect rim to grip onto. The thin waist before the fork provides an undercut for your middle finger to lock into place to add to the security of the grip. And my favorite part is the fork. It gives you a long, straight section of wide forks that naturally lands me in my preferred thumb-support grip, and pinch grippers with larger hands will find a good grip too.
With the frame locked into the hand as securely as any frame ever was, the Slant feels steady and smooth on the draw and release. This is aided by the tips of the frame being very close to the hand. The bands are just millimeters away from your fingers when you draw, minimizing leverage against the wrist when shooting. I found it very easy to remain steady and on-target with the frame.
If you’re a new shooter and haven’t dialed in your draw and release yet, you’ll probably want a frame with a bit taller of a fork, like the Scout series (Scout LT2, Scout X, and Scout XT). But all in all, for the more experienced shooter, the Slant Roller is a superb shooter with excellent ergonomics and control. Top marks!
Who’s It For?
The Slant Roller is an excellent option for experienced shooters after a compact frame that shoots like a much bigger one. It looks good, has generous lanyard attachment opportunities, and shoots very well. If you’ve got a higher budget, it could be worth checking out the Slant Press PRO, which swaps the wrap-and-tuck attachment for a clamp system and is built from solid milled aluminum! That one is high on my wish list!
If you’re after your first slingshot frame or something for dedicated target shooting, competition, or hunting, I might look for something larger and with a taller fork before moving to the compact precision of the Slant Roller. The Scout series will keep your hands farther from the bands, and also let you try both over-the-top and thru-the-fork shooting too. The squared-off edges of the Slant Roller give it an unmistakable premium EDC feel, which is a bit of a tradeoff from the more rounded feel you get from frames like the Axiom. But that boils down mostly to preference.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been looking for a way to carry a slingshot every single day lately, and I think the Slant Roller is what I’ve been looking for. It’s just an absolute dream to shoot and carry. I even added a lanyard and bead to mine for fun. If you’re after such a slingshot, give the Slant Roller a real look! Chances are you’ll love it!
About the author
George Muhlestein is the YouTube host for Blade HQ, where he has spent the last few years writing about knives. He’s also a longtime SimpleShot fan whose whole family shoots slingshots.
