FlipKung came in today, only a hundred or so shots, but enough to get a good feel for it. Websites says it's banded with 18/42s. I wanted/needed a symmetrical SS to shoot both righty and lefty - I have a minor tendinitis thing in my elbow that limits my shooting on my preferred side.
Fit and finish are very good, edges are nicely beveled or smoothed to be easy on the bands. Can be flatbanded for OTT or TTF, but the flat banding surfaces are only 7/8th" wide - not sure I can use 1" TBG on that - no matter, I can cut any width.
It's definitely not as comfortable to hold as the Bill Hays Sniper Seal, but BH's Asym designs seem custom fitted to hands... they are super comfortable. After a hundred, the palm side of my index finger knuckle was getting sore.
The 1842s did feel heavier than 1" TBG, with a greater weight to hold at peak draw, yet also seemed slower, based on the "thwack" sound against my targets. I do understand the trade-off with longevity, and easy of tying, mounting, and swapping band sets though. Accuracy was fine, after a couple dozen shots to get used to it, I was shooting the same as with TBG. The one thing I was playing with was where to rest the 2nd band of the loop when shooting - OTT, Inside the Fork, or Outside the Fork? Guess I found the best accuracy with OTF.
I shoot 7/16th steel with the TBG since 3/8ths feels like it allows too much band slap. However 3/8ths feel like a better match with the 1842s... perhaps it's the flatter trajectory due to a slightly slower speed?
Ordered some 1745 and 2040 from usaslingshots (thanks for the recommendation) just see what I might like best / use for different purposes.
The FlipKung will move to my EDC due to the smaller carry size. The accuracy is there, and that's what counts.
I'm quite happy with my purchase.