It depends how you stored it. If you stored it in the dark, sealed up and dry, it’s likely fine!

Thanks for your support. We’re thrilled to have fans like you!
On the bands, the white is actually supposed to be on there. It keeps the latex from sticking to itself, so hanging them up is a good idea to keep them from binding onto themselves.

Who knows, maybe it helps keep the proteins from decaying so quickly. I now use a small spray bottle and just shake off excess water and hang them to dry. I do this every 2 – 3 weeks and the bands stay black! Oh, when you are the proud owner of 17 slingshots, mostly SimpleShot, it requires some “attention” to keep them ready to shoot!

A year is a long time, but it’s safe to say usable if it’s kept properly. Follow the instructions here on what to keep it away from and it’ll still be usable. There are LOTS of factors, so take care. And for best performance, use it when it’s as new as possible!

Do you think your extra care (attention) is the factor or the actual removal of something that degrades the latex? Curious!

There’s no intent to deceive or dodge anything here.

But there really are NO firm answers. You might make two identical bandsets, shoot 300 shots before degradation with one and 500 with another. It truly is the nature of latex.

Hope you can go shoot and have fun even though you won’t know how many shots you’ll get!