an encapsulated sling including a sling formed in one piece or in multiple pieces or sections joined end to end by a pin at a juncture between adjacent ends , the sling having a spaced apart pair of eyes adjacent its opposed ends to permit the sling to be suspended from a hoist or other structure and possibly one or more intermediate eyes between its ends to permit the suspended length of the sling to be reduced , the sling being surrounded by a sleeve fabricated from a flexible , polymeric material , such as pvc or a pvc coated material , which covers the entire length of the sling between its eyes , including the edges of the slings . the sleeve further comprises pockets positioned to cover the top and bottom surfaces of the eyes . in a multiple piece sling , the protective sleeve is formed in end to end sections , each of which covers one of the sections of the sling to permit the joined sling sections to be unjoined , and the encapsulated sling is further provided with a slidable sleeve which surrounds the protective sleeve and which is slidable therealong to cover the juncture between adjacent sling sections and adjacent protective sleeve sections during the use of said sling .