It's still a hugely bad idea to bench like that with just one female spotter. Catastrophic injury can happen any second. The slingshot can catapult the weight towards his face, he can blow a pec etc. Not benching in a powerrack is absolutely idiotic. If not in a rack you should have 3 spotters who are very experienced and even then they are usually not fast enough if something goes wrong.
Ask him what he did at the meet when it happens. I'm curious as to how much the slingshot added. I would guess at least 100lbs compared to a paused comp bench.
You want this type of bench to save your neck. It's a rule in the IPF for safety reasons.
Yes, it would be great if we had such safety equipment. It would be great if you could find willing spotters to stop in the middle of their workout just spot you. It would be great if you had friends that were willing to adjust their personal life schedule that will coincide with your gym time.
As Rumsfield said, "You don't go to war with the army you want but you go to war with the army you have."
I can't count the number of times people bench and squat heavy without a spotter. Just last month I told a guy how brave he was squatting without a spotter and does he worry about not being able to make it up. He just told me he's been doing it for years and knows when he's at his limit.
There is risk in everything. We're living in a culture where people believe that safety is the number one priority and trumps all other values. That we can't put a price on human life. So now we have people driving alone in their cars wearing a face mask. We can't operate businesses as normal anymore. I get dirty looks from people because I don't wear a mask outdoors and have been refused entry into a business because I wear a face shield instead of a mask.
Isaac has been lifting for well over ten years starting at about 13 years old. He knows what he can do. Sure, a lot can go wrong. It can for all of us. But he measures the risks.