Apparently, over here, whip enthusiasts are part of the local rodeo scene as they have a whip competition in every rodeo event. Even I was unaware of the rodeo scene here (probably because they're usually held in far-away provinces... I'm a city slicker).
Also, the local whip crackers here use whips which are very different from what we are used to. They have BIG whips made from abaca (rope made from banana leaves) or nylon rope... and when I say BIG, I mean BBBBIIIIGGGGG!!! Almost double the diameter of most whips here.
Anyway, we had a recent whip meet last January 19, 2013.
The whips from left to right: two 6ft nylon whips by Steve Koliski, one 8ft whip by Tomek9210 (mine), one 6ft whip by Todd's Costumes, one 9ft abaca whip, another abaca whip, and two 8ft nylon rope whips.
Here's a video I made for our group last year. I even included a clip of my 7yr old girl whip cracking (she wanted to try it).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNMmPzv8YWQ
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Here's a little review of the whips we used during our whip meet.
Steve Koliski 6-footers:
The balance and weight is just right. I found this length to be ideal for two-handed cracking; it's not too long or heavy to wield. Also, of all the whips we used, these ones cracked the loudest!
Todd's 6-footer:
I finally got to see what most people here have been saying about it. It definitely is a costume whip. It was too light and thin so you really need to force it to crack. The creaking sound bothered me somewhat so I only cracked it a few times and gave it back to the owner.
Abaca whips:
There are two types of abaca whips; one employed a "splicing" technique to taper the whip, and the other is plaited. They're both heavy and thick. The handles are made from thick wood which are wrapped in rubber... They're very crude whips compared to what we are used to. They're mostly just good for very basic cracks and it's pretty hard to do fancy routines with them as they're sooooooooo heavy.
Nylon Rope whips:
These ones are plaited and use bamboo or wooden handles. Like the abaca whips, they're thick and heavy. These seem very durable compared to leather or nylon paracord, but the thickness and weight is too much. And there's very little action from these local whips. Dunno if it's just because they're new, but I found them to be very stiff.
Here's a pic of the local whips:
These are really thick... the transition area is thicker than the turks head knot on my whip (actually, even the handles).
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Thanks for reading my very long post!
