Club Obi Wan

I have a question. Would a kevlar popper work as good as a regular nylon popper on a leather whip ? Seeing as how these things are replaced a good lot wouldn't it make sense to get one that will last longer. Just a thought.

Kevlar poppers works almost as good, it has its advantages and its drawbacks. Its great for cutting, but kevlar wears down really quickly so if your using it for constant cracking you’ll be changing your poppers much more frequently. For general cracking and whip work I’d stick with nylon, it wears longer, unless your doing a lot of double handed routines and your getting tangles, then polypropylene (baling twine) poppers are the way to go, again they wear out faster but they don’t tangle as much. You might notice some subtle change in the pitch and sharpness of the cracks with different poppers.

Dan

Hey Ghost,

As Dan said, there are some pros & cons with kevlar. They cut through aluminum cans pretty well, but are a bit brittle, and do wear down quickly. Another problem, and it's a big one, is that it can nick & cut your fall and even the thong on a whip. Even the best whip handlers from time to time cross up their whip, or clip a portion of it in motion. Nylon or poly is the way to go. If you do end up experimenting w/ kevlar, put it on an old beater whip and cut up some stuff!

Steve.

I tend to use "hybrid kevlar" poppers. That's my fancy name for using a couple strands of kevlar bowstring material twisted with artificial sinew, (which is nylon.) This makes a fairly long-lasting popper that produces sharp, bright cracks. Straight nylon will give you louder cracks, as kevlar doesn't to "fuzz" as much as nylon.

One thing to watch with kevlar poppers, (especially ALL kevlar poppers,) is that they will cut deeply into your fall where they are tied on. If you are a "Power Cracker" you'll damage your fall a lot easier with kevlar poppers, (it's not too bad with a couple strands of nylon in there though.)

If you're making your own poppers, don't be afraid to experiment a little: Nylon, poly baling twine, upholstery thread, kevlar, horse hair, sinew, etc. etc. etc.

Find what YOU like and use it.

All the best, and good luck!

-Dan

That's funny, I was going to mention horse hair, but I thought I'd sound like an idiot

TR

I sort of did the same thing when WWAC Texas convention host, and "Jackaroo-of-all-traits," Mark Mulligan, first mentioned horse hair to me, (it wasn't a "You're kidding?" kind of response, it was a, "Oh of course, why hadn't I thought of that?")

But then Mark just looked at me and said, "What else would you expect to use when you're out driving cattle in The Bush?" ;-)

Good point.

-Dan

Thanks for the info. I think I will stick to nylon poppers for now.

Hi folks,
Where I can get kevlar poppers?

Your best bet would be to make them yourself.

The kevlar I use is the type used to make bow strings. You can order it by the spool from most bowhunting and archery shops here in the states, (I initially bought one big spool over a year ago, have repeatedly made poppers for myself and about a half dozen other people, and it barely looks smaller than it did the day I bought it!)

Try archery places and ask about kevlar twine for bowstrings. You can also order online, (in almost any color imaginable. I use International Distress Orange, because it's easy to spot when the popper goes flying off the end of the whip.)

All the best, and good luck!

-Dan