New Caicedo
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:11 am
http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr33 ... G_1542.jpg
http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr33 ... G_1546.jpg
My first whip was made by the eBay vendor that everyone loves to hate. The whip served me well and allowed me to learn all of the basic cracks and even invent a couple of my own (at least I’ve never seen anyone else do them). I was always curious though, to see how it would stack up against a whip from a reputable maker. Being on a bit of a budget, I started looking for a quality whip that was also an excellent value. I read a lot of great reviews of Gus Caicedo’s whips so I ordered one and after almost 3 months, it arrived at my door.
The whip came out of the box neatly coiled and tied up with the white hide fall. One of the first things I noticed about the whip is how thick the thong is at the handle end – it’s almost an inch in diameter. There’s a lot of beef there. In fact, I thought the whip was shorter than it actually is (it’s an eight footer) because the proportions create that illusion. The handle on the Caicedo is much shorter than the one on my old whip – 8 inches as compared to 11.5 inches in the classic American style. The whip is also quite stiff – much stiffer than my old whip which, in comparison, is a wet noodle. The plaiting is very tight and even, all the way to the tip of the thong.
I spent a couple of days breaking the Caicedo in. I swung it around, and went through the motions of performing my entire repertoire of cracks and combinations, without actually letting the whip crack. It was very obvious right off the bat that the whip would be very easy to crack. It rolled out with a lot of authority and I had to concentrate on reining it in and not letting it crack. Throwing my old whip is sort of like flicking a skipping rope. It’s very limp and light, and I can’t feel its mass when throwing it. On the other hand, when throwing the Caicedo, you definitely feel the very satisfying weight of the whip, and the tug as it rolls out.
Once I started to crack the Caceido, I discovered that I actually had to re-learn a lot of my cracks because the Caicedo responds completely differently than the old whip and my timing was off. The old whip is so loose that how I hold the handle does not really affect the plane of the whip. In other words, when doing an overhead crack, I can hold the handle in pretty much any orientation, and the whip will still go where I throw it – it’s that flexible. Being much stiffer, the orientation of the handle is much more critical with the Caicedo if I want to get a clean crack and keep the whip moving on a certain plane. Surprisingly, even though it feels a lot heavier than the old whip, it takes a lot less muscle to get the Caicedo moving and cracking.
I was pretty excited to discover that I could do a Cattleman’s Crack starting with the whip on the ground in front of me. This is something I could never do with my old whip. Because it is so limp, when I raise my arm, rather than following the handle and arcing back over my shoulder, the whip just hangs limp at my side. This isn’t a problem with the Caicedo. Cracks like Drumrolls are really easy to do with the Caicedo.
I’ve tried to go back to cracking my old whip but I just can’t do it. It doesn’t feel right now. Even though I could get it to do anything I wanted, I realize now how much effort it took. There also isn’t that satisfying feeling of heft that I get when I throw the Caicedo. It just feels solid and well made. I’m no whip expert, but to me the Caicedo is an outstanding value for an excellent whip, and I would recommend one to anyone who wants a good, honest whip that won’t cost them an arm and a leg. Now’s probably a good time to get one too, because as his skills continue to develop, I predict that prices for Gus’s whips are going to get higher.
http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr33 ... G_1546.jpg
My first whip was made by the eBay vendor that everyone loves to hate. The whip served me well and allowed me to learn all of the basic cracks and even invent a couple of my own (at least I’ve never seen anyone else do them). I was always curious though, to see how it would stack up against a whip from a reputable maker. Being on a bit of a budget, I started looking for a quality whip that was also an excellent value. I read a lot of great reviews of Gus Caicedo’s whips so I ordered one and after almost 3 months, it arrived at my door.
The whip came out of the box neatly coiled and tied up with the white hide fall. One of the first things I noticed about the whip is how thick the thong is at the handle end – it’s almost an inch in diameter. There’s a lot of beef there. In fact, I thought the whip was shorter than it actually is (it’s an eight footer) because the proportions create that illusion. The handle on the Caicedo is much shorter than the one on my old whip – 8 inches as compared to 11.5 inches in the classic American style. The whip is also quite stiff – much stiffer than my old whip which, in comparison, is a wet noodle. The plaiting is very tight and even, all the way to the tip of the thong.
I spent a couple of days breaking the Caicedo in. I swung it around, and went through the motions of performing my entire repertoire of cracks and combinations, without actually letting the whip crack. It was very obvious right off the bat that the whip would be very easy to crack. It rolled out with a lot of authority and I had to concentrate on reining it in and not letting it crack. Throwing my old whip is sort of like flicking a skipping rope. It’s very limp and light, and I can’t feel its mass when throwing it. On the other hand, when throwing the Caicedo, you definitely feel the very satisfying weight of the whip, and the tug as it rolls out.
Once I started to crack the Caceido, I discovered that I actually had to re-learn a lot of my cracks because the Caicedo responds completely differently than the old whip and my timing was off. The old whip is so loose that how I hold the handle does not really affect the plane of the whip. In other words, when doing an overhead crack, I can hold the handle in pretty much any orientation, and the whip will still go where I throw it – it’s that flexible. Being much stiffer, the orientation of the handle is much more critical with the Caicedo if I want to get a clean crack and keep the whip moving on a certain plane. Surprisingly, even though it feels a lot heavier than the old whip, it takes a lot less muscle to get the Caicedo moving and cracking.
I was pretty excited to discover that I could do a Cattleman’s Crack starting with the whip on the ground in front of me. This is something I could never do with my old whip. Because it is so limp, when I raise my arm, rather than following the handle and arcing back over my shoulder, the whip just hangs limp at my side. This isn’t a problem with the Caicedo. Cracks like Drumrolls are really easy to do with the Caicedo.
I’ve tried to go back to cracking my old whip but I just can’t do it. It doesn’t feel right now. Even though I could get it to do anything I wanted, I realize now how much effort it took. There also isn’t that satisfying feeling of heft that I get when I throw the Caicedo. It just feels solid and well made. I’m no whip expert, but to me the Caicedo is an outstanding value for an excellent whip, and I would recommend one to anyone who wants a good, honest whip that won’t cost them an arm and a leg. Now’s probably a good time to get one too, because as his skills continue to develop, I predict that prices for Gus’s whips are going to get higher.
I just tried to get on there and it wouldn't let me either. 
