Non traditional gear: Could a bullwhip be useful?

[Dan]

Several times while backpacking I’ve run into people carrying handguns in holsters who wanted to stop and chat, and then proceeded to keep their hand on the gun the entire time. To me, that was not cool, and I was careful to give them false information about where I was headed. (Of course, I generally do that anyway. Nobody needs to know where I am going except my wife.)

[jose c]

lol!

thanks to everybody for your advise.

So, a bullwhip is kinda a crazy idea and probably won’t really serve any purpose on the mountains except for looking “indy-like”, if that is your appeal.

Just to clarify though, there are cheap pakistani full cowhide 8 plait whips available (about 60 USD).

I’m not sure if I’d hang on one of those though.

And yes, some places are very safe to hike, others (specially near urban areas in south america) can be not so relaxed in that sense.

 

I still wonder if the idea of the whip to grab could be adapted to our BPL needs. Maybe a shorter one. Made of light fabrics… usable as a rope but capable of grabbing things with a non slippery end… I don’t know, I usually don’t carry ropes in my hikes but a not-so-long rope that is more versatile than a common rope could probably be an interesting option, what do you think?

Thanks to everybody. Glad we all had some laughs with this.

[Monte Masterson]

Spanish vaqueros and then North American cowboys used bullwhips mainly for the cracking sound in order to coax bulls to stop or move in a certain direction. Usually only when a bull rushed toward the cowboy would the animal actually be struck with the whip. The crack is a sonic boom created when the tip moves faster than the speed of sound.

But this thread reminded me of a B movie I saw late one night entitled Bullwhip. The movie was lousy, however the promo poster is kind of titillating.

[Bonzo]

I still wonder if the idea of the whip to grab could be adapted to our BPL needs. Maybe a shorter one. Made of light fabrics… usable as a rope but capable of grabbing things with a non slippery end… I don’t know, I usually don’t carry ropes in my hikes but a not-so-long rope that is more versatile than a common rope could probably be an interesting option, what do you think?

I don’t see a point; if I need to grab something I’ll use my hands, and if whatever I need to grab is too far away, I will either move towards it and grab it, or find some other method of approaching it.  Not once in my years of hiking have I said “if only I had a whip to grab that with…”  The versatility of a rope lies in its simple, uniform shape; conversely, the singular purpose of a whip is the causative factor for its unique design…so they’re not really interchangeable.  This being said: if you just want to carry a whip, then carry a whip.  You do you, man. 👍

[Author]

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