Back when four strands exploded into the market, the trend was all about adding material. Today, it's about taking it away. Ropes are shrinking faster than go-round times, and for good reason-smaller means more tip speed, a quicker delivery and a faster time.
It all started when Cactus came out with the Magnet head rope, a revolutionary little orange three-strand that surprised with its quickness. Then came the even-smaller Mini-Mag and the skinny little four-strand Whistler as a host of other brands followed suit.
World champion header Matt Sherwood remembers the initial response when he was out there using the Whistler prototype.
"Guys would swing it and say, 'No way, that's way too light,'" Sherwood said.
But, once headers get familiar with a small rope, they also get familiar with the winner's circle. Defending Wrangler NFR average champion Jake Barnes discovered the lightweight red Heat by Classic in Las Vegas and switched to it the last seven rounds of the Finals. Veteran header Steve Purcella won the 2007 Bob Feist Invitational with Fast Back's barely-there three-strand M-33.
"The first time I picked it up, I thought it was a kid's rope," recalled "Cheese." "Now, when I pick up one of the old heavier ropes, they feel like old well ropes."
At first, Fast Back rope-maker Al Benson hated the extra-long M-33, which was made as a light practice rope for the then-injured Speed Williams, but now says it's his favorite head rope.
"A lot of those small ropes would get dead pretty soon," he said. "So we basically took a little material out of the Mach III, but twisted it tighter to get more body."
What exactly is "body?" Picture a tube in which you stuff as much nylon as you can possibly pack in there, and you get an idea. This factor, not lay alone, is what gives a loop its shape.
"Speedy uses an extra-extra-soft, but it looks hard because it stays so open," said Benson. "It's easy to feel the tip, but when you throw, it opens back up and makes a big old gate for the horns. And it's wound tight enough, it's like you almost don't even have to pull your slack."
Nothing feels as good to a header as hearing that knot crack around the back of a steer's head. But the little ropes aren't just easy to get tight. Purcella says they grab his horn better, and Sherwood can get them up quicker and easier.
"Plus, I can reach with it without feeling like I have to put my whole arm into it," Sherwood said. "I'm not strong."
Obviously, the lighter the rope, the easier it is on someone with shoulder problems or an older roper who doesn't want an aching arm at the end of the day.
Beautiful body
In the old days, "body" meant a monster twist and the stiffness of a 2x4. Now, it means a lot of tip feel, which has also been the goal of extra strands, weighted tips and center cores.
Until leg wraps are used on steers, you'll never see skinny twines at the heel end, but lighter full-bodied ropes for heelers now offer more tip speed for quick-hopping steers and more grab at the horn. Thirteen-time NFR heeler Britt Bockius says the unique fibers in Professional's Choice's new Blue Bolt give it an exceptionally smooth swing, while reserve world champion Cesar de la Cruz says Classic's lightweight Heat feels better than anything he's ever used.
More and more rope-makers are getting on the lighter-and-faster bandwagon. Gary Sutton introduced the Supernova last spring, along with his smallest-and-fastest Supernova Lite four-strand. And Robert Calloway is about to launch his smallest yet, the four-strand lime-green Limeanator, also faster and with more body because of the way it's twisted. Lyles Ropes is introducing a couple of brightly-colored numbers called the 4x4 III and the 3RX, while Running P has evolved its four-strand RP4 into the RP4 Achiever.
The movement is across the board, as four-strands are being made smaller than their three-strand forebears and three-strand ropes now have the body to resemble four-strands. Travis Tryan's favorite rope, Classic's Bullseye, has the texture of three strands, but a core and weighted tip that give it the body of a four-strand. On the other hand, the small four-strands are now tighter, slicker and faster than a lot of three-strands.
Tyler Magnus, who owned a rope company called Blue Line in the early 1990s, recently began developing his own ropes again. His Super 3 editions have a special red fiber that makes them feel like four-strands.
"I put quite a bit of force on my swing and use a pretty small loop," he said. "And this gives me more accuracy."
What's the real difference in that extra strand? Cactus production manager Barry Berg has said a three-strand has more feel at your hand, and a four-strand has more feel in the tip. In the past, an extra strand could help reduce "bounce" and add longevity to the rope, but it could also add resistance and slow down the action (wave-offs and slipped legs).
Basically, rope-making is a work in progress. As Magnus said, "It's tricky to not twist one tight, but still have it withstand jerks, have tip speed, stay open on delivery, and last a long time."
Every year improvements are made in the 150-plus different kinds of ropes out there, so we broke down the elements of a new rope according to your personal needs, below, to help you pack your ropebag with the tools that'll bring in the big paychecks.
