I’ve just discovered this thread. Reading through it, there’s a lot of “negative waves” [cultural reference to Kelly’s Heroes] in the early posts and a lot of show & tell about non short-whip antennas later on.
As a long-time user of wire dipoles and EFHWs I was a cynic about short (e.g. 1.3m long) HF whips thinking of them as toy antennas. Then in 2023 I become a sceptic after reading activation reports and watching YouTube videos of SOTA/POTA activators using them. Then I tried it myself late last year and since then on a number of activations [always 10W CW on 30m using an old MFJ-1830T monoband whip and counterpoise wire]. I’ve had pile-ups and decent reports received and given with it [Yes, not as good as with full-sized antennas, but critics are missing the point of their occasion use].
I still use CF linked dipoles, EFHWs and 1/4-wave verticals 97% of the time but there are times occasionally where I want or need to do a quick activation with a minimalist setup.
Read about my conversion …