as time passes by the legacy left by steve caballero on the skating world is taken less & less for granted. & at no time is this more evident with the much anticipated release of peralta's pseudo sequel to dogtown & z boys & the 20th anniversary of the half cab.
as discussed in the full cab profile, the legacy of steve's caballerial left it's mark by nature of the trick's dissection into the half cab. & to quote morpheus it seems fate is not without a sense of irony, as his signature shoe was destined to the same outcome. so much so that just like the trick, the half-cab became bigger than the original which from then on was named in reference to his younger brother.
it was the late 80's & early 90's progression of skating from vert to the streets which necessitated the need for a "lighter, faster & better" prototype. if necessity is the mother of invention then the radical offspring of such necessity took it in their own hands to lose the padded collar of the high-top #39 full cab in favour of a lower-cut, custom sealed half cab. steve took this inspiration from the street skate collective (unconscious) to vans & the rest is history.
the post-op cab was now more representative of its maker & reflects more his style based on compact power & a low centre of gravity. skating vert in a full cab, like riding in a black cab is style of a higher class with a more luxurious & refined aesthetic & a greater liklihood of getting to your destination unscathed. skating a halfcab on the other hand was more more raw, with an unrefined street edge & the late-night uncertainty of riding in a mini-cab (or half cab as i now suggest they be called).
the half cab is regularly voted as the greatest skate shoe of all time however i do wonder if the results would be the same if 1st produced after vans production moved offshore in 94-95. the half-cab had 3-4 strong years of superior vulcanised manufacture in the states which i feel was the contributing factor to its high scoring status. thrashed by a multitude of pros in the early 90's, the half cab's made after this point pale in comparison & themselves should be cut in half again. it's thus no wonder there's so few originals left however do be careful as i believe all incarnations of the half cab feature the 1992 markings even up to this day. if you can get yo hands on a pair of halfs marked MADE IN USA then you are continuing the legacy started more than 20 years ago. as such, the cab is certainly half full.
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