Yahoo Autos 10191 Arrakeen Sandworm: The Jalopnik First Ride
If you’ve ever ventured to Arrakis, you’ve heard the whispers: Sandworms, the Maker, maybe you’e even heard of Shai-Hulud. You likely know them as an existential threat, the kind of enemy you can’t hope to kill, but also as an ecological necessity — their existence brings forth the Spice Melange, on which our survival depends.
But the Maker is more than a set of teeth that produces spice. It’s a god figure, a being to be respected, and — most importantly — a way to traverse the Arrakeen desert. That’s right, Shai-Hulud can be ridden — but what’s it actually like to ride?
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Full Disclosure: The Fremen flew me out to Arrakis to try my hand at riding a sandworm. The Spacing Guild supplied my transportation, and the Fremen provided my food, accommodations, and precious life-giving water.
What’s New About The 10191 Arrakeen Sandworm?
Not much. Most sandworms old enough to ride are hundreds if not thousands of years old — very little has changed for them over the course of their years in the sand.
But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Maker is reliable transport, easy to predict and manageable to control — so long as you know what you’re doing. For amateurs, wormriding can be a struggle, but with a bit of practice it becomes second nature.
What Are the Specs?
Sandworms can grow to hundreds of yards in length, and some think that worms up to 1,000 yards long exist in the planet’s most remote deserts. My tester wasn’t quite so large, somewhere in the 250-yard range, which made it somewhat more nimble than its larger brethren.
How Does It Look?
I’ll be real: Sandworms are not pretty. They’re a function-over-form design, gray and drab with thick, plated skin. But every part of the Maker’s look serves a function—its mouth for intaking nutrients, its plates for steering the worm towards your destination. Shai-Hulud may not be a beauty, but it gets the job done.
