Even if you find a situation where market forces have made put premiums higher than call premiums, trying to protect short stock with a call backspread is just as bad an idea.
If you don't try, you'll never get it! However if you try really very hard, you might get it one day, or you might be just always very close to find it without getting it, or you might still never get it!
Mark posted a good explanation as to why a backspread is a poor choice for hedging long stock. In insurance terms... 1) You can buy good protection (high cost, low deductible) 2) You can buy poor insurance (low cost, high deductible) 3) You can add riders that alter (1) and (2) but they change your coverage - sell OTM calls to reduce the premium cost (reduces upside profit) - overwrite OTM calls and/or bearish spreads (further reducing upside profit, possibly introducing upside risk) In more general terms, hedging means giving up something to get something. Pick yer poison...
I guess my best bet is a calendar collar... where I dynamically adjust the short calls & the long puts as the value of the derviatives change due to Theta, Vega & Delta. Does anyone have extensive experience on calendar collars? Walt
True... but dynamic hedging of a calendar collar is probably still my best bet at low cost & low risk hedging of a stock position (long or short)... Walt