Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

Author

Advice on buying rope

magonigol

29-Jan-2010
9:22:18 AM

Morning all,

I am looking to purchase my first rope and was after a little bit of advice from the wise Chockstone folk. Intended use is trad, sport and indoor so basically I am looking for a bit of an all-rounder. Any suggestions?

hotgemini

29-Jan-2010
9:29:59 AM

Something 10.2-10.5 by 60m, have a look at the tendon ropes which steve hawkshaw brings in www.climbinganchors.com.au or see what specials Steve from Rock Hardware has rolling through. I just had a quick look and he's got a beal top gun II on special at the moment.

-Adam.

simey

29-Jan-2010
10:00:02 AM

I usually buy the thickest ropes 10.5mm -11mm at the cheapest prices.

dmnz

29-Jan-2010
10:38:22 AM

On 29/01/2010 hotgemini wrote:
>Something 10.2-10.5 by 60m,

Agree but only go more towards the 10.5 if cheaper, or if you intend to toprope a lot, cos once you go thinner ropes the old rope will hardly ever see the light of day again.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

29-Jan-2010
10:46:03 AM

On 29/01/2010 magonigol wrote:
>I am looking for a bit of an all-rounder. Any suggestions?

I agree with simey's post above. 1st ropes often get a fair bit of usage-abuse and the thicker diameter stands up to this better. If you can get one that diameter in a 60m then the extra length will prove useful for the newer routes being put up these days, and also for running pitches together on some older routes.

Lots of technical data out there, and lots of personal preferences too, however here are a few generalisations to consider...

Softer ropes 'handle' better for knotting etc, but can tend to wear faster.

Thinner ropes often have a 'softer' catch due stretching more under load.

Dry treated ropes (not essential), are slicker ie faster for abseiling, and consequently require a reasonably matched belay device for their diameter to help keep things manageable.

Just about any rope on the market these days will do the job well that you want it to, so definitely keep an eye out for bargains.


porkpie

29-Jan-2010
10:46:34 AM

I got 10.5 60m tendon from Steve (I use it for sport and trad). It's about the tenth rope I have owned and it is great - on a par or better than all the others (except maybe a super expensive Mammut I owned 15 years ago).


IdratherbeclimbingM9

29-Jan-2010
10:57:50 AM

On 29/01/2010 porkpie wrote:
>better than all the others (except maybe a super expensive Mammut I owned 15 years ago).

I have not climbed on Mammut ropes much but did on my climbing partners 60m (x 11mm?) last weekend. It was oldish (guess five years?) and was like a piece of wire. One member of our party had great difficulty bending it enough, to be able to jam it through a standard tube-style belay device! I have ancient statics in better condition than it(!!), so I am not sure if it was that particular rope or endemic to the species? ...

magonigol

29-Jan-2010
11:13:27 AM

Thanks for your help.


Pat

29-Jan-2010
11:41:33 AM

I've got two Mammuts, 50 & 60m and they have been great. None of the problems the M9 talked about,
so I suspect it was a result of the way the rope had worn. Both of mine were Tusks which were heaps
cheaper than the other equivalent ropes because they were plain black and white colour rather than the
lovely other colours that are out there. Agree with the other posts about getting a 10.5 or 11 if you are
starting out. They'll take a fair bit of abuse until you work out what type of climbing you really like and by
then you should be getting a better idea of what you really need in a rope.

Wendy

29-Jan-2010
11:47:45 AM

M9 might have been using a supersafe, which seem to be ok handling when new but rapidly feel like a wire cable loosely disguised as a climbing rope.

Wendy

29-Jan-2010
11:48:35 AM

last time I looked, Phil was selling off last years model edelrids for sub $200.

dmnz

29-Jan-2010
12:41:05 PM

On 29/01/2010 Pat wrote:
>I've got two Mammuts, 50 & 60m and they have been great. None of the problems
>the M9 talked about,
>so I suspect it was a result of the way the rope had worn.

Pretty sure my half ropes are both Mammut. Hard to say if they are stiff or not but I have definitely handled softer. That being said, I find they are great still even in the snow and ice.


IdratherbeclimbingM9

29-Jan-2010
12:54:27 PM

You would definitely know they were stiff if they are like my mates single.

Wendy wrote;
>M9 might have been using a supersafe

I shall have to get him to elaborate further. When I asked him what rope it was he simply replied "Mammut". It was a coppery-brown colour. If it was a supersafe, then I won't be getting one any time soon!

dmnz

29-Jan-2010
1:31:03 PM

On 29/01/2010 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>You would definitely know they were stiff if they are like my mates single.

Guess they're not then

Mine are 60m x 8mm. Pretty damn good.

My mate has one of the Edlingers 10.2 or 10.5 and we always end up taking the half ropes, be it one or both. NB He doesnt sport climb.

I guess this has become more preference than necessarily advice. That being said I'd probably never buy anything thicker than a 10.2 again for personal use


wallwombat

29-Jan-2010
3:40:33 PM

On 29/01/2010 dmnz wrote:

>I'd probably never buy anything thicker than a 10.2 again for personal use.

Unless I was doing a big wall climb (unlikely), neither would I.

dmnz

29-Jan-2010
3:44:17 PM

On 29/01/2010 wallwombat wrote:
>On 29/01/2010 dmnz wrote:
>
>>I'd probably never buy anything thicker than a 10.2 again for personal
>use.
>
>Unless I was doing a big wall climb (unlikely), neither would I.

Yeah except for that!


IdratherbeclimbingM9

29-Jan-2010
4:01:51 PM

On 29/01/2010 dmnz wrote:
>On 29/01/2010 wallwombat wrote:
>>On 29/01/2010 dmnz wrote:
>>
>>>I'd probably never buy anything thicker than a 10.2 again for personal
>>use.
>>
>>Unless I was doing a big wall climb (unlikely), neither would I.
>
>Yeah except for that!

OK. I will consider this thread now hijacked, and run with the theme of Wall-climbs and ropes.
Interesting that others go heavier ropes for walling...
The last rope I bought for lead-walling with, was a 10.5 mm x 60 m. I also bought an 8mm x 65 m static for hauling and jugging on wherever possible. I did this after a number of routes done on 50 m x 11 mm ropes, figuring that careful rope management overcomes a lot of the abuse* the ropes get.
(*Admittedly wall routes in Australia are rather short, however the abuse they dish out to ropes can be quite dramatic).

~ hijack over...


wallwombat

29-Jan-2010
4:22:40 PM

I wasn't really referring to climbing a big wall in Australia.

I have a 10.5mm x 50m that I use for such things. It's an Edelweiss rope.

I generally climb on a 9.2mm x 60m or a 10mm x 60m which are both Tendon ropes that I bought from climbing anchors. I think they are great ropes.

Mike Bee

29-Jan-2010
6:56:11 PM

On 29/01/2010 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>One member of our party had great difficulty bending it
>enough, to be able to jam it through a standard tube-style belay device!
>I have ancient statics in better condition than it(!!), so I am not sure
>if it was that particular rope or endemic to the species? ...

My girlfriend has a Mammut Flash 10.5mm and it done a similar thing. It's the worst handling rope I've ever used. It started ok, but it got stiff quickly, and when she tried to wash it, it only got worse! I've got a couple of other friends/acquaintances with them and they've had similar (although not quite as severe) experiences with the 10.5. That said, I don't have anything against Mammut ropes, the Galaxy (10mm) when new is one of the sweetest handling ropes I've ever used.


Miguel75

29-Jan-2010
7:07:25 PM

I love my Edelweiss Ally. It's 10.3 x 60 and handles great, very smooth and way better than what I expected for the price, ~$140 AUS (My brother was in the US and picked it up for me)

There are 25 messages in this topic.