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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 1 of 3. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 40 | 41 to 42
Author
First Rope Advice

climbertron
5-Jan-2011
11:43:52 AM
I am planning to buy my first rope in the near future because I have one of those coupons from Steve at Climbing Anchors. I have narrowed it down to the Tendon Ambition 10.2 or 10.5.

I have heard that most first ropes end up trashed rather quickly. Also is getting it dry covered worth the extra cost?

Any advice would be more than appreciated.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
5-Jan-2011
11:54:15 AM
It is hard to buy a bad rope these days...

Your first rope need not get wrecked quickly if you look after it. By this I mean careful rigging (includes judicious use of slings etc), to stop it potentially rubbing on sharp edges, or for that matter rounded edges, such as when top-roping with anchors set too far back from the vertical.

Dry treatment for most ropes eventually wears off. Unless you intend mountaineering with it then it is probably not required, unless of course, you intend to regularly climb in wet conditions!

Much more important is to make sure your belay device matches to the diameter of rope involved, otherwise you could find abseils quite fast, especially if using a dry treated rope.

pmonks
5-Jan-2011
11:58:40 AM
Whatever it is, make sure it's been soaking for at least 6 months in a combination of sunscreen and DEET. That way your mates won't try to steal it since it'll burn a hole in their pack while giving them cancer!

climbertron
5-Jan-2011
11:59:54 AM
Thanks M9,

I think I am careful with gear, but since I have only ever borrowed club gear I can't see if my use of it is contributing to it's degradation (I mean I won't get the same rope for different climbing days).
widewetandslippery
5-Jan-2011
12:08:16 PM
Go the 10.5. I'm sure you are careful with your gear but (a) there is a learning curve to everything (b) as a new climber you will likely climb with other new climbers.

Last year with a mate who rarely climbs he manage to:

While abseiling to clean a 5m route had 45m of the rope dumped under him. A choss excavation later rope on ground chopped.

Next day working said route after numerous factor 1 falls on first bolt breaks rope 2.

Don't worry about the dry.

ambyeok
5-Jan-2011
12:10:33 PM
I would go the 10.5 and yes I think it will get trashed. I would'nt go the dry cover. The 10.5 will be just that little bit slower on abseil which is nice first up. Any of the standard ATC style devices will run a treat with a 10.5 (I have my own preference for the reverso3 but is it worth the cost?... I say yes). Careful as you are, you'll probably do just the same as I did and run it over all sorts of edges, stand on it, twist it, and generally trash it. Being careful is well and good but it all goes out the window once you get scared!

Gavo
5-Jan-2011
3:53:43 PM
Just remember that a 10.5 will be better/worse depending on the belay device you use..

Dont know what thickness it was (I think 10.5) but rappelling with my Petzl Verso was near impossible using the teeth...

Just something else to consider.

..::- Chris -::..
5-Jan-2011
4:03:42 PM
Some devices like the Gri Gri and absolutely the "Eddy" will be harder to pay out rope etc.... They say the support 11mm (Esp the Eddy) but in real life anything over 10.2 will be sticky....

I'm trialing my first sub 10mm (9.7mm) at the moment, awesome to belay with , awesome to clip, nice a light I am (slightly) concerned about the wear etc but so far so good....

I am however super fussy about using slings and reducing drag over rocks where ever possible (sometimes a little too fussy)...

Don't be lazy if you're setting up top ropes, get it set as best and as clean as you possibly you can.....

When you're leading, try to visualize where your gear will be and where you should use longer slings....

Your safety comes first but a close second should be your rope....

look after your rope and it will look after you..... ; )

10mm - 10.2mm is a nice medium, thicker to give you a little more life and still thin enough to make belaying easy....

My .02 anyways....

Chris.

ambyeok
5-Jan-2011
4:16:56 PM
Im up to 0.4c now. I reckon a beginner belaying off a Gri Gri or Eddy is ill advised (for lead anyway). I started up with a 10.5 Edelrid Osprey. I now use a 9.8 Edelrid Eagle. The eagle is clearly a better lead rope. But I still reckon don't go below 10.2 for the first rope. Stiffer feeding through the belay device is probably a good thing starting out.
juanes
5-Jan-2011
4:40:21 PM
Get a thick rope 10.2 mm is a good diameter. My first rope was a sterling marathon dry core. I paid a premium for dry core that I did not need. But boy it did handle well and I bounced on that thing for over 7 years.

Get some slings to reduce the drag (and ware) when leading, judicious use of slings can make the rope run a lot more smoothly than on short draws.

If you are going to set up top ropes buy some 11mm static at least 25 meters. This will make setting up a breeze, and keep your climbing rope nice and healthy.

..::- Chris -::..
5-Jan-2011
4:59:02 PM
On 5/01/2011 ambyeok wrote:
>Im up to 0.4c now. I reckon a beginner belaying off a Gri Gri or Eddy is
>ill advised (for lead anyway). I started up with a 10.5 Edelrid Osprey.
>I now use a 9.8 Edelrid Eagle. The eagle is clearly a better lead rope.
>But I still reckon don't go below 10.2 for the first rope. Stiffer feeding
>through the belay device is probably a good thing starting out.

Agreed on the both counts.... The eddy is allot safer than the gri gri but the gri gri feeds better overall but learning atc and how to belay from a munter or other such hitch is a good idea before jumping onto an autolock style device......

My 9.7mm is a treat to belay, lead etc with....love it. I actually bought for indoor use as my local gym (Bayside) only allows the use of the eddy and my 10.2mm just gets stuck really easily.... I use it for everything now and it's (so far) lasting quite well....

Cheers
Chris.

wallwombat
5-Jan-2011
6:55:49 PM
On 5/01/2011 Gavo wrote:
>Dont know what thickness it was (I think 10.5) but rappelling with my
>Petzl Verso was near impossible using the teeth...

Turn the Verso around. Hey Presto!

climbertron
5-Jan-2011
7:13:35 PM
Hey thanks for all the advice guys. I think I'll get the 10.2 as it seems to be the size I have used the most.

As for belay device I always use an ATC or Guide so not an issue
dmnz
5-Jan-2011
8:48:05 PM
the 10.2 will hold up fine...lighter and easier to clip

don't bother with dry treatment for a crag rope...you're unlikely to be out in the wet. save that for your serious ropes
climbingjac
6-Jan-2011
9:51:54 AM
Particularly if you are doing trad, do yourself a favour and get a cordolette. Makes the process of setting up an anchor less time consuming. About 10metres worth, tied into a loop with a suitable knot is a good length. Being able to set up anchors in this way will mean you are able to position the central point of the anchor closer to the top of the route and therefore have the rope dragging less over the top edge of the climb.

ambyeok
6-Jan-2011
10:04:47 AM
6 cents... 10m seems extreme. I get enough flack for my 4m sling. We always joke about top roping off it. Another idea is to park the belay wherever (way back), then locking biner through the central point, clip the rope then walk back to the very edge and clove hitch rope to locking biner on harness. This lets you sit right comfortably on the edge and your can easily adjust the clove hitch to re-position as needed. Of course, like anything, there are downsides to this (belaying off harness, difficult to escape, rope stretch, etc.) but it can be useful for watching and laughing as your second struggles up the route (particularly important on cracks, mwha ha ha ).

ajfclark
6-Jan-2011
10:31:27 AM
Just because you've extended the anchor doesn't mean you have to belay off your harness. I tend to tie a fig 8 and clip that to the anchor, then a fig 8 where I want to belay (so the rope runs from my tie in, through some slack, fig 8 on the anchor, then another fig 8) . One biner to my belay loop, one to the belay device. Or if I'm belaying on an auto block, fig 8 on the anchor, butter fly or directional fig 8 for the belay device then a fig 8 when I want to be.
climbingjac
6-Jan-2011
11:14:29 AM
On 6/01/2011 ajfclark wrote:
>Just because you've extended the anchor doesn't mean you have to belay
>off your harness. I tend to tie a fig 8 and clip that to the anchor, then
>a fig 8 where I want to belay (so the rope runs from my tie in, through
>some slack, fig 8 on the anchor, then another fig 8) . One biner to my
>belay loop, one to the belay device. Or if I'm belaying on an auto block,
>fig 8 on the anchor, butter fly or directional fig 8 for the belay device
>then a fig 8 when I want to be.

That's what I do also. In the event of a problem, it makes it possible for the belayer to tie the climber off, escape the system, and go for help etc.
climbingjac
6-Jan-2011
11:20:10 AM
On 6/01/2011 ambyeok wrote:
>6 cents... 10m seems extreme.

Each to their own.... 10m tied into a loop is very convenient. It means you can just clip the cordolette into each anchor point (which in the case of trad tends to mean 4 points), pull the cordolette down in between each trad piece into a central point, and tie a knot there. And voila - an easily equalised anchor without mucking about with slings and bits of rope. 10m sounds like a lot though if you think about it, the cord going from each trad piece down to the central point will be say, at least 75cm, and since the cord is tied in a loop, it's 75cm x 2 for each trad piece. That's 6m before you even talk about the rope taken up in the central knot, or extra extension needed in the anchor due to trad pieces being further back etc etc. Quick n nice, rather than mucking about for ages on a belay ledge while getting fried in the sun. Furthermore if you are doing easy trad, you'll probably find you use up all your slings on the route itself - extending your quickdraws in order to prevent rope drag.

Of course, less cord would be needed if you are only wanting to equalise a bolted anchor that has only 2 points.

ajfclark
6-Jan-2011
11:24:24 AM
On 6/01/2011 climbingjac wrote:
>That's what I do also. In the event of a problem, it makes it possible for the belayer to tie the climber off, escape the system, and go for help etc.

Also means that if something at the anchor needs attention you can tie the second off, unclip and move around but still be tied into the anchor.

As for cordellete lengths, ambyoke uses a 4m sling, I use a 7m length of cord (a little shorter that the 4m sling), you've got a 10m cord... so about 5m as a loop... I wonder what length other people use.... Maybe we should start another poll?

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There are 42 messages in this topic.

 

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