Does anyone have anything bad to say about Edelweiss? If so what and then what is your rope preference?

The sub-10mm (9.8, 9.6) are average ropes- they feel nice and have good handling, but they do wear more quickly than some others. Wilderness Exchange Unlimted carries the 70M bicolor double-dry Eidelweiss for under $200 and they are one of this sites sponsors. All in all it's a good deal for the $$$, and it's always my workhorse rope.
The best ropes I've ever used, without respect tomoney, are probably the Millet and Mammut, but you have to shell out the big bucks for those. I also have a Bluewater 9.4 that has been a great rope lately. I didn't like the Beal 'Joker' 9.1 I had been using, but I've never used any other 9.1 so I can't compare it to much.

i have the edleweiss bi color 60 m laser. it was cheap for a bicolor aobut $130 on sale. it seems to kink a bit more than my old sterling or other ropes i have used and the sheath does have some fuzz and pulls here and there more than i thought it would for the use. all said it's worth the price and i would probably buy another one when this dies

I've generally had really great experiences with my edelweiss ropes. I'm kind of heavy and tend to beat up ropes badly and they seem to take it well. Love the bicolor.

I have a 10.3 Axis and a 9.2 Performance (70m). I've loved both of them. Edelweiss ropes, even after a lot of use, seem to stay nice and stiff, not nasty stiff, but easy-clippin' stiff. I like that. I've climbed on a couple Petzl Nomads and a Mammut Infinity that were incredibly soft and didn't handle as well as either of my Edelweiss ropes.

As for wear and tear, the Axis is a major workhorse, and I didn't have any problems with sheath wear when it was my main rope. The Performance, being super skinny, is showing a good bit of sheath wear, but generally speaking you trade off durability for thinness and light weight, plus I'm dragging it over quite a bit of granite these days.

All in all, I've really liked my Edelweiss ropes, and they're very often pretty inexpensive. The only ropes I have experience with that I felt handled as well are Sterlings (not that I've climbed on every rope out there).

I have two Edelwiess ropes the Axis 10.3 and the Sharp 10.5. I have no complaints about these ropes I've had the Axis for 3 years now it has been used quite a bit and is in great condition. I just got the sharp a month ago no complaints as of yet.

I have an Axis for a wall rope and I've been very surprised how well it has held up, considering it it half the price...

I have the Performance 9.2 70M single and a pair of the 60M Dynamic doubles...8.4mm I believe...All have seen a good bit of use and are holding up as well as can be expected for skinny lines. The Performance has been my go to rope for the past year and is showing a good bit of wear now, but this is with fairly regular use and repeated falls. I have since reserved it for routes requiring a 70M or harder (for me) onsights, going back to my tried and true 10.2mm Beal for cragging.

One thing I really like to do is pair the skinny single with one of the doublles for certain multipitch routes in a party of two. The single gets used on straight pitches and to move quickly over simul climbing terrain or for 5th class where required. We either backpack or trail the double for those times, tying into it as per normal for wandering pitches.

I have used the doubles often to climb in a party of three, brining up two seconds at a time. I opted for these thicker ropes over lighter, skinnier options for this reason and have been well pleased at their performance and durability. The thicker doubles are much more confidence inspiring when following at your limit than thinner ropes. I had a partner, who has since quit climing, who had a set of the skinny Beal doubles. Whenever following on those, there is alot of pucker factor with a slip or fall when tied to only one.

The Edelweiss ropes really do maintain their hand than other ropes I have climbed on in my experience. Very "handleable", easy to clip, etc.

Another vote for Edelweiss. I've had the 9.7 Laser and a 9.9 or 10 (Axis?), not sure which one. The skinnier one held up as well as it could for a noob, and the newer 9.9/10 is doing well after 2 years. They handle very well and clip easily. No complaints. I like them better than most of the ropes my friends climb with.

I have an the torrent dry 10.5 60m. Got it at a great price and it's been awesome as a group craggin' rope. Handles great and the sheath seems untouched.

One thing I noticed for this particular rope is it stretches ALOT. Other than that I really like it.

(Other ropes: Petzel, Mammut, PMI)

I have had many edelweiss ropes. Axis, lazer, onsight. I think they are great ropes and hold up better than some of the other brands I have purchased in the past.
They are a great deal for the money.

All the ropes that I've owned have been Edelweiss - the Axis, Ally, and Flashlight (plus also the Discover, 30M alpine rope which hasn't gotten much use yet). All of them are great workhorses and the sheaths hold up to Joshua Tree abuse better than some of my friends' ropes (which are smaller diameter ropes, to be fair). But the real reason I buy Edelweiss is because they are cheaper. They say some things are cheap for a reason. And I suppose there probably is a reason that Edelweiss is able to undercut its competitors, but it's not because they make an inferior product.

Most of that sums up 20 years of rope buying for me.
If you are going to retire a rope from 'incidents' (rock fall, bad treatment, battery acid, etc...) might as well not spend a mint.
So for everyday use, I go down to Wilderness Exchange and go get my 70M, dry, bicolor, Edelwiess for $180...
http://www.wildernessexchangeunlimited.com/product_detail.cf>>>>>

When I want something special, I use a reserved rope (presently Bluewater 9.4) which costs an arm and a leg.

I own an Edelweiss Flashlight 9,9 and a Mammut Supersafe 10,2, and there is a huge difference between them. I have had the Edelweiss for 3 months, and it collects grease and dirt like no other. the sheath is wearing quicker than i'd like to see, and I can never seem to get the twist out of it. I have had the Mammut for a year and a half, no dirt, no twist, and minimal sheath wear. My 2 cents-spend the extra on Mammut, I truly believe they make a superior rope.

10 4 Aaron. You do have a valid point, as I have never used the Sharp. I got my Edelweiss for a screamin deal, so beggars cant be choosers either! All in all, I am a huge fan of Mammut ropes though-you can't go wrong with them.

I have to give props to Edelweiss ropes I have been using the 10.5 sharps for years and they just hold up really well I was partial to Blue Water back in my serious big wall days 11X50 dry 100 bucks w/tax
could handle a tank ..

I just have a serious problem w/ skinny ropes it's just me though
every time I rap on one and the thing reduces to the size of dental floss I creeps me the f#$@ right out and this coming from a guy who stands on hooks go figure.

Anyway if your lookin for burl for the buck here's my take in no special order ..

Yates speed wall 10.3 or the 10.8 big wall (both made by Blue water)super burly sheath ....
Edelweiss sharp the ARC's are the shitz
Sterling Marathon

I have mixed feelings about Mammut ropes some partners love em and
some will never buy one again. I have alot of Mammut gear that I love

their 9.2 performance is best bang for the buck.

My last three ropes have been Edelweiss Onsights - 9.9mm x 60m bicolor. I also own a 9.2 Performance that, although I use it infrequently, has held up very well so far (including taking repeated whippers while working a multi-pitch project up in Estes).

Personally, I love Edelweiss ropes. As one poster said, they retain a somewhat-stiff handle that is durable and great for clipping. Perhaps the best testament I can offer in favor of Edelweiss ropes is that, in four-plus years of working in the outdoor retail biz, I never once heard a customer complain about an Edelweiss rope that they had owned or used. Not once. They make durable, easy-handling ropes at a very competitive price. What's not to like?

If you like doubles:
Edelweiss Sharp double 8.5 mm, 60m or 70m

or prefer a single:
Edelweiss Sharp 10.5mm, 60m

These are fine ropes. I have climbed on the Edelweiss Stratos for years, and the Sharp is the rope that has replaced them. They are rated for loads over a small-radius corner, but this does not sacrifice handling characteristics.

You get what you pay for with Edelweiss ropes, and I try and buy the best rope that they make and it has always lasted for years of abuse.

So far my Edelweiss 9.8 Laser has been as reliable in its handling than any other rope I have ever owned, which includes Bluewater and Mammut.


It's really difficult to say what rope wears more than others. We all have the rope going over some edges on climbs, especially if sub optimal topropes are set up on occasion. So no two ropes get the same treatment. I think it's fairly subjective to a user which ropes wear better than others over time, so I usually assume severe wear is due to poor care on my part, not rope construction.

I never have had much luck with their skinnier ropes as they are always kinking and the sheath wears quickly. The Stratos on the other hand is a beast, great for TR and big walls. It doesn't like my grigri much though....or maybe my grigri doesn't like it?

My first rope at age thirteen was a edelweiss. Lots of busboy hourly wages for that rope. It was and still is a great rope. It's had lots of incarnations in it's retirement but these days what's left of it is strung between two pine trees and is a swing for my nieces and nephews. Go get one!

I just got 10.5 x 60 bicolor Sharp for aid climbing. It's the sweetest rope that I have ever had! Confidence inspiring and retro color scheme too!

[edited on 08/30/2009 to change reference from Edelweiss to Mammut]

Pardon the cross posting to the "Help me buy my new rope!" thread, but I think others can learn from my error.

Yesterday, I was at the Bent Gate and resolved the mystery of my kinky Mammut rope - a 9.2mm x 70m Revelation bicolor from 2007. I The executive summary: READ the uncoiling instructions.

In this comedy of errors, I asked one of the guys at the Bent Gate about this "Edelweiss" rope, (forgetting that it was a Mammut). Well, he had the same problem I did, but with an Edelweiss.

My Mammut was packed on a carboard and plastic "spool", and the instructions specified to uncoil the spool by spinning it to remove the rope. Don't merely pull the rope off the spool and straighten out the kinks as you go. This twisting problem is several orders of magnitude worse than any twisting you might experience from uncoling a rope after coiling it into a mountaineer's coil (last time I did this was some 20 years ago). Well, I have to confess that I didn't notice these unpacking instructions until about half way through removing the rope from its packaging.

It took me some 60-80 pitches along with one washing to straighten it out (pulling the rope through top anchors when the opportunity presented itself). Only now is it to behaving like a "normal" rope.

The fellow at Bent Gate made the same error and experienced the same headaches. His rope also came on a spool as opposed to being lap coiled the way most ropes are. He verified with the Edelweiss rep that it takes that long to undo this error. This was driving both me, my buddy, and my wife nuts, and I was ready to relegate it to towing cars.

It seems as if the rope companies have recognized this potential for user unpacking error (how many of us read unpacking instructions for a rope?), because I didn't see any Edelweiss or Mammut ropes in the shop that were spooled into a coil.

My hope is that you'll learn from our knucklehead errors.

Cheers,
Thom