I know this horse gets beaten to death frequently. I've read a lot of posts, searched plenty, and have shopped around a bit. Before I fire, I want to be as sure as possible that I'll hit my mark; so I'm calling on you to help me identify my target. I am taking the coriolis effect into account at this range... umm, now I'm mixing metaphors a little bit too much now. :)

Requirements:
Single, Dynamic, 70m, <$250, "lightweight yet durable"

Uses:
Primary:

• multipitch trad (perhaps alpine)

• Single-pitch cragging

• Working hard (for me) pitches (so perhaps some hang-dogging)

• Sport-climbing

• I'd prefer not to leave this rope as a group top-rope

• Ice (?)

• How well will the Infinity hold up to hangdogging given that it's 9.5mm? Hangdogging/sport-climbing isn't exactly my primary focus, but it may get used in this capacity on a not-infrequent basis.

• Not too worried about bi-color or bi-pattern, since I mark the middle and ends by whipping thread through the sheath anyway, but having bi-color/pattern couldn't hurt either.

I've been pleased with my glider. It handles well and is lightweight. Only downside in my mind is that it seemed a little "slick" in my hands in the beginning. I think its because they had some anti-drag coating on it.

I can't speak too much for durability because it only gets used when I need a 70, which isn't often. Otherwise, the length is just extra rope management.

Cheers,
Evan

I agree that 70m is sometimes just extra weight and harder to manage; however, my previous rope was a 70m and the times when I was glad to have it outweighed the inconvenience of it the other times.

I have a Sterling Marathon Pro that I love the heck out of. It has a nice hand, stops well and is holding up pretty well. It is a 10.1mm so a bit thicker, weighs slightly more.

Can't believe no one has mentioned this rope. It's not on your list, but it should be. I use it for exactly what you are looking for a rope for.

Edelwiess Onsight dry 70m bicolor $220
http://www.bentgate.com/on9x70marcbi.html

I love this rope. I've had it for about a year now and climb every weekend outside. It's been to Red Rocks for a week, Indian Creek for a week, Vedauwoo for a week,to the Cascades, and still shows no real signs of wear.

I also had a friend who used this rope for 3 years with 2 full summers working at City of Rocks, and 1 summer working at Yosemite.

+1 for the Mammut Infinity.

I've been using my 60m Infinity all year in all the scenarios you describe and it still looks like new and handles beautifully. I paid about $180 for a 60m version (not bicolor), but marked for middle and ends by the factory. I believe I got it from Wilderness Exchange.

I agree with some of the other replies that if alpine/multi-pitch is your focus then 70m of rope is just extra weight and management.

I haven't had the glider, but I love Maxim ropes. The sheath handles abuse better than other brands I've used and abused. I had a skinny Mammut for a few months. It shredded really quickly. I just used my Petzl 9.4 70m today and am loving it. It's wearing better than the Mammut (has seen twice the use) but not as well as a Maxim.

Take into consideration that this is just feedback about these brands, not about the exact rope you are looking at.

I'm currently sport cragging on the PMI Arete and really love it so far. It's almost a year old and I'm happy with how it's holding up as well.

For durability I have to plug Maxim as a brand, though I've only climbed on 10.2 and fatter Maxim ropes.

I have climbed on three of the four ropes you list.
Most of the climbing we do when it comes down to it is sport climbing since it is just more convinient. But we also do a bit of trad climbing, mostly locally in the Sandias around Moab and some in Yose/Tuolumne, so single and multi pitch. In the Creek and on Multi pitch routes and Alpine rock 70m is great, it allows running pitches together and carrying a single rope, most towers around Moab you can rap with a single 70m.

• The Mammut Infinity we used for aalmost 2 years before shortening and eventually retiering. It was a great rope and was used for everything.

• The Sterling was used mostly for sport climbing over 1 1/2 to 2 years and performed well.

• The Maxim is a short rope, 30m for gym use, it is about 2 years old and gets used maybe once a week but obviously not at all on any trips. It seems o be holding up well. I will agree with the slick feel comment, almost sharp when lowering. A figure 8 can be difficult to untie if you fall on it as this rope seems to cinch more than others I've used.

• I also have a Maxim 9.9 Apex that is about a year old an seems to be holding up really well.

• Bi-pattern is nice for setting up rappels and letting the climber know when they are half way, but can be really hard to see if you are not with in about 20 feet of the pattern change. Almost or possibly nobody doeas a Bi-color rope anymore since it leaves a bump where the fibers are changed out and it can look as thoug the rope sheath is fraying prematurely.

Ah, it actually was the Mammut Infinity that my husband and I annihilated in a matter of months. No TRing, no hangdogging, just sport, and ice lead.

I love my nomad, only downside is it's not dry for crap

I climb a lot so I hope that I can provide some useful information.

First off I'll eliminate the runners up:

I've owned 3 Nomads and 2 Zephyrs and let's just say that I'll never buy a Petzy rope again. They absorb water like a sponge, and the sheath gets fatter than Rosie O'Donnell after Thanksgiving with very little wear. Smaller diameter Petzl ropes have a different manufacture design and don't have as many problems with this, but I still think Petzl's quality is very poor. However since Petzl doesn't actually make their ropes I shouldn't hold it against them.

With Mammut ropes I've owned the Galaxy, Matterhorn, and 2 genesis double ropes. The mammuts have performed much better than the petzl ropes, however I have noticed that the sheaths aren't as durable as I was hoping for. The smallest little slice in the sheath will really show with a lot of fraying. I've also noticed they seem to attract dirt like magnets, and even the little double ropes are very stiff. Overall they're pretty good ropes, but nothing fancy.

I've never owned a sterling rope so I really can't say much about them, although I've never heard anything good about them from those who have owned them.

I highly recommend Maxim/New England Ropes, specifically they're Glider series (any diameter using the 1 over 1 tpt sheath). I've never had a rope feel as great as these. I've got both the 9.9 glider and the 9.5 pinnacle and they handle near flawless. Only once did a glider sheath become slightly bunched up and by streching the rope out it went away.

Since you seem to be interested in multipitch and trad and no top-ropping you should really consider the Maxim Pinnacle 9.5 2X dry over the 9.9 Glider to cut on weight. But you can't go wrong with either.

Another brand to consider is Edelweiss. Just a little pricey for what you get. Slightly better than Mammut IMO.

Beal and Bluewater are fairly average ropes too.

So, do people feel OK about buying Maxim ropes?

Last year's recall made me worried about their quality control.

They switched fibers and there was a problem with the fiber that affected two of their ropes. They recalled those ropes and replaced them after discovering the defect... I assume errors can happen anywhere, but what bothers me is that they recalled ropes that had been manufactured over a two year period. If they had started using a new fiber and somehow a problem passed initial tests, then I would hope the problem would be discovered relatively quickly. I think it is scary to think people were climbing with these ropes for two years and then they found out about the recall!

I don't usually buy Mammut ropes due to their higher than average impact force, not a good thing for a trad rope. Their sheath is super bomber and if you don't whip much their ropes seem to last a long time.

Personally I don't think you can buy much better than a Sterling, that is always my first choice for durability and performance. I have not climbed on the Evolution, but can highly recommend the Marathon Pro.

Haven't bought a Petzl, and based on the reviews won't be any time soon.

Maxim makes a good durable rope.

One thing I would recommend is to stop looking at the diameter and start looking at the weight. All manufacturers measure diameter differently. Weight is the ultimate field leveler. As an example the Sterling Marathon Pro is 63g/m at 10.1 and the Beal Booster at 9.7 is also 63 g/m. When brand new you will think a dry Marathon Pro is 9.5 based on how it feels in your hand.

If you are serious about using the rope for alpine, any of these ropes at 70m is going to feel really heavy in your pack. I would be looking in the 9.4 or smaller range for a 70m rope.

You may want to also consider the Bluewater Lightning Pro and the Beal Booster. Those two are great performers, I have taken lots of whippers on gear on those two ropes.

Through the years Maxim, has been the best rope maker I have seen. I still have my first rope, bought 16 years ago, that if you didn't know better you would probably climb on it. Since then I always have leaned towards Maxim and Blue Water.

Of all the ropes I've tried lately, he one that I have been happiest is the Blue Water 9.4. I ABUSED the thing in Yosemite (OK, my hanging partner did) and it looks perfect still. It also handles well.
Still, you either want a thin rope, or you don't. Larger ropes, on average, will outlive thin ones and do give you more margin.

You want the Maxim 9.9. I can't remember the name. Dry treated.

Thank you all for your contributions--I have a lot more to think about now! I was happy with my 70m BlueWater 10.3 previously, and didn't think the weight to be unbearable, but the sheath was wearing a little bit faster than I'd have liked. On the other hand, the wearing of the sheath wasn't unreasonable for rope that went through many of the abuses (multi-pitch trad, sport and hangdogging, indian creek...)

I have a few thoughts/questions/comments, but not the time at this moment to organize them. I'll post back later when I have...

//jc

CRAP! I should have read this thread before I bought my dragonflies. I guess we will see this up coming winter how they perform.

Can you clarify why hangdogging is hard on a rope? It seems any rope on the market should take a hang no problem. Are you implying you fell first?
Paraphrasing from the care guide that came with my Mammut rope - The UIAA falls refers to the number of factor one falls you can expect your rope to handle. Your rope should be able to handle hundreds of small sport falls.