Maxim Ropes? How are they?

I've had a 60m glider (I think it's 10.2?) for 3 years and have found it to be very durable. I paid $120ish when i bought it (60m, dry, no bi-pattern), and that seemed like a very good deal at the time when I compared it to others with similar specs. I'd say it feels heavy for the diameter, the pattern I have is not particularly cool (but whatever), and it's true that it doesn't hold knots as well as others when it's new. But it broke in nicely, seems durable as hell, and was a good price.  My skinnier ropes aren't Maxims, but I'll definitely consider one of their skinnier ropes when it's time to get another. 

BTW, FWIW, Maxim is the climbing brand of Teufelberger. They have a reputation for excellent cordage across many industries, and are definitely not an unknown or bootstrapped operation.

Ryan Hamilton wrote:

I have used other Maxim ropes that I liked, but I had a Maxim Glider 9.9 and I absolutely hated it. It was SO stiff and hard to belay with, especially from above in guide mode. Pulling slack through grigri kind of sucked too. I sold it after using it a few times. It might have broken in if I used it more, but honestly, I've used lots of other ropes and that was the worst. 

I feel the same way, Maxim makes (in my opinion, based on my desired rope characteristics) the WORST ropes.  Names like Glider and Airliner should really be Steel Cable and Rebar.  If I'm cragging with multiple people and someone needs a catch on a Maxim, I'll volunteer my own rope (usually a Sterling) instead of deal with what feels like 18.5 mm of high tension line stuffed into my belay device.  I can totally see why Honnold gets the ropes for free(?) and still doesn't use them :-P

Healyje wrote:

Yeah the 9.9 Gliders are stiff due to the twill sheath weave which is quite a bit finer, tighter and smoother than most rope sheath weaves. In many respects it handles a lot like a Mammut SuperSafe 10.2. But those qualities are what I need for pairing with my Edelrid Eddy for roped soloing - might look at other ropes for climbing with partners. None of the ten that i've owned ever got much in the way of sheath damage to speak of except one that was a couple of years old and somewhat abused.

Take a look at Tendon Hattrick series of ropes, soon to be available through campsaver.com. Nice smooth weave on the sheath, but still has a really nice hand. Falls nicely between the stiff Maxim ropes and floppy Petzl ropes. Really good for rope solo and standard climbing/belay situations. 

Ryan Hamilton wrote:

Take a look at Tendon Hattrick series of ropes, soon to be available through campsaver.com. Nice smooth weave on the sheath, but still has a really nice hand. Falls nicely between the stiff Maxim ropes and floppy Petzl ropes. Really good for rope solo and standard climbing/belay situations. 

I was using Tendon 9.8's before switching to the 9.9 Gliders, will take a look next rope - thanks.

[EDIT: Just looked. Unfortunately they dropped from the 9.8 to a 9.7 and I really feel more comfortable lead rope soloing with a 9.8 or 9.9 in the Edelrid Eddy. Tuning the device / rope pairing is pretty critical and am not too inclined to move away from a combo I know works well...thanks anyway though. ]

Healyje wrote:

I was using Tendon 9.8's before switching to the 9.9 Gliders, will take a look next rope - thanks.

[EDIT: Just looked. Unfortunately they dropped from the 9.8 to a 9.7 and I really feel more comfortable lead rope soloing with a 9.8 or 9.9 in the Edelrid Eddy. Tuning the device / rope pairing is pretty critical and am not too inclined to move away from a combo I know works well...thanks anyway though. ]

They have a Hattrick 9.9, as well as 9.7, 10.2, 10.5. 

Ryan Hamilton wrote:

They have a Hattrick 9.9, as well as 9.7, 10.2, 10.5. 

Maybe they've stopped making the 9.9 - at least it's not up on their website.

[EDIT:  I did finally find it in their 2017 pdf catalog. ]

No problem, I went through about a half dozen or so of the Tendon 9.8s before I decided that extra mm of the 9.9 was worth having in the rope solo rig. Will take a look next time I'm getting one.

Getting mixed reviews of the 9.9mm glider; I'm glad I purchased it at REI in the event that it doesn't work out so well.  

Can't believe that no one's yet suggested getting Totems instead of the rope. Must be a slow day.

Just cut the new 70m Honnold Glider I got a deal on down to a 60m because that's what fits in the bag I rope solo with and I don't want to carry the weight of a full 70m at the start of pitches. Don't think ill of me...

I just cut my Maxim 70m x 9.5mm in half due to a weird fray and severe kinking and swollen section after about 5 uses. This occurred in a rappel. I inspected the core after chopping, and could not find any damage. I'm guessing one or two of the fiber bundles got severely twisted and pinched. 

Like others have said,  very durable, a bit stiff.  They tend to have higher impact force than other similar size ropes.  9.9 KN.

I got a Pinnacle 9.5mm (really 9.7mm) for cheap in Squamish this year. Whilst It's been durable enough to use as my primary line and even left for weeks at a time as a fixed line on the chief, you can't overlook how poorly it handles. The strange weave and stiffness make this rope a chore to clip and feed through grigri etc. All in all a good rope as a durable and cheap workhorse but unsuited to more technical climbing.

I have an older 9.8 glide 70m that I love. My partner says it’s too stiff compared to his mammut. 

Every time I buy a non-Mammut rope I'm disappointed.  These days I just go with Mammut.  I've never had one I didn't like.

I have the 9.9 Biweave and I love it. Great general purpose rope for all types of climbing. I’m on my 2nd season with this rope and don’t have any complaints. Mostly outdoor sport climbing, but used on a few trad routes as well. 

I picked up a maxim 9.9 bi-color dry treated. Paid a little over $200 because I like having the afore-mentioned features. It’s much more stiff than all the Sterling ropes I’ve had, but also a little bit thicker.
Ropes are ropes... go for the features you like at your chosen price point. I personally don’t overthink it beyond that. 

Bought another airliner and i dont think i will buy anything else ever again

I also just went out and bought the airliner... Excited to try this out very soon!