Beal Rope Sucking

Anyone else having issues with Beal ropes wearing out very quickly? I had 2 Operas turn to crap after less than 10 climbs or so. The Golden Dry treatment lasted less than a month of weekend climbing on one and the Dry Cover rope turned into a piece of yarn in the same amount of time. The sheath right next to the half way mark got all fuzzy after the first rap, off a biner, on the GD rope. I found a deal on a couple Beal Gullies. They are the lightest half ropes on the market so I'm tempted, but obviously concerned about the life span of these too. Also Beal has neglected to respond, in any way, to any of my emails and warranty requests. Warranty is useless without a response.

The only two ropes I can speak with authority about from Beal are the stinger 9.4 and the joker 9.1. Both are great. The unicore construction of the rope plays a big role is the durability. My stinger is my working rope for projects and has seen a stupid number of falls for its size. Still going along no flat spots or twists. 

The opera is so small it unsurprising that it did not last too long. However, I have never used a rope that thin and don't know what's normal compared to a 8.7 or 8.9 from another brand.

I also went through two different Operas very quickly. One of mine had some core showing after week one. I will not buy another one. You might have some folks saying shit about how thin these ropes are and to not expect much, but I have not had any issues with the extremely similarly spec'd Mammut Serenity 8.7mm ropes I've used in the same ways on the same terrain. Though I suspect but can't say for sure that the Serenity is actually fatter than advertised. It works fine in my GriGri2, but the Opera did not. The Serenity is as durable as any sub-10mm rope I've owned.

Having said that, I have put tons of use on my Beal Gullys without much evident wear at all. I'm not whipping on them, but they've been dragged over edges and rapped off shitty terrain many times without issue. I cut one of my 60s to 25/35m, and the 25m has been a go to rope for simulclimbing. The other 60m Gully gets used as a single rope for ice climbing. Of course anyone besides me who does this will certainly die.

I ordered an Edelrid Canary 8.6mm rope from Germany yesterday. 51g/m and 46% sheath vs 37% for the Opera and 38% for the Serenity. 

> Beal Rope Sucking

Deep throat. 50 meters of gray.

Coming soon!

Pavel Burov wrote:

> Beal Rope Sucking

Deep throat. 50 meters of gray.

Coming soon!

Holy shit that's hilarious. Thanks for brightening my day

As for the OP, I have a beal booster 9.7mm and it's great. It's unicore and golden dry. I bought back in the summer of 2016 and have put it through the wringer and it's still going strong. But it is 42% sheath and is much thicker. I've been very happy with that rope, but it is a bit concerning to hear that Beal hasn't responded to your emails at all. How long ago did you write them?

My Beal Opera 8.5 DC has been fine. Alpine, desert towers, ice climbing, even top roping it some and it's been fine for over a year. I guess YMMV. I'll find out how bad the dry treatment has gotten this winter soon enough. 

I'm not really picky when they cost $130 on Liberty Mountain so at this point I'd be willing to buy another.

I've been writing  Beal for over a month. And, my Beal Joker worked great. Actually lasted a good 2 seasons and I still use it for rock climbing. Thanks for the feedback.

Just buy Mammut.  I've never gotten a bad one and bought a lot of ropes over the years.

tatedunkel wrote:

I've been writing  Beal for over a month. And, my Beal Joker worked great. Actually lasted a good 2 seasons and I still use it for rock climbing. Thanks for the feedback.

Call them. This will work wonders for you. 

caughtinside wrote:

Overall, I don't think Beals are as durable as Sterlings, but Sterlings tend to cost more.  No experience with the Opera, I can say that I've found rope models vary wildly within brands for handling and durability.

My 9.1 joker sheath is holding up a hell of a lot better than my sterling nano 9.0 has. That one pissed me off so much I vowed to never buy another sterling, but I do have a lot of partners who rave about other sterlings. I think it definitely depends on the specific rope. 

frank minunni wrote:

Just buy Mammut.  I've never gotten a bad one and bought a lot of ropes over the years.

This. I have a Mammut Eternity Classic that has lasted me 3 years. Granted, most of the climbing on it was in the last year, but it has survived top roping over edges, rappelling over edges, TR solo with toothed progress capture devices, a bunch of lead falls, people and their dogs stepping on it, rain, Red Rock sandblasting, getting stuck in Gunks cracks with their sharp crystals... There's some mild damage to the sheath here and there but no flat spots, and most of it isn't even fuzzy. Given I take better care of my stuff now that I know what to avoid, I expect my 70m Mammut Infinity will last me even longer.

Used a beal booster and stinger (goldendry) all this season. Both have held up to quite a bit of abuse very well. Stingers are the shit! Super smooth, supple, and last long. 

Beal be gr8

I have the gullies. Golden Dry. Love them, and they are as good as day one after about 15-20 days out. 

I have the Beal Yuji and haven't had any problems with it so far. Hasn't seen a ton of use but it's held up nicely when I have used it.