Lead climbing with a semi-static rope?

I recently got a Sterling gym Revo from a friend and I was wondering if it would be hypotheticaly ok to lead climb with? The rope is in great condition and pretty new. Sterling advertises the rope as a low elongation rope used for top-rope belay. I am essentially asking if anybody has taken a fall on a semi-static rope and how hard of a catch it was. I have no intention of leading with it, I am just curious about the limits of a semi-static rope. Like for example, could you use the rope for leading a route and then leave it up as a top rope? If not, I guess it could be used as a fixed rope or a rope for guides to use for top roping clients?

Falling on it sounds terrible.

Adam Zientek wrote: I have no intention of leading with it, I am just curious about the limits of a semi-static rope. Like for example, could you use the rope for leading a route and then leave it up as a top rope?

I have a problem with your position on this.

Many, many years ago, when I was working as a Steeplejack I remember rappelling on a marine grade polyester rope
Minimal stretch, when you would stop on mid rappell it was like someone just hit the brakes.
Whatever forces you  generate have to transfer and be dispursed  somewhere.
Trying rappelling on your rope and doing a quick stop, you should be able to get an idea what leading and possibly slipping/falling will feel like.
Be sure you have a bomber anchor because that's where a lot of the force will initially be transfered to.
Mario

No.  That would be a very, very bad idea.  The dynamic properties of a rope are what lessen the impact forces of a fall.  Falling on a static rope with that much slack could seriously injure you.

Adam Zientek wrote: I recently got a Sterling gym Revo from a friend and I was wondering if it would be hypotheticaly ok to lead climb with? The rope is in great condition and pretty new. Sterling advertises the rope as a low elongation rope used for top-rope belay. I am essentially asking if anybody has taken a fall on a semi-static rope and how hard of a catch it was. I have no intention of leading with it, I am just curious about the limits of a semi-static rope. Like for example, could you use the rope for leading a route and then leave it up as a top rope? If not, I guess it could be used as a fixed rope or a rope for guides to use for top roping clients?

Unfortunately the above naysayers are inexperienced and wrong.

I used to use a "semi static gym" rope for short routes in which the limited stretch would help me from hitting ledges or the ground. Took plenty if decent whips on it.

Not sure exactly how my "gym" rope compares to the Revo so I suggest taking a few small test falls on it first. Then use yer brain to reach logical conclusions.

You're gonna die....

Ted Pinson wrote: No.  That would be a very, very bad idea.  The dynamic properties of a rope are what lessen the impact forces of a fall.  Falling on a static rope with that much slack could seriously injure you.

The biggest single factor that determines the impact force is the belay device used and then friction in the system. Use something dynamic and the rope is fairly irrelevant, 50 years ago ropes weren't exactly dynamic in the modern sense!

You really just ought not. The reality is that the rope wont fail and the gear on a sport route really shouldn't fail, but if you take a decent fall on it, you risk hurting your back and/or swinging much harder into the wall than on a dynamic rope. If you want chronic back problems in your old age, leading on a non-dynamic rope is a great way to get it.
Leading trad on a non-dynamic rope is even more dangerous as this puts a much higher force on your pro when you fall which is obviously not ideal.

I’m curious about identifying a semi static rope. Are there any markings on the rope ends or would you only know it is semi static by the documents that come with it. 

It doesn't matter what kind of rope you have, a soft catch will make it safe.

When leading on it follow the "leader never falls" maxima. Good luck.

There is a high chance of Mike Hunt getting hurt when falling on this rope. For the love of Mike Hunt, please don't do that. Mike Hunt doesn't like to get hurt. 

Jim Titt wrote:

The biggest single factor that determines the impact force is the belay device used and then friction in the system. Use something dynamic and the rope is fairly irrelevant, 50 years ago ropes weren't exactly dynamic in the modern sense!

This doesn't make sense to me. Do you have math or a test that proves this?  All tests I have seen show that a dynamic rope in a system reduces the force of a fall by a larger factor than any other change. People 50 years ago were not taking lead falls like they do now and weren't ropes incredibly dangerous back then??

Rope stretch is what absorbs almost ALL of the force of a fall. The belay device's contribution is negligible. So if you cut out the dynamic part of the system and use a static rope you are going to get a huge shock, maybe one that hurts you quite a bit. So don't use static rope lead climbing. It's that simple.

Jim Titt wrote:

The biggest single factor that determines the impact force is the belay device used and then friction in the system. Use something dynamic and the rope is fairly irrelevant, 50 years ago ropes weren't exactly dynamic in the modern sense!

i hope you are trolling...

the rope is the single most important piece of equipment in the lead climbing system. Aside from keeping you from hitting the deck, it serves to dissipate the majority of energy generated in a fall and keeps the climber from experiencing life threatening forces on their body. 

Edit: This topic has already been addressed on MP: ​https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/111935975/are-static-ropes-safe-for-climbing​​​

Sterling says the gym revo has an impact force of 4.7kn at a .3 ff. You can probably make some conclusions from that

alexd81 wrote: Sterling says the gym revo has an impact force of 4.7kn at a .3 ff. You can probably make some conclusions from that

Check out the specs on this rope. How do you think it will perform in a lead fall?

curt86iroc wrote:

i hope you are trolling...

the rope is the single most important piece of equipment in the lead climbing system. Aside from keeping you from hitting the deck, it serves to dissipate the majority of energy generated in a fall and keeps the climber from experiencing life threatening forces on their body. 

Edit: This topic has already been addressed on MP: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/111935975/are-static-ropes-safe-for-climbing

He's not. He wrote more science at http://www.bolt-products.com/Glue-inBoltDesign.htm

OP: still, don't.

Tradiban wrote:

Check out the specs on this rope. How do you think it will perform in a lead fall?

What you posted are clearly specs for a UIAA single rope. So damn if I know how it would do, but it’s designed to take lead falls and that’s about the best I can hope for. 

curt86iroc wrote:

i hope you are trolling...

the rope is the single most important piece of equipment in the lead climbing system. Aside from keeping you from hitting the deck, it serves to dissipate the majority of energy generated in a fall and keeps the climber from experiencing life threatening forces on their body. 

Edit: This topic has already been addressed on MP: https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/111935975/are-static-ropes-safe-for-climbing

I don´t troll.

I could write about twenty pages explaining but I´ve better things to do at the moment. In the meantime you can figure out how to explain why if we do a test drop with a fixed end with an impact force of say 8kN and then the same drop through a belay plate capable of only holding 2.5kN the rope is the more important factor in the maximum impact force.