How many liters does a 70m 9.8 rope take up in a hiking backpack?

Assuming the rope is folded and strapped down tightly. I'm hoping a 35 liter backpack will hold the rope along with all my sport climbing equipment.

35L will be tight. room for a pretty lightweight harness, a pair of shoes, a chalkbag, a few draws, and not much else, i.e. lunch and water. There's a reason lots of people drape their rope over the top of their backpack. 

Lincoln Swrote:

35L will be tight. room for a pretty lightweight harness, a pair of shoes, a chalkbag, a few draws, and not much else, i.e. lunch and water. There's a reason lots of people drape their rope over the top of their backpack. 

I travel fast by sport bike so everything needs to be secure in the backpack. Wouldn't be feasible carrying rope over my shoulder while doing 80 down the highway.

No problem. My DMM Classic (32l) holds a 70m 9.5, 12 draws + grigri, harness, shoes, water, some food. You’ll be fine with 35l. 

I’ve got a bd 35LBD  pack. No way could I fit a70m rope and even sport gear for a day with everything inside.

Yea You’ll want forty five liters if you  want everything securely in there.  I recommend mammuts neon gear! 

I was able to put everything into my Mutant 38, rope, draws, cleaning gear, harness, since the helmet can attach on the outside. I ended up only doing that for a season and got a larger pack. I could not stuff a puffy in there being the main reason but also it couldn’t hold a day’s worth of water in it, had to carry my bottle in. New pack has bottle holders on the outside.

I fit a 70m 9.8mm rope, single rack of cams 000-4, 12 sport & alpine draws, stuff sack of emergency kit, chalk bag, harness, shoes, and helmet into a BD Mission 45 without using the extended top section or the brain (which I'd say are worth 10L), and nothing on the outside of the pack.

I think you’d be fine.

Edit to add: pack volume is measured at the maximum capacity of the pack. For packs with extendable uppers or roll tops, that means fully extended.

Demetri Vwrote:

I fit a 70m 9.8mm rope, single rack of cams 000-4, 12 sport & alpine draws, stuff sack of emergency kit, chalk bag, harness, shoes, and helmet into a BD Mission 45 without using the extended top section or the brain (which I'd say are worth 10L), and nothing on the outside of the pack.

I think you’d be fine.

Edit to add: pack volume is measured at the maximum capacity of the pack. For packs with extendable uppers or roll tops, that means fully extended.

I think there’s actually a lot of variability in how pack volume is measured. i Have definitely seen specs where they say they are measuring extended and those that say they measure not extended, usually giving a separate measure extended. They also use different methods to measure volumes so the results can be pretty different between manufacturers. I’ve had pack of supposedly equal volume that were pretty obviously different.  Bottom line is you’ll never know for sure without trying it using your particular pack and gear.

Lol.... same as above. I fit everything on earth in my 35L. A 70m harness draws light jacket food and water should be easy. Do not buy more than a 35L. That’s Gumby status.... especially for sport climbing 

more specifically, in my ascentionist 35 I can fit either:

60m rope full trad rack (15 cams 14 alpines plus incidentals) harness a liter of water and a jacket...

OR

Full trad rack as above, harness, 3L water stored in nalgene style containers ,large food bag, many layers, sunscreen guidebooks etc, shoes, and helmet

IDK man just don’t buy anything bigger than a 35, you’ll fill what you bring 

csproulwrote:

I think there’s actually a lot of variability in how pack volume is measured. i Have definitely seen specs where they say they are measuring extended and those that say they measure not extended, usually giving a separate measure extended. They also use different methods to measure volumes so the results can be pretty different between manufacturers. I’ve had pack of supposedly equal volume that were pretty obviously different.  Bottom line is you’ll never know for sure without trying it using your particular pack and gear.

Good to know!

So then I guess the upshot of all of this is to bring all of your gear to the retail store and try it out.

I'm able to fit an 80m 9.5 rope, harness, shoes, chalk bag, and 10 draws in a Arcteryx AR20. You should be fine with a 35l pack.

I can fit my 70m 9.8 rope, a single rack of cams, 12 draws, miscellaneous lockers/slings/belay devices, my harness, two 1.5L Smartwater bottles, and my chalk bag pretty comfortably in my Patagonia Cragsmith 45L. Even with all that, I can still comfortably use the pouch on the top to hold snacks, phone, keys, etc. The only things I keep strapped to the outside are my shoes (I could cram them in but I forget and they get nasty) and my helmet.

A 45 liter pack weighs what, like 2 ounces more than a 35? God forbid. People who insist on buying tiny little baby packs are weenies who don't haul warm beer and cold pizza to the crag, which is a recipe for weeniness. 

Julian Jwrote:

I travel fast by sport bike so everything needs to be secure in the backpack. Wouldn't be feasible carrying rope over my shoulder while doing 80 down the highway.

Strap the rope down on your passenger seat. Riding with a heavy backpack sucks. 

Well, just to answer the OP directly, a 70m 9.8 rope takes exactly 5.28 liters of space.  

So depends on how well you can pack.  A pro would have it all + beer in a 20 something liter pack.  

Mark Pilatewrote:

Well, just to answer the OP directly, a 70m 9.8 rope takes exactly 5.28 liters of space.  

So depends on how well you can pack.  A pro would have it all + beer in a 20 something liter pack.  

I'm curious how you got this number? 

Levi Xwrote:

I'm curious how you got this number? 

Most likely using the volume of a cylinder formula with a diameter of 9.8mm and 70m height. 

Don't know an answer to your question, but that is not going to stop me from providing unhelpful suggestions.

You say sport bike, not sport touring, so you are not likely to have paniers? So, how are going to attach pack to your bike? - You are not going to wear on your back while riding, unless you think this is going to provide back protection in the case of crash due to shifting weight imbalance, or some such?
I would pack rope separate from backpack - flake, use one those super-compact rope tarps/bags, attach to bike to move center of gravity of the whole mess down. When at destination, remove and carry to the crag draped over backpack.

Mark Pilatewrote:

Well, just to answer the OP directly, a 70m 9.8 rope takes exactly 5.28 liters of space.  

So depends on how well you can pack.  A pro would have it all + beer in a 20 something liter pack.  

Admittedly, I’m not the lightest and most efficient packer anymore. My alpine days are kind of behind me and I’m willing to pack comforts like extra water and good food that takes up some space...but....

I really want to see a picture of a single 70m rope, harness, a dozen draws, shoes, Grigri, and a chalk bag in a 20L pack. Bonus if you can fit 2L of water, some food, and a climbing helmet in there too. 

I definitely salute you if you can make that fit in a 20L pack without anything strapped on the outside.

Why anyone wants to try fit all stuff in a 20L to go sport climbing is beyond me, sounds like a pack stuffing nightmare - I'll save those days for the alpine. When I am cragging, I like to bring luxuries like food, water, and a little clothing.

Related - I once met a dude who used a 20L and looped the rope over his neck (no tarp or rope bag, he felt those things were unnecessary luxuries) and I didn't know if I should laugh or cry.