2024 Rope Discussion

Climb On wrote:

Best bang for your buck is the mammut as others have said.

Gunks climber here- I’ve never once thought that I’d like an 80m there. What would you need it on?

For sure not a need, but naybe nice to have. Just kicking around the idea. You could climb to top of any of the climbs in one pitch. I also just got back from Owens River Gorge and a lot of climbs there needed an 80, so just thinking for convivence purposes. 

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

Curious why you'd say maybe not for trad? Sounds pretty good to me

High dynamic elongation. Great for 5.13 trad, bad for 5.8 trad. Hitting ledges isn't a good time fun party. 

Andy Wiesner wrote:

I'm on my second Edelrid TC 9.6 now (the one that many here seem to dislike). It's my workhorse. I like the lower price, I haven't had any problems feeding through gri/atc, and the faint bi-pattern is a non-issue for me. The weird green color does lack sex appeal.  

Moved away from the Mammut 9.5 because of repeated sheath issues, but that's just me. 

Like Fritz and others I love the Beal Unicore ropes (Opera for beefy double/twin, parties of three, or single alpine, Stinger for sending, Tiger for walls) but at the Gunks (where OP climbs), where full 70m top-roping is not uncommon, we sometimes like to link rope-stretching pitches off the ground, and lead falls happen in ledgy terrain, the Beal ropes are too stretchy (static elongation of 9.5% vs. 6% / 7.4% for Mammut / Edelrid; dynamic elongation of 37% vs. 30% / 31% for Mammut / Edelrid ). 

This was a very informative and helpful comment. Thank you! Definitely will look closer at the dynamic elongation factor. What sheath issues were you having with your Mammuts?

Ricky Harline wrote:

High dynamic elongation. Great for 5.13 trad, bad for 5.8 trad. Hitting ledges isn't a good time fun party. 

Haha no sir, I'm with you there. Makes sense!  thanks Ricky

Trevor Jones wrote:

This was a very informative and helpful comment. Thank you! Definitely will look closer at the dynamic elongation factor. What sheath issues were you having with your Mammuts?

Got isolated fuzzy sections quickly (also happened w the 9.8mm version), also seemed to get sticky in the grigri in humid conditions, but those are isolated experiences and I wouldn’t generalize based on them. The edelrid and mammut ropes have similar specs and either will be fine. 

+1 for the 9.8 mammut dry, it's held up very well and has taken more falls than I'd like to admit and still has plenty of life after 4 seasons

It's interesting that so many here like their mammut ropes. My friends and I have had several mammuts that we all hate. I've got the green Edelrid 9.6 TC rope in an 80, and besides the fact it's heavy, I think it's a great rope and I've had no problems getting it to feed through an ATC or Grigri. 

I'm looking at getting a triple rated skinny rope sometime soon -- anyone have any beta on Bluewater? I'm going between the Maxim Airliner and Bluewater Xenon, and would appreciate anyone's input if they've got it. 

Caleb BR wrote:

It's interesting that so many here like their mammut ropes. My friends and I have had several mammuts that we all hate. I've got the green Edelrid 9.6 TC rope in an 80, and besides the fact it's heavy, I think it's a great rope and I've had no problems getting it to feed through an ATC or Grigri. 

I'm looking at getting a triple rated skinny rope sometime soon -- anyone have any beta on Bluewater? I'm going between the Maxim Airliner and Bluewater Xenon, and would appreciate anyone's input if they've got it. 

That's too bad, I've always used Mammut ropes and have never had any issues. A buddy of mine loves his 9.2 xenon, he's only used it as a single but it's durability seems better than some other 9.2s.

Trevor Jones wrote:

I also just got back from Owens River Gorge and a lot of climbs there needed an 80, so just thinking for convivence purposes. 

Such as what routes?  I used to have only a 60m, where slight downclimbing is needed on a few.

The fixe/roca ropes are my current favorites. They make ropes for a bunch of other brands, such as Trango and some of the Black Diamond ropes (the good ones). They are cheap to buy from European stores like Oliunid, Ropemaster, varuste, epicTV etc. 

The first thing I look for is a 1x1 weave sheath, which is more durable and handles better than the cheaper-to-produce 2x2 weave rope. 

Unicore vs normal is a tossup, there are occasional reports of a unicore rope getting mangled in a weird way a normal rope supposedly would not. If you are jugging or TRS'ing then unicore is nice to have. I've had good luck we both, I consider unicore a bonus but not mandatory. 

Diameter doesn't always correlate to gram per meter, so when comparing two ropes I make sure to check those stats. A 9.5mm can be lighter than a 9.0mm. 

I use a quiver of ropes. For a cragging I use a 9.8mm that is durable and was cheap, dry treatment and weight don't matter much in this context. My alpine ropes are dry treated, no thicker than 9mm and very lightweight. 

If you find a rope with specs you like check out tendon and roca, they may offer the exact same rope for around 1/2 the price. 

Caleb BR wrote:

I'm looking at getting a triple rated skinny rope sometime soon -- anyone have any beta on Bluewater? I'm going between the Maxim Airliner and Bluewater Xenon, and would appreciate anyone's input if they've got it. 

I was wondering if anyone was going to mention Bluewater! Maybe only southerners know about the brand these days??

I've got a Xenon and love it, use it mostly for alpine stuff due to weight. Great handling and awesome sheath, good catches on it! My brain is still a decade in the past when it comes to ropes though and I don't have the same trust for ropes close to that 9.0 range if I'm anticipating wandery traverses over chossy/sharp rock or single pitch sport with anchors that might be back from an edge (happens a lot at Smith Rock, my home crag). 

ROCA (fixe) ropes are stellar and usually can be found for quite competitive pricing. Nothing but good things to say about their products, but might be little stretchy for some.
Also the 9.5mm Edelrid Eagle Lite Protect is rad. Used one recently and think I will be getting one. My giant ass doesn't feel confident at all on skinnier cords like the 8.9 version.

Scott D wrote:

The fixe/roca ropes are my current favorites. They make ropes for a bunch of other brands, such as Trango and some of the Black Diamond ropes (the good ones). They are cheap to buy from European stores like Oliunid, Ropemaster, varuste, epicTV etc. 

The first thing I look for is a 1x1 weave sheath, which is more durable and handles better than the cheaper-to-produce 2x2 weave rope. 

Unicore vs normal is a tossup, there are occasional reports of a unicore rope getting mangled in a weird way a normal rope supposedly would not. If you are jugging or TRS'ing then unicore is nice to have. I've had good luck we both, I consider unicore a bonus but not mandatory. 

Diameter doesn't always correlate to gram per meter, so when comparing two ropes I make sure to check those stats. A 9.5mm can be lighter than a 9.0mm. 

I use a quiver of ropes. For a cragging I use a 9.8mm that is durable and was cheap, dry treatment and weight don't matter much in this context. My alpine ropes are dry treated, no thicker than 9mm and very lightweight. 

If you find a rope with specs you like check out tendon and roca, they may offer the exact same rope for around 1/2 the price. 

Which ones have you used in the past? This Dominator 9.2 is a little heavy for the diameter but you can get it really cheap from Europe. Price is bonkers if it's a good rope. Same for the Siurana. You can get an 80 m for $150. Wild. These both have the 1x1 weave you mention.

K Dub wrote:

Which ones have you used in the past? This Dominator 9.2 is a little heavy for the diameter but you can get it really cheap from Europe. Price is bonkers if it's a good rope. Same for the Siurana. You can get an 80 m for $150. Wild. These both have the 1x1 weave you mention.

The Siuranna is a fantastic rope. Amazing hand and smooth feel with the 48 carrier sheath. Its the base rope they use on their rainbow rope, which is what I have currently. Reminds me of the maxim glider. Ive been beating mine up for over a year and still performing super well and doesnt look like its been hammered as much as have put it through.
I use it for sport with how stretchy it is, and I use other ropes for trad/alpine climbing.

It's in their entry level rope catagory, and has been well worth the money. I would buy the roca rope over mammut, but still think mammut makes an excellent rope.
Basically IMO you can not beat the price for performance of their ropes which I would have said about mammut before getting into the roca.
Both of those MFGs I think make the best affordable ropes in the market.

Oh and I have used the monkey, and it may be the next one I buy from them for my sport endeavors. Cant tell you a long term opinion on it, but it was certainly a "top shelf" skinnier cord if comparing to other skinnier high end ropes Ive used from sterling and BW.

Climb On wrote:

Best bang for your buck is the mammut as others have said.

Gunks climber here- I’ve never once thought that I’d like an 80m there. What would you need it on?

The 80 is actually more useful than a 70 at the gunks. I recently switched to a 60 from years and years of a 70, I don't miss it.

The 70 really doesn't help at all. It does allow you to TOPROPE a very very few climbs you can't with a 60, but it doesn't allow you to skip any belay stations rappelling . HOWEVER, with the 80 you can skip quite a few rap stations. But I really don't think it's worth it. A friend of mine wound up with an 80 and it was novel skipping stations, but not worth the overall effort.

Get a mammut 60 bipattern through the alpine club like everyone at the gunks does ;)

The last Mammut I had was cut very close (length wise). It shrunk rapidly (got shorter). This was noticable and an issue on 35 meter routes. Did not like the handling on the TC or Edelweiss. Have good results w Beal. Agree gram per meter says more than diameter ^^. Have a new Fixe, good price, good feel 57 G per meter in a 9.6 I think. Seems just right diameter, weight, handling. People say it takes a beating. Don't know yet. I want a good price and a new color now and then; something that doesn't turn ugly too fast. Loyalty to one brand is ephemeral. 

Mr Rogers wrote:

The Siuranna is a fantastic rope. Amazing hand and smooth feel with the 48 carrier sheath. Its the base rope they use on their rainbow rope, which is what I have currently. Reminds me of the maxim glider. Ive been beating mine up for over a year and still performing super well and doesnt look like its been hammered as much as have put it through.
I use it for sport with how stretchy it is, and I use other ropes for trad/alpine climbing.

This is great beta, thanks on behalf of the crew.

no love for the sterling Ion R 9.4 mm?

Just be aware, for the Edelrid ropes, DT = DuoTech = their name for their slight pattern change half way, NOT dry treated. Dry treated will have "Dry" in the name.

yukonjack wrote:

no love for the sterling Ion R 9.4 mm?

I got one on sale. I read reviews that it's really kinky. I flaked in end to end 5 times before use, and it's not really much different than all the ropes I bought years back. Just machine coiled.

But I do like it so far. Really haven't put it to work yet.