CE4Y 6mm slick line - better than rad line and others in class?

Came across this rope: canyonzone.com/a-73804989-7….

Anyone used it? Its half the price and much stronger than the rad line, and I'd guess more abrasion resistant with the technora vectran in the sheath. Only 1g/m heavier. Looks like a sweet little glacier/rappel rope.  

Erik Jwrote:

Came across this rope: canyonzone.com/a-73804989-7….

Anyone used it? Its half the price and much stronger than the rad line, and I'd guess more abrasion resistant with the technora in the sheath. Only 1g/m heavier. Looks like a sweet little glacier/rappel rope.  

I got 40m of it from HowNot2. Haven’t gotten it out in the wild yet, but have hung off my gazebo roof with it to get a feel for its handling and to experiment with different rap configurations. I like it very much so far. Reasonable friction is reasonably easy to achieve, in the safety and dryness of that setting anyway. 40m packs easily into a stuff sack not much bigger than a Nalgene bottle.

For rapping, I’ve tried an Edelrid Mago 8, a reverso, and various combos of HMS biners and munters and supermunters. The Edelrid lives with the rope as the winner overall out of those experiments, though every combo had pros and cons. For a prusik, I landed on a loop of Sterling V-TX 5.4mm cord for sufficient bite while not being too grabby. 

I quite like mine. It's basically a rad line without the hype. Not particularly stiff, so it lacks the tangle-resistance of some other rap lines. Rapping on it is highly contextual, too many factors with skinny cords to give a general take.

Erik Jwrote:

Came across this rope: canyonzone.com/a-73804989-7….

Anyone used it? Its half the price and much stronger than the rad line, and I'd guess more abrasion resistant with the technora in the sheath. Only 1g/m heavier. Looks like a sweet little glacier/rappel rope.  

The creamy yellow color indicates it’s either Kevlar, or Twaron in the cover.

One of the main difference is the manufacturers guidance for use:

CE4Y does not endorse using their line for glacier travel

While Petzl does for the rad line

You’re certainly always welcome to go against manufacturer recommendations and do what you want with a product, but I think that’s worth being aware of and making intentional decisions.

That top image is from CE4Y? That’s strange. They definitely endorse it for glacier use in their product copy. This is what the product page says on the CE4Y website:

“For alpine use:
A rope ideal for glacier trekking as well as for skiers and mountaineers, with which abseiling, haul manoeuvres or crevasse rescues are possible.

The Slick-Line6.0 is certified according to EN564.”

Edited to add: The image above is indeed from the slickline user manual. Reading the manual reveals that they do endorse its use as a glacier rope but they advise against brake knots, and against having too much slack between team members, which is what that image represents. Their advisory against brake knots has nothing to do with the rope itself. They say brake knots make holding a crevasse fall easier, but make rescue more difficult. The brake knot thing is certainly arguable, but the too much slack thing is standard for any glacier rope. Either way, using this thing for glacier travel is 100% within manufacturer guidelines. 

Brockywrote:

The creamy yellow color indicates it’s either Kevlar, or Twaron in the cover.

Vectran. Aren’t vectran/technora/aramid/kevlar all essentially the same?

I got 40m of it from HowNot2. Haven’t gotten it out in the wild yet, but have hung off my gazebo roof with it to get a feel for its handling and to experiment with different rap configurations. I like it very much so far. Reasonable friction is reasonably easy to achieve, in the safety and dryness of that setting anyway. 40m packs easily into a stuff sack not much bigger than a Nalgene bottle.

For rapping, I’ve tried an Edelrid Mago 8, a reverso, and various combos of HMS biners and munters and supermunters. The Edelrid lives with the rope as the winner overall out of those experiments, though every combo had pros and cons. For a prusik, I landed on a loop of Sterling V-TX 5.4mm cord for sufficient bite while not being too grabby.

I quite like mine. It's basically a rad line without the hype. Not particularly stiff, so it lacks the tangle-resistance of some other rap lines. Rapping on it is highly contextual, too many factors with skinny cords to give a general take.

Thanks folks. I have the mago 8 and use it with my pur line, edelred rap line, I love it. Stiffness is something to consider for sure. Sounds like its a good competitor to other ropes in its class.

The creamy yellow color indicates it’s either Kevlar, or Twaron in the cover.

I was incorrect, its vectran and poly. "sheath: 56% sheath mass, material: Vectran (LCP) & Polyester".

One of the main difference is the manufacturers guidance for use: CE4Y does not endorse using their line for glacier travel

I was confused about the image as well; if you read further to the "intended use" section the manual states it is approved for glacier use. I believe the image is trying to convey that there should not be slack in between team members - "Always make sure that the rope is tight without slack. See Fig. 3."

Slim Pickenswrote:

Vectran. Aren’t vectran/technora/aramid/kevlar all essentially the same?

No.  Technora and Kevlar are aramids, while Vectran is a whole different animal with a crystal-like molecular structure.

Vectran has historically been cheaper, but the prices and availability of everything have fluctuated wildly since the Pandemic--you have to get a current quote to see what's what these days.

Good catch on reading the words over the images. EN 564 is a pretty vague cert that covers accessory cord, so all companies making these higher tech cords for specialty use have slightly different guidelines of what they endorse and don’t for their specific product.

Side by side comparison, top to bottom, Kevlar, Twaron, Technora, and Vectran.