Lead line type - what’s the consensus for 2026’s season?

At risk of upsetting those who have likely answered this question over the years (yes, I searched the forums)…

Where have we settled on lead lines, not in terms of size, or length, but construction?

With bonded ropes shown to still cut over edges, new ropes with aramid in the sheath…getting hard to figure out what’s the state of the art for big walling.

Thanks! 

Beal Unicore all the way. Great stuff!

I used to use the Beal Apollo 11m, but it only comes in 60m lengths. 

I have since switched to the Beal Top Gun 10.5mm because it comes in 70m lengths, which I find useful for shenanigans. 

See note below re skinny wall ropes. 

i moved from beal unicore to edelrid w/ aramid

Edelrid protect pro ropes appear to be the go to. 

Are people preferring the 8.9 or the 9.5 for big walling? I've heard the 8.9 holds up surprisingly well, but my instinct would be to get the 9.5 for walling. 

Yukon Corneliuswrote:

Are people preferring the 8.9 or the 9.5 for big walling? I've heard the 8.9 holds up surprisingly well, but my instinct would be to get the 9.5 for walling. 

8.9 is likely fine for leading, but I'd be loath to ask my partner (or have my partner ask me) to clean pitches on jugs with anything below 9.4

Thing about cleaning pitches on jugs for me is that it's not really about how the rope "holds up" over time, as much as it's about the rope "holding" every single time against being sawed along edges by one's partner's crap jugging technique. 

Both have the same rated cut resistance. The 8.9 is wiry and prone to tangles, the 9.5(my daily driver) handles like a regular rope. 

Go watch the edelrid knowledge base videos on youtube, pretty interesting stuff.... but personally, i still believe unicore is better in real life scenario, even if the actual cut resistance of the sheath seems lower on unicore rope, i believe that not allowing the sheath to open up and bunch up and exposing the core is more beneficial to prevent catastrophic failure... but thats just a my non scientific opinion...

A few months ago, I rigged half a kilometer of 9mm static caving rope to a depth of -330m in a cave in Mexico.  The first pit has to be one of the world's finest - in 900 feet straight down, there are only two ledges, each the size of a telephone booth floor. Pretty spectacular! There is a GALE of cold air getting sucked into the cave at the turnaround point where we simultaneously ran out of rope, bolts, electrons and time. The resurgence is a further 900m lower[!]

Anway, proper rigging practice requires that the 9mm fixed rope - used for jugging and rappelling - never touches the wall. Accordingly I drilled many rebelay bolts and J-hangs to eliminate rub points. I've seen a lot of near misses due to the abrasion of skinny rope in my 48 years of doing this stuff, that's for sure. Also worth mentioning is that static caving rope is a lot more abrasion resistant than dynamic climbing rope of the same diameter. 

I would NEVER use a skinny rope as a big wall lead rope! Jugging a skinny rope while cleaning - with the rope running across any number of edges and ledges - is unfathomable to me. In the absence of rebelays, thicker rope is better, and Unicore is better still. 

We have more deep caves than we have time and cavers. If you're interested in joining us in January, message me. Huautla area, Sierra Mazateca, Oaxaca. Could be the world's next kilometer-deep cave!

See note above re preferred fatty wall ropes. 

My go to is the Beal booster III unicore bipattern 70m 

Pete won’t admit that when we are up on the wall, he always wants to use my Blue Water 11mm Enduro. It’s been up three walls so far and still looks brand new.

^^ GREAT rope!! One of only two ropes I know of that will pass the UIAA edge fall test.  The 80m length is very handy for shenanigans.  

When I’m leading over granite edges, Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DuoTec 9.6 mm Dry Rope is my gold standard. Strongest sheath I’ve found. I don’t want my core exposed, ever 

Hayley Ashburnwrote:

When I’m leading over granite edges, Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DuoTec 9.6 mm Dry Rope is my gold standard. Strongest sheath I’ve found. I don’t want my core exposed, ever 

How do you feel about jugging that rope as you clean the pitch over those granite edges? 

So far the only consensus is either Beal or Edelrid, with one exception.

What about Mammut Core protect ropes?

Fail Fallingwrote:

8.9 is likely fine for leading, but I'd be loath to ask my partner (or have my partner ask me) to clean pitches on jugs with anything below 9.4

Thing about cleaning pitches on jugs for me is that it's not really about how the rope "holds up" over time, as much as it's about the rope "holding" every single time against being sawed along edges by one's partner's crap jugging technique. 

To be clear, I was asking about the Edelrid protect ropes with aramid - people keep referencing these ropes, and those are the two sizes they are made in. 

Yukon Corneliuswrote:

To be clear, I was asking about the Edelrid protect ropes with aramid - people keep referencing these ropes, and those are the two sizes they are made in. 

To be clear, I was talking about 8.9, 9.4, 9.5 irrespective of what the rope is made of. That said, if you're only talking about a specific brand and construction of rope, try stating that if you want "to be clear"

Edelrid 8.9 for multi pitches 9.5 for walls and cragging are how I use mine

Fail Fallingwrote:

To be clear, I was talking about 8.9, 9.4, 9.5 irrespective of what the rope is made of. That said, if you're only talking about a specific brand and construction of rope, try stating that if you want "to be clear"

okay

Charles Winsteadwrote:

Pete won’t admit that when we are up on the wall, he always wants to use my Blue Water 11mm Enduro. It’s been up three walls so far and still looks brand new.

I looked it up and Blue Water doesn't sell an 80m. Just out of curiosity, did you end up buying one if the 200m spools, then just cut 80m off of it? Or did you buy it by the foot from somewhere? Th 200m spool is pretty pricey, but the price per unit length isn't too bad (around $1.30/foot or $4.25/meter). Blue Water sells it for about $850 a spool, but found somewhere selling it for $100 less than that too.

John Mansowrote:

So far the only consensus is either Beal or Edelrid, with one exception.

What about Mammut Core protect ropes?

Id be really curious to see some testing comparing the edelrid and mammut 9.5s. Both seem very similar with aramid in the sheath, but edelrid is quite a bit more expensive