Sterling Evolution Velocity...

Anyone using this rope? And if so, what are your thought about it? Likes? Dislikes? I think Im going to pick one up next week but wanted to know what everyone thought of it. It will be used for a lot of trad and some sport. Maybe some aid. Maybe a lil ice in the winter when Im not using my doubles. Who knows. I enjoy a stiff smooth cord. lol

johnL wrote:It's the best rope I've ever owned.

this is pretty much the general consensus. great rope, sterling rocks.

yeah, +1 for sterling ropes.

i usually burn through many, but my sterling ones
have been holding up really well. actually better
than i had expected. so with that being said...
they are not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for!

The above responses are pretty typical. Things like that made me get one as well.
After truly not that many pitches my reaction is "meh". It's a nice rope and typical of a the 9.8mm ish size run but it hasn't blown my mind either. The sheath has shown some wear earlier than I'd expect from primarily Limestone Cragging (clip bolts, lower, repeat). On the other hand, it's handled well and I don't have any other major complaints.

It's rare the Sterlings are a "great deal" but they're also not the priciest around.

I don't think it's a bad choice by any means but I wouldn't expect it to be the best rope known to man. Many say this but I've found (as with almost any rope I've owned) YMMV.

My current "favorite" ropes are the new Edelweiss Perform 3s Element 2 10.2mm and Energy 9.5mm. I found a BIColor 80m 9.5 for sub $200 and the 10.2s 70m sub $170

good luck. You'll be happy with the Sterling as well. Just don't set your expectations super high and you'll be satisfied.

Love my bi-color velocity. I climb 2-3 times a week outside and this will be its 3rd season. It still handles smoothly in the belay device, doesn't have any soft spots and hasn't gone stiff and unmanageable like most Mammut ropes.

CMS, it's a good rope. A little heavy than my other 9.8, but definitely durable as hell. Not sure if I want to aid with it, jugging and Yosmite granite can be rough.

Love my Velocity. You probably will too.

johnL wrote:It's the best rope I've ever owned. Durable like a thick rope, but it's not thick. Light like a thin rope but it's not so skinny. Great catch, great hand, holds bowlines well, no sheath slippage, and loads of colors to choose from. One caveat, most of my friends and I have all noticed that our Velocity's get dirty fast. Maybe it's the rope or maybe I climb with filthy people. 3 of the last 4 ropes I've owned have been Sterling. I won't look at other brands anymore unless there is a very compelling financial reason.

This is pretty much what I was going to say, word for word.

I don't understand why these ropes get so dirty, but I've had/used there of them and they're all the same. Turn my hands black. Other than that it's the best rope I've ever used. Sterling Ropes are the best, period.

johnL wrote:It's the best rope I've ever owned.

+100

I've also washed it a few times with warm water, blue-water rope detergent, and the BD rope brush....comes out like brand new every time.

johnL wrote:It's the best rope I've ever owned. Durable like a thick rope, but it's not thick. Light like a thin rope but it's not so skinny. Great catch, great hand, holds bowlines well, no sheath slippage, and loads of colors to choose from. One caveat, most of my friends and I have all noticed that our Velocity's get dirty fast. Maybe it's the rope or maybe I climb with filthy people. 3 of the last 4 ropes I've owned have been Sterling. I won't look at other brands anymore unless there is a very compelling financial reason.

Not only does it handle well, but it is more durable than the Sterling Marathon Pro (10.1mm). Fantastic rope.

For some reason, all Sterling ropes seem to make my hands disgusting. The Velocity is no worse than the Marathon style.

cms829 wrote:Anyone using this rope? And if so, what are your thought about it? Likes? Dislikes? I think Im going to pick one up next week but wanted to know what everyone thought of it. It will be used for a lot of trad and some sport. Maybe some aid. Maybe a lil ice in the winter when Im not using my doubles. Who knows. I enjoy a stiff smooth cord. lol

Assuming you are talking about the 9.8 I'm underwhelmed:
1) seems to kink a fair amount, not severely, but not a great handling rope for sure (this is probably my 10th or 15th rope, if that matters to you).
2) a $200 rope with no middle mark? gimme a break!
3) most importantly if you have this rope as a 70, it is heavy, heavy, heavy. I have friends who have 9.5x70's and I've been amazed by the difference. If you're going to be using this rope in some context where weight is totally secondary (working long sport routes next to the road, I guess?), then great. As a source of additional options for pitch and rap length for trad, though: major miscalculation on my part. I'd never buy a 9.8 in a 70 again. 60 would obviously render that a lot less noticeable, but then again a 9.4 or 9.5 in a 60 would be that much lighter!

well right now i use a 10.5 70 meter so....im sure its a lot lighter then that!

As far as a middle marker....get yourself a nice sharpie thats made for fabric. Costs 3 bucks lasts a lifetime. And is safe for the rope. I think im pretty sold on it...im just looking at a few thinner options. like a 9.5-ish

cms829 wrote:well right now i use a 10.5 70 meter so....im sure its a lot lighter then that! As far as a middle marker....get yourself a nice sharpie thats made for fabric. Costs 3 bucks lasts a lifetime. And is safe for the rope. I think im pretty sold on it...im just looking at a few thinner options. like a 9.5-ish

Well you're right that it'll seem like a dream compared to the 10.5!

And yeah, it's not that I don't know HOW to mark a rope, just that I think they should've taken care of it! FWIW, I have a Beal roll-on marker that works great.

cms829 wrote:well right now i use a 10.5 70 meter so....im sure its a lot lighter then that! As far as a middle marker....get yourself a nice sharpie thats made for fabric. Costs 3 bucks lasts a lifetime. And is safe for the rope. I think im pretty sold on it...im just looking at a few thinner options. like a 9.5-ish

Well, for $178 you can get yourself a 9.5mm x 70m BICOLOR that specs out better (IMO) than the velocity

Edelweiss 9.5mm

Best rope out there for all-around use. Girlfriend and I love our dry-treated for trad, sport, and some limited TR. Not sure why the obsession in the climbing community over middle marks. Sterling doesn't mark any of their ropes. Does get dirty fast but it seems to wash up nicely.

I love this rope. Except here's mine now..

David Horgan wrote: Assuming you are talking about the 9.8 I'm underwhelmed: 1) seems to kink a fair amount, not severely, but not a great handling rope for sure (this is probably my 10th or 15th rope, if that matters to you). 2) a $200 rope with no middle mark? gimme a break! 3) most importantly if you have this rope as a 70, it is heavy, heavy, heavy. I have friends who have 9.5x70's and I've been amazed by the difference. If you're going to be using this rope in some context where weight is totally secondary (working long sport routes next to the road, I guess?), then great. As a source of additional options for pitch and rap length for trad, though: major miscalculation on my part. I'd never buy a 9.8 in a 70 again. 60 would obviously render that a lot less noticeable, but then again a 9.4 or 9.5 in a 60 would be that much lighter!

So to summarize:

1) You uncoiled the rope inproperly and/or aren't very good at threading anchors or rope management

2) You are too lazy to find the middle of the rope the normal way

3) You bought the wrong diameter rope! Of course it's heavier than a 9.5... because it's a 9.8! It's no heavier than any other 9.8.

Ryan Williams wrote: 2) You are too lazy to find the middle of the rope the normal way

And bi-color is also an option; sounds like you just bought the wrong rope for your needs.

Ryan Williams wrote: So to summarize: 1) You uncoiled the rope inproperly and/or aren't very good at threading anchors or rope management 2) You are too lazy to find the middle of the rope the normal way 3) You bought the wrong diameter rope! Of course it's heavier than a 9.5... because it's a 9.8! It's no heavier than any other 9.8.

0) Hm. Well, since I responded to the OP with actual experiences I've had with the product he's interested in and you responded with a bunch of sarcastic comments, I think many reasonable folks might read your reply and say, "Ryan is being a jerk." Which I did.

1) Since you weren't with me, not sure how you can say that. In this specific case, I was actually rapping on my OTHER Sterling yesterday (I think it's a 10.1x60 or something like that, not really sure): no kinks. That rope never gives trouble. It was based on that rope's good performance that I bought the 70. I handle it the same way as the 70. Ropes have different handling characteristics. That's why the OP was asking the question to begin with. I bought a pair of Black Diamond doubles, must be almost 15 years ago now: every rap, by the time you got near the bottom, the ropes were a horrible mass of spaghetti. I called BD, they very nicely replaced the ropes with what appeared to be an identical pair...and the spaghetti (with identical rope management) never came back.

2) Well, since I describe the method I use to mark the rope, I guess that might not be true. But if by "normal way" you are referring to grabbing both ends and using them to find the middle, and having NO middle mark, then I would say that this is pretty inconvenient on multipitch rappels, which in turn is one of the (several) reasons why people want a middle mark. So I re-assert that my rope should have shipped with a middle mark, as many ropes do, and that this is either lack of attention to detail on Sterling's part, or some kind of weird nanny state liability thing, cheapness, or just laziness.

3)I agree that I bought the wrong size rope: that's why I described that action in my post as a "major miscalculation on my part." Was trying to save the OP from doing the same, or at least let him be aware of the issue.

Really, Ryan: recently the MP admins, of whom you are one, have been working hard to improve the tenor of the site. Your post does very little to achieve that goal.

David Horgan wrote: 0) Hm. Well, since I responded to the OP with actual experiences I've had with the product he's interested in and you responded with a bunch of sarcastic comments, I think many reasonable folks might read your reply and say, "Ryan is being a jerk." Which I did. 1) Since you weren't with me, not sure how you can say that. In this specific case, I was actually rapping on my OTHER Sterling yesterday (I think it's a 10.1x60 or something like that, not really sure): no kinks. That rope never gives trouble. It was based on that rope's good performance that I bought the 70. I handle it the same way as the 70. Ropes have different handling characteristics. That's why the OP was asking the question to begin with. I bought a pair of Black Diamond doubles, must be almost 15 years ago now: every rap, by the time you got near the bottom, the ropes were a horrible mass of spaghetti. I called BD, they very nicely replaced the ropes with what appeared to be an identical pair...and the spaghetti (with identical rope management) never came back. 2) Well, since I describe the method I use to mark the rope, I guess that might not be true. But if by "normal way" you are referring to grabbing both ends and using them to find the middle, and having NO middle mark, then I would say that this is pretty inconvenient on multipitch rappels, which in turn is one of the (several) reasons why people want a middle mark. So I re-assert that my rope should have shipped with a middle mark, as many ropes do, and that this is either lack of attention to detail on Sterling's part, or some kind of weird nanny state liability thing, cheapness, or just laziness. 3)I agree that I bought the wrong size rope: that's why I described that action in my post as a "major miscalculation on my part." Was trying to save the OP from doing the same, or at least let him be aware of the issue. Really, Ryan: recently the MP admins, of whom you are one, have been working hard to improve the tenor of the site. Your post does very little to achieve that goal.

Gotta agree wholeheartedly with the above. Lot's of good points in there.

-I've found over MANY years of climbing rope use that each rope is SOMEWHAT and individual purchase. I've had rope within the same brand act very differently and identical MODEL ropes do the same. If you go back and read the UBIQUITOUS "What rope should I get?" threads on various internet sites you see this play out. One person loves Mammut, another does not. BW Lighting is the "shiznit" or "spaghetti incarnate". Whatever. There are certain brands and models that you'll likely have a better experience with but that's not a guarantee. This is especially true given that everyone uses, abuses and handles their ropes differently. I was a HUGE Beal fan for a long time but had a recent, poor experience with one. I got the Sterling 9.8 Velocity to see if all the rave reviews were accurate. It't a good rope to be shure BUT, I've had some premature wear issues with it ( Durability is what Sterling is beat know for). The BEST rope I've ever owned was a 9.9 Edelweiss ARC. That thing was bomber beyond belief and served me well for YEARS. Sport, Trad whatever. It was moved to gym rope status and the ONLY reason I put it out to pasture was it wasn't feeling all that dynamic anymore. The rope still looked a ok.

- Rope Thickness is NOT a good indicator of a rope's weight. There's a +/- range allowed when measuring rope thickness and one company's 9.5mm is a another's 9.9mm. The ONLY way to compare weight is the grams/meter spec. Seriously, a Beal 10mm Tiger is 61g/m. That 9.8mm Sterling? 62g/m

- I am a strong proponent of a middle mark. The idea that I'm "too lazy" to do it the "normal way" is utter BS. Middle Marks help with determining if a pitch can be lowered from, how far out on a pitch you are (If it's a 45m pitch and you hit the middle mark on your 70m your belayer can yell up "10 more meters", multi pitch raps are FAR easier with a middle mark etc etc. Lack of a middle mark is a LEGIT negative for a rope. that said, BiColors or Middle marks DO cost more in general. Want to save a few $$? Buy the Beal Rope marking ink and DIY. You can mark a LOT of ropes with it, it provides a bit of tactile indication as well (stiffer) and you can get creative if you wish and mark 10m out from either end of the rope etc.

Bottom Line: Rope reviews online might point you in the right direction but don't expect to have the same experience.

didnt mean to start an arguement. Regardless...They do make a bicolor or bi pattern...which i plan on buying, or i'll just mark the middle with a sharpie cloth marker or the beal marker. considering the bipatterns are like 40-50 dollars more....I may just buy a marker.

The only thing im still hesitant on is color and dry treatment. My two current ropes are dry treated. However Its not often i climb in the rain. When im ice climbing or alpine i use totally different ropes. Im picking up a pair of petzl dragonflys for next ice season... So I guess im trying to justify spending the extra money on the treated rope. I dont plan on using it on ice, snow, etc. Most times if its raining im not climbing and if i am, im aid climbing and can use my 10.5 70 meter which is treated. what are some thoughts on this. For a dedicated trad/sport rope which will probably only see fair weather, do i really need to spend more money on a treated rope? Im not cheap, but money is tight right now.