.

My experience with Sterling is that the 9.8 Evolution Velocity and all of the Marathon series are VERY durable. This is just my experience, but they seem to last longer than any other rope I have used (with Mammut coming in as a close second). My Sterling 10.1 is a workhorse that I cannot seem to kill. Although it is by no means lightweight, it is not so heavy that it reduces my performance on the rock.

The 9.2 and 9.4 are "performance" oriented ropes. They are skinny, lightweight, and have very different wear characteristics than "thicker" ropes. Although I have not seen anything like what Killis is describing, in my experience the durability of the smaller ropes is significantly less than the other ropes produced by Sterling. Regardless of manufacturer, all the smaller ropes are always less durable.

My suggestion; give Sterling a call. They seem to be a good company that stands behind their product.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Red wrote:Locker, I'm not sure about the core and sheath materials, but I do think the finishing coats that are on dry ropes must help a lot.

it helps. but not alot ... if you climb daily the dry coating wears out in about 1-2 months anyways ... especially on more moderate (rope drag) routes, lowering and TRing

ive had 85$ ropes survive as well than 250$ mammut galaxies ...

ive come to the conclusion that except for specialized purposes ... ie doubles for long multi/alpine, ultrathin ones for sending your ultralong super hard redpoints, dry ropes for ice, etc ...

there is NO point of a $$$$$$$ rope over the cheap ones ... certainly not for durability

if you want a "durable" rope ... go buy a 10-10.3mm with a tight weave at a cheap price ... its really that simple ;)

A few years ago I found a new route to bolt just south of Rock Canyon. It was going to be an almost 230 feet long pitch! I bolted on rappel with an old 70 meter rope that I had had for a few years. I hid my brand new 70 meter rope underneath an overhang at the base of the climb. I would bolt the climb and then ascend back up with the new rope, tie them together, rappel back down, and then pull my ropes.
When I got to the base of the climb, a coil from the middle of my new rope had flipped outside of the overhang and a rock I had thrown off while bolting, hit the rope and cut it in half! I didn't get to use my new rope for a single pitch.
My Fastest Rope Retirement So Far.

I agree that the tight weave helps with longevity. I recently bought a Maxim with the TPT single-weave sheath.

It's held up really well to some nasty top rope abuse, including some newbies lowering down some Castlewood conglomerate, losing their balance, and raking the sheath across the Castlewood 20 grit.

It's in surprisingly good shape, even in the spots where I have beat the crap out of it.

It is funny to see the posts above. 5 pitches, core shot, no falls, blah, blah, blah... I'm never going to buy this brand ever again. If you read the rope forums you will see that someone, somewhere core shoted most every rope out there. And then says I'll never buy that brand ever again. In another forum someone will say that is the best rope they have ever owned.

I'm not saying all ropes have the same durability. Just that shit happens. It only takes one little eff up to damage a rope. And it is quite possible to not even know when it happens. Sheath weave plays a major role in durability as well as handling and impact forces. Generally speaking, tight weaves are more durable with higher impact forces.

YMMV

Locker:

Yes, the weave patterns are different on the sheaths, as well as waterproofing which can affect durability.

neropes.com/product.aspx?mi…

I purchased a 9.9 x 70m bi color New England Glider, and it is holding up well after about 20 climbs...I just use it for longer trad climbs. It feels stiff, but slides through pro nicely as advertised. But brand new, it had many, many, kinks and I had to flake from end to end about 6 times before I could tame the kinks (aka - a--holes). But it's tamed now and doesn't kink like it used to.

If you look at reviews of the rope on REI's web page, people's experience varies widely...one user had 130 days and still going strong...a couple others said it wore out quickly.

Seems like the biggest variable is the way people treat their ropes...

Maybe it's time to rethink the thin cord trend... if you are leading 30m (100 ft) sport climbs, there's only a 1.1 pound difference between 9.9 and 11 mm, so if the crux is at 50ft, the 11mm is only 1/2 pound heavier than the 9.9... A 2 pound difference carrying to the crag...

Arlo F Niederer wrote: Seems like the biggest variable is the way people treat their ropes... Maybe it's time to rethink the thin cord trend... if you are leading 30m (100 ft) sport climbs, there's only a 1.1 pound difference between 9.9 and 11 mm, so if the crux is at 50ft, the 11mm is only 1/2 pound heavier than the 9.9... A 2 pound difference carrying to the crag...

honestly i treat my ropes like shiet according to some anal retentive people who dont climb very much ... i rarelyw ash em, may or may not use a rope bag cragging, definately dont use a rope bag on the multis here with dirty ledges, i step on the rope all the time ... ill use em as fixed solo lines, have TR gangbangs with em, whip on em all day ... etc ...

and im out more or less daily now, just getting my morning MP fix before heading out today ...

i get probably 150+ days or 1000+ pitches out of a rope ... but then i generally use 10mm and above ... and i buy the cheapest ropes that i can find which handle well ... my last few ropes costs 85-100$

im a shietty climber, but i use those "thick" ropes for everything from chief runs, to 5.11/12 trad/sport, to longer multis ... not once have i told myself that a 10mm rope held me back ... maybe i need to climb harder

IMO the thin rope trend is a great way to part climbers from their money ;)

I've got no problem with the thin rope trend, just use them as they should be used: for that desperate route you've been projecting for a week (on the final send), or for those long, every-ounce-counts alpine climbs, or for those folks who are total bad asses and never toprope.

That said, a rope is a consumable item: it's supposed to die, so I don't sweat the wear and tear.

But it shouldn't die for no reason, which is more or less what the original post is about. That would concern me, and I'd contact the manufacturer just to make sure it wasn't some rare manufacturing defect. It's probably more likely that something bad happened to it and the poster did not notice at the time, but the manufacturer should be clued in any way.

As soon as I can afford it, I want a quiver of ropes: a thick and thin version, say a 9.5 and a 10.5, in lengths of 50m, 60m, and 70m. It's amazing how much of my local, day-today cragging doesn't even need a 50m!

And I'll beat 'em up!

But I will wash them, because I hate how dirty a dirty rope makes my hands. I won't wash them to make them last longer, thouugh, I really thing that is myth masquerading as fact.

Locker wrote:So here I am on this thread being my usual fuck off self and what the fuck do you know? I too have ended up owning a piece of shit rope that is already fucked up and it's been used for about 10 climbing days, no hard falls, pretty much NOTHING hard on the rope, and it's got WEIRD spots all along it's core, and has also developed an ODD area almost like a "Core shot", where it has a BREAK feeling in the rope and no fall was even in that area of the rope. I will say however for what it's worth, the rope handles nicely. But what the fuck is with the weirdness? It's New England Maxim 10.2

Strange. In my experience New England makes the best ropes, both for climbing and boating. You may want to email a rep and ask, their customer service has been nothing but great if I ever have a problem

Love our Mammut ropes...the 9.2 Revelation is great, the 8.9 Serenity is surprisingly durable, the 9.5 Infinity awesome all-arounder, durable, handles well.

Locker,
You do know yur gonna die right?

Locker. That is a know issue with that brand. It is NOT normal. Call them. They will replace it.

new england glider 9.9x70

jugged over a sharp edge yesterday at castle rock. fairly new line (maybe 15 days, 5 falls). was a little bummed for sure.

Petzl sucks. Bought mine from rei. Three days at pilot mt. and major fraying. Going back to rei soon. I'm thinking mammut next

I have a 10.5 bluewater for trad and Tring. It's done maybe 25-30 pitches and it's just starting to get broken in it feels like. The sheath seems really durable but it is a fatter rope at 10.5. I have a 9.8 sterling for sport routes and it's been up maybe 5 routes and I haven't noticed any wear to speak of but haven't fallen on it. I'm kinda liking the bluewater for trad and cragging.

Mammut has never failed me

Cool! I am glad that they stood behind their product and are going to take care of you. I have never heard the term "mousing" before, but it seems to be a very good description.

Killis,
One of the reasons I come to MP is to see the Killis Photo. It has not changed in some time. Please fix this.
Sam

"As soon as I can afford it, I want a quiver of ropes: a thick and thin version, say a 9.5 and a 10.5, in lengths of 50m, 60m, and 70m. It's amazing how much of my local, day-today cragging doesn't even need a 50m! "
---------------------------------------

This quiver concept works for me. Keep my thin Mammut and Edelweiss for multi-pitch days when I want a thin rope. Use 9.9 to 10.2's for days with top roping, sport crag lowering and so forth. If I know the crag I pack the appropriate length rope. What I call a "working rope".

Mind you, I have been dropped off the end of the rope by my belayer

Fastest rope retirement was my first kernmantle climbing rope; an Edelried 50m. First day....Took it to a basalt crag in Washington and accidentally dropped a rock on it from the rim.

Second fastest retirement was cleaning the second pitch of a project up at Mt. Charleston; after maybe 25 days of use. My fault for leaving part of it lying on the belay ledge. Should have hung the coils. Partial core shot and we had to rap off it. Kind of an unforgettable moment.

On durability my info is purely anecdotal. A Beal fuzzed out pretty fast but was sweet when new. Blue Water seems to collect a lot of grime and aluminum oxide from the gear. Edelweiss and Mammut seem to wear a long time; take a lot of abuse. Best rope I ever owned was a Singing Rock.

Just bought a Sterling 10.1 Marathon bi-color off eBay...I guess pray for me.

My fastest ever was using a petzl rope in NC. I used it for one day and the sheath/core separated and caused terrible bunching when running through the belay device. Returned to REI immediately. They said they would deal with petzl directly.

Currently I have:
Sterling kosmos 10.2 with several hundred days use on it. Getting ready to retire because the sheath won't come clean and leaves black powder on my quick draws when climbing.

Sterling velocity 9.8 with maybe 30 days use? Seems like new.

Sterling 9.4 (model?) with ten days use. Still perfect.