edelweiss or beal rope?

Does anyone know much about edelweiss ropes? I need to buy a new rope today for my desert trip and im debating between the two ropes? Thoughts please!!!

Well overall i think Beal makes a better rope. If cost isn't an issue and the stats are the same, size, elongation, falls, dry, etc., then i would probably go with Beal. Hope this helps.

You could also try Tendon Ropes. Small Czech company, but their ropes are sweet.

Tendon Ropes

white-knuckled.blogspot.com

I'm a big fan of Edelweiss Sharp ropes. They come in doubles or a single, and handle well. They are very robust in terms of damage resistance and sharp-edge fall-holding capability. I've been climbing in the desert on Edelweiss ropes for many years, and have always been pleased.
For what it's worth...

long lasting - tough as nails rope - Millet

+1 for the Edelweiss Sharp

I own 3 of these I love them so much, a 60, 70 and set of doubles. I am extremely rough on ropes and I am one of those climbers that thinks I can climb stuff a lot harder than I actually can which I turn leads to me taking multiple 3-4 bolt whippers over and over and I usually climb outside 3-4 days a week so my ropes get used a lot more than the average persons. I have found that the Sharp is the only rope that last a lot longer than other ropes, I have used New England, Mammut, Beal, and Petzl (the worst ropes ever) ropes and all became supper fuzzy/core coming out of the sheeth much quicker than the Edelweiss ropes. Another thing I noticed with Edelweiss ropes is that they do not get very black from the AL oxide off of beiners and ATC’s which makes it nice to not have black hand syndrome at the end of the day. If you are looking for a very durable rope that will last a very long time and you want to get your money’s worth go with the Edelweiss Sharp. But the Sharp does come with its cons, it is a 10.5 rope so it does not feed very smooth and its heavy however unless you’re trying to get the redpoint on a 5.14 I really don’t think you’re going to notice it. Plus the fact that the Edelweiss Sharp and only a hand full of other ropes (Mammut Super Safe is the only one I can think of off the top of my head) are the only ropes that passed the UIAA sharp test kind of makes you wonder how well other ropes will hold up.

Opinions on ropes are plentiful and highly subjective. Since this thread is bound to be a recounting of personal experiences, I will add my $.02...

Buy a Sterling! I have owned Sterling, PMI, BlueWater, New England and Beal. Have climbed on Mammut some also. IMHO Sterling makes the best ropes. Mammut is a strong second. Besides having a great hand, Sterling ropes are also REALLY durable. They are a US based company and they provides great customer service. I currently own a Sterling Biathlon and and a set of their 8.8 doubles and I love them. My regular partner owns the Sterling Velocity, which is an awesome rope. My next rope will be a Sterling 9.8, but it will be a while since Biathlon is such a workhorse!

Go with the Sharp, hands down the best rope I've ever owned. I've had Petzl, Mammut, PMI, Beal and Sterling. The PMI and the Petzl were real pieces of shit that didn't last long at all. My Sharp has got 3 times as many pitches on it as the PMI and Petzl put together and it's still going strong. I will be buying a 70 as my next one as well as a set of their doubles as soon as I win the lottery.

I've been a fan of the Beal ropes for a while--have liked their feel
and lack of kinking.
That said, I had Edelweiss doubles that I used for ice climbing, and
they were pretty nice too.
Good luck!

Mammut is hands down the best rope I've ever owned.
And I've owned: Mammut.
Note the singular use of rope. My $.02 pesos.

I have two Eselwiess ropes, and I would recomend the sharp. It's a really good rope.

Edelweiss has an all new line of ropes out going the way of the maxim/new england Glider style. These things look pretty sharp. Never been a huge fan of edelweiss (I have the 8.5 sharp double ropes, they are OK), but I REALLY like that New England Glider.

The big difference in the new line is the way the sheath is woven together to create a tighter, less drag pattern. Basically, there is less surface area on the sheath of a 9.5mm with the new weave pattern than on one with an old weave pattern, which results in a lighter sheath with less surface area to create friction/drag, all the while keeping durability at the max. Mark Twight praises ropes of this kind in his Extreme Alpinism book. You may as well have a look at those New England ropes while you are at it. Good luck!

I personally don't see any reason to buy anything but Sterling or Mammut. They are top of the line in every way.

Edelweiss, however, also makes excellent ropes. I've never had a problem with durability. I have Edelweiss Dynamic 8.3's and love 'em.

Beal ropes are shit... period. The shop I used to work at had a lot of Beal's until I phased them out and started using Edelweiss. Much more durable ropes for the money IMHO, as you can usually find the 10+ mil ropes for around $120.

People like Beal because they give a soft catch but I've destroyed many Beal ropes in just a few months of normal use. I've had a few core shots in Beal ropes when it really shouldn't have happened. I'm continually surprised when I hear people say how much they love Beal because I've used most of their current models extensively and hated them all for many different reasons. They flatten out fast, have a dead, wet noodle feel after a month, and the sheaths are not durable.

Beal ropes have historically been very high quality with the softest catch out there, but trade off durability for good handling and low impact force. I used them for years because I'm a pretty big guy. The last set of Ice Lines I had, though, had issues with sheath slip.

I've never been a big fan of Edelweis' handling and otherwise their stats are pretty ordinary.

Check out the Metolius Monster ropes (made by Lanex I believe). These things wear like iron and have pretty good stats.

Mammut ropes are very durable as well, though their impact force is on the high side.

Edelweiss

Another for the Mammut team - great ropes IMHO

I have to agree Beal ropes are shit the only beal rope I've ever liked was the joker and than only for ice climbing but my new Sterling beats it hands down in every way.
The one thing that gets me right now is all the kudos for Mammut ropes. I bought a
10.2 super crap that from day one has been the most twisted POS I've ever wasted my money on and I always uncoil myropes several times each way when new just for that very reason . This thing would make a better coil spring knot factory than a climbing rope. For me never again will I buy a Mammut rope!
If you want balls out durable go with an Edelweiss sharp or the Sterling marathon and
Never look back .

As the saying goes ya get what ya pay for
Ropes I've owned
Edelweiss sharp
Sterling marathon
Mammut
PMI
Blue Water
Beal