UKC

What is black marlow rope and how is it different from the usual climbing/abseiling dynamic or low stretch rope that is frequently used.

I have used it in the military for abseiling, but was just wondering about the properties of the rope itself and how many different types or sizes it comes in. I am assuming it is a kernmantle structure and made of polyester.

Any useful links would be appreciated.

In reply to ruttingstag: any?

In reply to ruttingstag: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Black+marlow+rope

Sorry, can't be arsed looking myself

In reply to ruttingstag:

It is almost static and very stiff. It is ideal for rigging, OK for top roping (with dynamic belay) and abseiling (although it is a bit stiff for abseiling with normal climbing abseil devices)and a total no-no for lead climbing

In reply to ruttingstag:

Marlow make several different types of rope targeted at the military, for example as well as their standard black polyester static abseil rope they make a black aramid abseil rope which is specified to withstand temperatures up to 500° C, used for fire rescue and really fast abseiling where the abseil device might get too hot for polyester.

In reply to EddInaBox: I think that answers it. (not made of polyester then. is marlow the name of the material?)

In reply to 5cifi:
thats awesome! rofl

In reply to ruttingstag:

No, Marlow is the name of the company, and it is most likely the rope you are talking about is made from polyester and not significantly different to any other semi static abseil rope, unless it is being used where it will need to cope with high temperatures, the rope I cited as an example is made from aramid and costs more than twice as much as the polyester rope.

In reply to ruttingstag:

The marlow black I have is static-static, not semi-static. There really is no give in it at all. Seems bloody tough mind and I see it used as anchor rope a fair bit.

In reply to noxious:

Polyester Abseil Rope (Black Marlow)

Tried and tested world-wide by Regular and Special Forces, Marlow Abseil Rope is designed specifically for rapid descent from helicopters, buildings and rock faces. The combination of the special cover construction and low stretch core ensures high performance and reliability.

The high tenacity plaited cover also ensures excellent handling and abrasion resistance.
Diameters: 9mm and 11mm
Colours: Black, White or High Visibility Black and Lime
Lengths: 50m, 61m, 100m and 200m

11mm
Mass (g/m) 95.4
Min Break load (Kg) 2800
CE Standard MR 10-81

In reply to noxious:

It may feel static to you, but no rope has 0% stretch, so ‘static’ ropes are usually described by the manufacturers as either semi-static or LSK, Low Stretch Kernmantle.

In reply to ruttingstag: Steve Mc Clure uses a black rope when he lead Rapsidy in Dumbarton. If this gets you closer to the answer.

http://www.keithsharplesphotography.co.uk/galleries/p7ssm_galclimb09/fullsi...

In reply to EddInaBox:

That is understood but it feels static compared to the semi-static. I have used semi-static to abseil on and you can feel the slight give in it. This stuff is totally different. I could not feel any give in it at all. That was my point with the "static-static" description. Maybe if you hauled a car with it you would see some stretch; otherwise this is the most 'static' abseil rope you will ever use.

This might be why Marlow list it separately to the L.S.K. ropes in their defence brochure.
11mm LSK has [50-150 kg elongation] 3.8%
This figure is not quoted for the polyester black range

In reply to Aigen:

Nope. I believe Beal made a joker rope in black a couple of years ago? If he fell on the Marlow from more than about 4-5ft he would suffer some unpleasant injuries.

Besides, it weighs a tonne!

In reply to ruttingstag:

About 8 years ago my uni club bought a handful of soft sheathed solid black halfropes, maybe Marlow or Edelrid, I can't remember. Good ropes though probably not what you're asking after.

jk

In reply to noxious:
I was just looking at Marlow's website ( http://www.marlowropes.com ), it says the black polyester abseil rope complies to CE standard MR 10-81. I've never heard of that, anyone know anything about it? I've just spent a few minutes googling and couldn't find anything useful.

They also do their nylon sheathed LSK in black (most manufacturers make at least one abseil rope in plain black) - that rope complies to CE standard EN1891, which is the normal standard for abseil ropes.

That standard sets a maximum amount of stretch allowed (5% with 50-100kg load), but it also sets a maximum impact force for a factor 0.3 fall (6kN for a 100kg test weight) in effect setting a minimum stretch as well. (Because less stretch means a higher impact force.)

In reply to deepsoup:

I suspect that is why the Marlow black doesn't meet the CE standard EN1891?

In reply to noxious:
Hence the question - what is MR 10-81? (And, I guess another question - does it *not* meet EN1891?)

In reply to deepsoup:

MR 10-81
I give up. I have searched The European Committee for Standardization. I have tried variations of the "MR 10-81". I have looked at mil-specs. I have tried all sorts of searches with no success.

Seeing as Marlow Black was specifically designed for rapid descent from helicopters, rock faces and in urban warfare situations, I guess any
PPE 'fall from height' standard would be less important.

I've emailed the tech chaps at Marlow!

In reply to noxious:
typo? MR = Marlow rope.......

In reply to noxious:

I guess so.

I had a little search too, didn't find anything too helpful. Though I'm pretty sure that's a Nato code, and nothing to do with CE certification.

I found a descender for sale that has a Nato code but no CE mark, here:
http://www.ahead4heights.com/shop/2rYfbj28421/Hardware-Accessories-/Descend...

Keener than me, good on yer. I'll be interested to hear if you find anything out.

Hi Guys,

I'll Introduce myself: I'm the technical manager of Marlow ropes and so hopefully I'm qualified to answer this one.......

The Black abseil rope is a POLYESTER rope developed some time ago for the military for abseiling including the rapid decent from helicopters. The rope is a Kernmantle construction with multiple twisted cores and a braided sheath of cabled yarns. There are several versions of the rope, the Black that everyone knows, there's a white version with black cores developed for training, there's a couple of Aramid covered versions for heat resistance and there's even been 8mm, 9mm and 14mm versions in the past.

The 11mm Polyester version is CE approved as an ABSEIL rope. But an Abseil rope only. The Standard is MR 10-81, this is not an EN standard, it's our own internal standard that's based on EN 1891. The reason for this is the rope was in production and had already established a good safety record before EN1891 was written and before the PPE directive came into force. To retrospectively approve the rope required a different standard.

In practice what does this mean for using the rope? As said before it's heaver than a Nylon rope, it doesn't shrink or stiffen over time like nylon. It's got less than half the stretch of a nylon rope and therefore the impact force will be higher and the number of drops survived lower than for a nylon rope. The strength however meets all of en 1891's requirements as a type A rope. It's for these reasons it's approved as an abseil rope as in this situation the rope is secured above the user and the user is free to move on the rope, thus the fall factors are low, and impact force less critical.

Personally I use this rope for abseiling and for setting up top ropes (as the supporting line at the top, not the climbing rope) in this application the low stretch reduces the 'sawing' action on the rock.

I hope this clears things up!

Paul

In reply to Marlow tech:

Thanks Paul - very informative.

(and the email worked - well done Marlow)

In reply to noxious:

So it did. Nice one, ta.
(And thanks Paul, for taking the time to post that.)

In reply to Marlow tech: Many thanks for the reply, just waht i was after.