UKC

Hi all,

Just after some people's opinions. I am looking to buy a rope under £100 mainly for indoor use but the odd days trad climbing aswell. Was thinking towards either the DMM shorty 40m or the edelrid Python. Does anyone know much about these ropes? or have any other good reccomendations.


Also looking for a decent rope bag that will be mainly used as a normal rucksack/carryhold, which would be able to fit: a 50m rope, 10 quickdraws, belay, few caribiners, harness, rock shoes, chalk bag and water. Was thinking towards: DMM classic, metolius rope ranger or the BD superslacker. any opinion's on these bags or other decent ones?

In reply to Dan1984: i have just bought a 60m edelweiss element 10.2mm rope which isnt bad again mainly indoor but the odd sport trip thrown in, fits into the small sportiva rope bag with room for qd's and my harness, grigri

I got a DMM Classic from Field n Trek for £24 2 weeks ago and very impressed with it. Fastens and straps up well. loads of room with a large tarp and shoulder straps are ok too
There's an article on ropes in August issue of Climber Mag

can u share some pics???

In reply to Dan1984: DMM classic is great-I get all my trad kit in mine.

In reply to Dan1984:

For a first rope for indoors and occasional outdoor use, you can't go far wrong with any of the cheaper ropes on the market. All of them have to be safe to be sold in the UK. They all handle quite well, and they all last ok. If you pay more you might get a rope that feels nicer to handle or a rope that is very hardwearing (but not normally both) - these are luxuries rather than a necessity. More expensive ropes are also more likely to be lighter, but this isn't really a big issue indoors.

If your outdoor climbing is going to be on shorter routes, then it might be worth getting a 35m rope. You can pick these up quite cheaply (I think Joe Browns have Zero G Tangas quite cheap at the moment, and Needlesports sell the Mammut Promo). This will serve you well indoors, and means you will have some extra cash saved for when you want to buy half ropes or a longer slinkier rope.

In reply to Pegleg: I saw that article thanks. That's what helped me narrow down my choices

Does anyone know how much smaller the DMM classic is compared to the rope ranger?


In reply to Danzig: What was in your trad kit? Does that include usual items such as rope, shoes, harness etc + all the nuts, cams etc or just the trad gear? I prefer the look of the DMM bag, but don't want to waste the money and then find out it's a bit of a cram to get everything in.



In reply to Monk: I wasn't sure if there were some that were better than others. i.e last longer.. but i'll just look for the best deal then. Didn't have much luck finding 35-40m ropes before. they all seemed to jump between 30m and 50m (apart from the dmm shorty) but i'll take another look, thanks.

In reply to Dan1984:

Just took delivery today of two 60m Python's (ropes!). So, I've been busy chopping them up for use on the wall. They look and feel pretty good, and first impressions are that they will be right for use on the indoor wall, as well as the occasional outside routes.

Bought them from GoOutdoors for £69.99 each. VFM as far as I'm concerned.

ES

In reply to Dan1984: I personally wouldn't buy anything shorter than 50m as you will soon find it isn't long enough for a lot of things, especially when you start to build belays etc. most indoor walls require a rope of at least 40m and some require 50m+.

Buying a longer rope will also allow you to trim the ends when they get tatty and frayed from use and still have long enough rope for most things you throw at it!

don't worry about what make they are unless the reviews are really crap and go with the cheapest you can find for the length/diam you want.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Really? I can think of very few walls where a 35m rope isn't long enough. Sunderland, Ratho and Kendal, for example. If you live near one of these, fair enough.

Rope choice is really tricky and really depends on so many variables (I now have more than 6 ropes for example!). No one rope does it all. If you are a trad climber and climb on grit and your local walls are only 15m, then a short rope will be great as you are likely to buy a pair of half ropes for your trad climbing. If you want to mainly sport climb, then a 50m rope will get you up most things in the UK, and a 60m will get you up everything. If you plan to go abroad to sport climb, then you will want a 60m rope as a minimum and possibly a 70m or even 80m.

So, you are right, a 50m rope is the staple workhorse rope for many of us. However, I think that it is a case of "jack of all trades, master of none". My 50m single is now chopped and used as a sandstone top-roping rope. I don't miss it. Therefore, if you know that most of your climbing is indoors and on short routes, then I reckon a short rope (if you can get one cheap) is really handy to trash and will save money to buy a 70m sport rope or a pair of half ropes when the time comes.

In reply to highclimber/Monk: My climbing partner already has a 60m rope, which we rarely use (hopefully will be doing bigger climbs in the future, but its mainly indoor sport/low trad/top rope routes atm). It was really just for indoor climbing, so building belays etc isn't an issue. Probably going to go for the 35m Beal edlinger now. It seems to have some v good reviews and isn't a too bad price at £50.

My local wall is only about 13m high. I think a 35m rope should cover about 90% of walls in the uk? can always use the larger rope if I go to any other places.

Thanks

In reply to Dan1984: I'd recommend the Beal Edlinger, and definitely get a 50m. I like the BD Superslacker rope bag.

In reply to Dan1984:
I have a rope bag of a style similar to this:http://www.v12outdoor.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1324
It fits my 50m rope, harness, shoes, lunch, water and QD's easily. It also has an interior zip pouch for things like a wallet or keys which is very handy. I would really recommend it.

In reply to Dan1984: I'd go with the Python because I can absolutely vouch that it is good for the budget.

We should be starting to test the DMM ropes shortly with a bit of luck but obviously won't be able to comment on them for many months.

Iain

In reply to IainWhitehouse: I liked the look of the python, but there wasn't much information on it and i saw one or two bad reviews so decided to give it a miss.

ordered the 50m beal edlinger in the end and dmm classic.

Thanks for all the replies

In reply to Dan1984: the edlinger was my first rope and it is very good!

In reply to Dan1984:

A full review of loads of rope bags here - http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3625

Alan

In reply to escalator: Sorry for the delay mate-

Kit I get in the DMM Bag-

50m single or 60m double rope
10 QDs
Full set Cams
Full set of Rocks
Harness/HMS/Reverso
Shoes
5 x slings
3 x screwgates
Rockfax guide
Chalkbag
...and that is full, prob room for some M&Ms and a Redbull left is all.

In reply to Danzig:

pretty much what i'll be carrying but without the cams/rocks. sounds like a perfect fit. might even have room for a big bag of M & M's!