UKC

I am looking to get a new single rope for indoor + outdoor sport climbing as my current rope has been damaged. The rope will mainly be used for leading and I expect to take a lot of falls.

I don't want to spend too much money so I'm looking to buy one rope that is suitable for pretty much anything rather than having separate ropes for indoor / outdoor etc... (although I already have half ropes for most trad). That said, I am happy to pay more money if the rope will last longer.

If I'm buying just one rope I think 60m is probably a good enough length to do most of routes at crags I am going to be visiting without being overly heavy. Based on what I have managed to fine online, I have narrowed down the contenders to this list (but open to any other suggestions):

Mammut Superflash 10.5mm 60m £100
Mammut Vertex 10mm 60m £65
Edelrid Perfect 10mm 60m £70

It is the most expensive, but the Mammut Superflash is dry treated which is definitely an advantage as the rope is likely to get used at Sea Cliffs (Portland). The only thing putting me off the Superflash is that it is very thick / heavy. I want a hard wearing rope, but I don't want to spend £100 and then discover that it isn't suitable as it is horrible to belay.

Does anybody have any opinions on whether this rope is suitable as an all-round rope? Any advice would be much appreciated.

In reply to Psych:

If I were you, I would reconsider having separate ropes for indoor an out. Any old 30m, non-dry treated thing will do for in, buy a posh 60 for out and maximise its life by not using it indoors. 60m+ is a faff indoors too.

In reply to Jonny2vests:

Thanks - appreciate the advice. My current rope will still allow me to do most of the routes I want indoors. It has been shortened from 50m to just shy of 30m. I could minimise new rope usage by just using it for the longer indoor routes. Taking 2 ropes to the wall would be a pain, but I could get by with the shorter one for most sessions.

With regards to an outdoor specific rope, any recommendations?

In reply to Psych:

I have a 50m super flash. Its 72g/m vs 67g/m for the vertex.

It's at the end of its life, was my first rope, it did pretty well. Not so great with a grigri 2 but nice and easy to catch falls with an ATC guide.

In reply to Psych:

I tend to favour Mammut ropes and have had good experiences with my Revelation 9.2mm and Infinity 9.4mm. They both have dry treatment which i thinks helps for general longevity and handling not just water repellence. I have taken lots of falls on each and they handle abuse well. Over time (2-3 yrs) i've chopped the Rev from 70 to about 60 m, not had to do anything with the Infinity in 2 years yet.

If your budget won't stretch to these then maybe consider something like:

http://www.v12outdoor.com/product.php/4890/mammut-tusk-9-8mm-x-60m-superdry...

I think 10.5mm is far too thick when there are so many better alternatives.

I did buy an Edelrid rope out of necessity recently and although they are cheap they are not as good quality as Mammut. Same for Beal but this may have changed over the last few years.

In reply to Psych:
If you're going single pitch redpointing, falling a lot as you say, then don't bother with anything fancy. Get a big fat, long if you're doing routes over 30m, non-treated rope.

If you're going to be doing something more adventurous, then I'd still say long (70m), but go for 9.5mm or less, dry treatment is useful. I too like the mammuts, I have an 70m 8.9mm infinity and its been great, but I'd probably go for 9+ next time as the granite here chews it up too quick.

If I were buying a rope now, I probably wouldn't consider one that wasn't rated as both a half and a single, and I'd want the mammut duodess pattern where the stitch changes at the halfway point.

I think anyone that buys a 50 these days is a bit daft, as a 60 has so much more flexibility; as well as long pitches and 30m sport, you can fold it in half and use it as a pair for 99% of grit routes, MUCH cheaper than wearing out 2 ropes. That's also why its useful if its dual rated.

In reply to Psych:

The Eldridge perfect from go outdoors is a good hard wearing rope I purchased a few ropes last year a pair of Mammut pheanix, beal joker and I got the Eldridge as it was very cheap , to use on easier climbs with my wife and sport. I ended up using the perfect more than the joker. I used the Phoenix mostly though.

In reply to Psych:

I'm still very tempted by the superflash as it is a good price, but I think I will go with this 9.8mm Mammut instead:

http://www.dicksclimbing.com/collections/rope/products/dick-s-climbing-9-8m...

Hopefully I can get by with my existing rope indoors most of the time and keep the new one for outside. Thanks for the advice.

In reply to Psych:

That looks like a reasonable choice. I'd agree with Morgan about 10.5mm being too thick for decent belaying, particularly if you use a Gri-gri 2. If it's of any interest, I use a Beal Joker Unicore 9.1 for redpoints and a Tendon something 9.7-ish for working and indoors. The Beal's already wearing quite badly and I'm not sure if I'd go down that route next time although the Unicore system does seem to be a good idea therefore money well spent. The Tendon Master 9.4mm gets good reviews and is supposed to wear very well.

Also, someone else suggested a 30mm rope being fine for indoors. Well, it would be if your wall is only 15m tall - a lot of them are a good bit taller so bear that in mind!

PS that link you posted said it's currently out of stock so you'll need to hunt elsewhere if you've set your mind on the Mammut.

In reply to Fraser:

Thanks Fraser - The 50m is out of stock, but I'm going for the 60m. My local wall requires a 40m, but most of the routes can be done with less. For now I'll tie a knot in the end of my existing rope and stick to the shorter lines.

In reply to Psych:

I would also recommend Mamut ropes. They are on the expensive side but very well worth it.

In reply to Psych:


Despite the best efforts of the recent landslides, nearly all the cliffs at Portland aren't really 'sea cliffs' as they well above the sea, and generally the weather is rather warm!