UKC

I'm never sure what to get, normally i bottle it and buy 6mm - but i know this is probably excessive, what do people on here usually carry?

In reply to ebdon:

Tom Procter could snap 5mm perlon with his bare hands. Though he did have to put a knot in it to weaken it first!

In reply to Al Evans:

Well i guess that saved carrying a knife for cutting the stuff!
A quick google tells me that 5mm is generally considered a bit thin (at least by Yanks, perhaps i wasn’t being so wet after all.

I always remember my first trip to the alps when i had loads of 5mm to save weight - but i was so worried about it i always doubled it up!

In reply to ebdon:

5mm is fine. I imagine the 5mm made in the 70s Al is carping on about wasn't as strong as the stuff you can currently buy these days. Rope manufacturing techniques have come a long way. Tie it off with a double fisherman's or an overhand knot.

6mm is fine if it gives you piece of mind, but it is a lot bulkier/heavier.

In reply to ebdon:

5mm here, although the last time I got some the guy in the shop looked worried and said 7 would be better. If there was a reason to use thicker then my camera strap is 7mm but 5mm has always been enough so far.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


And Tom Proctor did use cricket balls as finger exercisers.....

In reply to ebdon:

I'm happy with 5mm.

In reply to ebdon:

Personally, I opt for an old shoelace. But seriously, 5mm tat is good for ~450kg of static weight - you'd have to eat a LOT of pies to break it.

In reply to ebdon:

Well I've snapped 5mm used as a harness line with a traction kite...

In reply to ebdon:


Usually carry slings, I rarely plan to bail, I just make do.

I've abbed off various bits of tat, 5mm looks thin especially under tension but being rational about it I know it's fine and I'm happy to trust it. I'd buy 6mm or tape if I were replacing my chalk bag strap, the weight and monetary cost over 5mm is nil.

If I were buying arm-fulls to bail off something big I'd get 5mm.

jk

In reply to ebdon:

It's not the strength i'm worried about, but it being cut. I therefore usually have a bit of 5mm and a bit of 6mm to hand.

However, for cragging in the UK where an abseil from a belay is the most likely scenario following a shortage of ability or courage, then a bit of 5mm in my pocket for a tree or some pegs at a belay serves well.

In reply to nniff:

I talking more getting off bigger stuff where I’m more worried about the cord getting cut then actually snapping, (on a recent trip to Morocco i took 6mm after reading some unpleasant abseiling stories). Carrying a bit of both probably isn’t a bad idea - some for when its my turn to go first and some for when its my partners!.

In reply to ebdon:

The issue isn't strength, its abrasion resistance. 5mm is plenty strong enough but the thinner the cord, the more care you have to take to avoid it rubbing across edges.

In reply to nniff:


If I'm worried about it being cut I'd rather have a length of 5mm and some duct tape than a length of 6mm.

In reply to Tom Ripley Mountain Guide:


Yeh, well I am talking about old fashioned perlon not modern Dynema and stuff like that

In reply to ebdon:
It depends how much you think you'll need and whether you're taking a rucksack anyway. A few metres of recently retired half rope is very reassuring and won't weight much more or take up much more space than 6mm. If weight is more of an issue, I'd take 6mm.

In reply to ebdon:

Use 5mm myself carried as a 3.5m length.

More than happy to use it when there's no sharp edges involved. If I stumble across an off cut of rope or thinker cord that looks decent I'll ab off it but I won't go from pre-placed 5mm.

In reply to ebdon:

so long as you don't shock load 5mm it should be fine I have in the past used a shoelace !! abbing off in the Alps when gear was rudimentary

In reply to ebdon:

To me its less about what feels good to ab off, and more to do with what feels good to know the rope is hanging from on when the ropes get stuck.

In reply to GrahamD:

I have to say I've abbed off all sorts of diameter rope / tape including 5mm. However when I'm carrying cord for likely / planned abs I carry 6mm (or thicker if it's laying around). It's more abrasion resistant and if abing off abakalovs thicker cord (and even better tape) is safer. 4 metres of ab tat is 28 grams heaver in 6mm cord compared with 5mm, between two people 14 extra grams each.

I can start to the sense of carrying 5mm if you need 10 metres of the stuff. Maybe carrying some of each makes sense in that scenario.

In reply to ebdon:

Whilst 5mm may be strong enough technically, there have been tragic accidents recently when abbing off this size of cord when the sling cut. Don't see the point of not carrying decent abb tat, if nothing else for the peace of mind.

In reply to ebdon:


Any old tat that looks safe?

In reply to ebdon:

According to Needlesports website 6mm is 7g per metre heavier than 5mm, 23g per metre v. 16g a metre. You'd have to be carrying a hell of a lot of it for it to make a real difference to the weight of your sac!

In reply to ebdon:

3mm static cord 4g/m 1.8kN
4mm 10g/m 4kN
5mm 16g/m 5.5kN
6mm 23g/m 8kN
7mm 33g/m 11kN
8mm 40g/m 15kN
9mm rope 52g/m 19.5kN

5.5mm Spectra 20g/m 15.9kN ****needs triple fishermans****

I go with the spectra

In reply to ebdon:

I always used 5mm, even in the 70s I don't think it was any weaker then, and sometimes thinner but it does depend a bit on the circumstances. 5mm going over a sharpish edge, or on a long jerky abseil could perhaps be usefully replaced with something thicker, at least with age this has been my case... or maybe I'm getting more cautious

In reply to ebdon:

Climbing in the Emirates back in the mid 90's when no local climbing gear suppliers existed, we were loath to part with any decent stuff for bailouts. We each used to carry a couple of long slings made of 10mm polypropylene for the inevitable bailouts when we ran into an impasse, (or hanging death flakes) a couple of pitches off the ground. Until it disintegrated due to the action of UV rays, the brightly coloured tat (blue or green) served as a warning to others!

In reply to CurlyStevo:

If you have a whole load of 5mm, there is nothing stopping you doubling up if you are worried about edges.

In reply to GrahamD:

Obviously - but twice as much 5mm weighs more than 6mm.

In reply to ebdon:

Chains, preferably

In reply to CurlyStevo:

Agreed - more a general comment to the thread on the suitability / non suitability of 5mm: If thats what you have, there is no need to worry about strength but if you are worried about edges, you can always double up. As you can with 6mm of course.

In reply to JJL:





Possibly spectra is not ideal for this use http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Cord-Tape/Cor... "also you must cut it with a hot knife, pull the sheath back 5mm, chop this amount from the core, pull the sheath over the end of the core and heat seal it in place - you need to do this because the core and sheath do not bond together when cut" as the underlined maybe as issue for you, and you would be leaving tat that would be even harder for the next person to check visually, possibly a potential booby trap.

In reply to Senior_Social_Worker:

A side note on these UHMWPE cords, they are sometimes used in 2:1 hauling as the z cord (the lack of stretch improves hauling efficiency), where they seem to be known for unpredictably snapping (presumably under loads around bodyweight). Different application with orders of magnitude more flexing of the cord, but still - important to keep in mind the limitations of the cord you're using.