UKC

Have been using a single rope for a few years now and although it has served me well I feel its time I invested in a half. Can't decide if its best just to go for 50m, or would a 60m be best for its added versatility. 95% of my clmibing is on grit so 50m would be fine but would an extra 10m be a godsend on the few occasions I head out in winter or do multi pitch? 60m would be a faff on the grit but was thinking I could just double it up and use it as two halfs? What do people think?

Thanks...

In reply to ralphio:

A single half rope or a pair?

I'd get a proper rope rather than 1 half rope. In fact id get a single anyway and get a pair of halfs as well ( save some pennies).

You can double a 60m single for grit where needed. Or just use it as a single which is possible most of the time on grit.

In reply to ralphio:

If you do climb in winter as you've suggested you're probably better off getting a 60m, especially if you intend to pair it up with a climbing partners rope. You'll find most have a 60m.

In reply to ralphio:

I asked the same question a while ago and got some very useful replies (do a search).

I ended up going for a pair of 50s

Mike

In reply to ralphio:

If you have plans to get into doing many big snow/ice routes then get a 60m, otherwise I'd just go for a 50m

In reply to ralphio: If 95% of your climbing is on grit, then except for places like Millstone I'd get a 35m single that wears well. E.g. there's an Edelrid 35m 10.2mm single rope in GO Outdoors for £50.

Take the outcrops out of the equation and then see what would be best, depends who you climb with in winter or multi-pitch; do they have a 50m or 60m half; etc.

In reply to ralphio: For 90% of climbers in England and Wales, 50m double ropes will make more sense. It is really only in Scotland where 60m ropes make more sense and even then only on more adventurous routes and in Winter.

These days there are plenty of options with 'triple rated' ropes that are light enough to be used as double ropes but can still be used singly.

However it also depends on what your climbing partners are doing. Pairs each having one 50m half work great but that is less common than it used to be.

In reply to ralphio:

60m will give you more options for tying in to the middle and using it on its own on short grit outcrops (with the compromise that you'll have two ropes the same colour), in addition to giving you an extra 10m for winter or multipitch (which may or may not be useful).

In reply to ralphio:

I use a 9mm 40m offcut doubled for short grit crags with good belays and an 9mm 60m doubled for most bigger grit crags (belays well back can use a lot of rope). I pair up the 60ms for big multipitch or ice but on lower grade multipitch make do with one rope and a reduced rack to keep weight down and move fast. I only use single ropes for sports climbs aid climns and approach abseils.

In reply to ralphio:

60m is a total pain in the arse, I`m not joking pulling that extra in takes ages, is tiring and clutters the stance. I have a pair of 30m halves, and 1 x 50m half and 1 x 60m half but I only use that abroad, but if I had to have only one a 50m is definitely the way to go unless you intend doing a lot of Winter stuff and in that case I would say buy an extra rope and have 50m and a 60m.

In reply to ralphio:

I like 60s. Better for grit where one doubled is perfect and gives ample rope for slightly further away belays; and there are quite often times when I want to run pitches together and build a good, rope-hungry belay where the additional pain of the extra rope is paid back.

In reply to Jon Stewart: Going for the obvious here, are 55s still available?

I'm old enough to remember when the standard length was 45m and a 50m was considered long.

In reply to Jon Stewart:


Though not having different colours is a drawback. It surprises me that more places don't sell 35m or 40m half ropes for grit. Ideal would be a pair of 35m ~ 9mm ropes for grit, and a pair of 50m or 60m ~ 8.5mm ropes for bigger crags.

In reply to ralphio:

I wonder if they sell 60m half ropes, with each end a different colour i.e. changes colour in the middle? Would be extremely useful for outcrop climbing and fine for proper climbing, provided the other rope was in a different colour scheme.

In reply to ralphio:

60m triple if you only go climbing say, once a month. If you go more then get a rope for each use - they will last longer for each respective facet of the sport.

In reply to ralphio:

50m ropes 99% of the time are enough. There's only a few routes I want to do that need longer - Darius and a few others. I've done MP on 60s and it is generally a bit annoying with additional coiling