UKC

Afternoon

I'm look at getting my first rope and after some advice on the length, will be using for indoor leading and the occasional visit to a sport crag.

Am I right in thinking get the longest I can afford of a decent quality or is there any point getting a shorter one just for use on the wall?

Ta

In reply to KennyG:
I got something similar to this for my first rope.

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/edelrid-perfect-10mm-50m-rope-p194190

I used it loads for indoor, sport, trad and my first winter route in the UK.

By the time it's getting a bit wrecked you'll probably know a bit more about what rope length and diameter you need for the types of climbing you're looking to do in the future.

In reply to KennyG:


Think about the longest you'll need for any sport crags you're likely to visit in the next few years.

All other things being equal, a longer rope is heavier and more faff to coil, flake, etc.. You don't want to end up with a rope that's way longer than you need because it's a pain.

In reply to KennyG:

You can get a rope for indoor + outdoor (it's not *too* much of a faff dealing with 50m inside... anyway it's good practice) and then when the ends get a bit tatty cut them off and relegate it to the wall

In reply to KennyG:

Thanks all, will get myself a 50m

In reply to KennyG:

If your planning on doing sports climbing in Europe I'd recommend getting a short rope for indoors and a 70m+ for outdoors.

The number of routes over 25m in Spain/Italy etc means a 50m rope is going to restrict your options a bit.

In reply to KennyG:

Yep, a cheapish (i.e. not that skinny) 50m rope seems the affordable option - it'll cope with indoor use, be long enough for outdoirs, and not be too expensive to THROW AWAY if damaged (or cut ends off if end damage). Just check your local sport crag is not 23m or bigger...and when outdoors, ALWAYS make sure the tail end of the rope is tied to rope bag or another climber - stops end running thru belay and dropping folk.

Other poster is right, you may need longer rope for abroad, 60 or 70 depending where. As a 50m fan (30m at my locall indoor wall), I find 70m a PITA tho.

In reply to KennyG:
Depending on the length of the walls you visit you may want to consider getting a cheap wall rope. They tend to get trashed quite quickly and having a longer rope is somewhat of a pain at a 12 metre wall. This rope will probably last you 1-3 years and would cost about 45 pounds.

I would then buy a rope for sport climbing when you need it to cover all your likely use cases so if you think you'll climb abroad definitely at least a 60 metre one would be good. This rope may well last you 5-10 years IMO and would cost about 80 pounds if you don't want dry treatment etc.

I think getting a longer rope for a shorter wall and sport routes will end up being a false economy pretty quickly.