UKC

Looking to buy a new rope. Won't get used that much but ideally i'll use it for both summer and winter. Looking at how thin ropes are now i'm just wondering how thin do people go? Won't tet used on much beyond VS and Grade III.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

No-one??

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:
I just bought a new single and decided to get a 10mm, which is my thinnest rope yet. Probably counts as fat for a lot of people.

Edit: I read the title!

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

Edelweiss Performance, 9.2mm. Unicore and triple rated, plus it comes in pretty neon pink and neon blue!

In reply to Removed User:

Does it inspire comfidence? As an old timer i'm used to my halfs being 8.5mm and a single being at least 10mm. I like the idea of minimal weight and I'm thinking that as it won't get used that often the wear and tear won't be that big a factor. I just find the idea of a single 9.2 quite daunting.

Or is that just me?

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:



I've been using a Mammut Infinity 9.5mm for 4 seasons and it still looks in great condition. Lots of love for this choice on here if you search.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:
Mammut Serenity maybe? I've not used one but have spoken to a few guides who really rate it as a versatile, lightweight rope for the mountains. Rated as both a single and a half. Think it's 8.7mm diameter.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

I have a Edelweiss Performance, 9.2mm (80m) that has done 3 trips to Kalymnos a Spanish trip and a trip to the Haute Alpes and its proving to be excellent. It is mainly used for on-sight climbing but I have worked sport routes and occasionally top roped and I have to say after the initial 'bloody hell this is thin' all fears have ebbed away and I'm very confident using this rope in any situation. We actually brought it as an upgrade of our Mammut Infinity as it was lighter and we needed a 80m. Whilst on that note the Infinity is also an excellent rope and is our standard sport rope for climbing in the UK.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

If you got for a triple rated, on many UK crags you can use one doubled up as double ropes, or just single for more straight forward routes - just make sure you have a belay device suitable for a 9mm single rope. Of the three I reviewed here http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3765 I literally just last week had to cut the Serenity in half after the sheath got damaged. A few metres had come of each end too, but otherwise it had been superb being used A LOT for over 5 years. It has been my go to rope for a lot of climbing over that time. Of the other the Swift is still going strong, and is currently in the Alps with a friend's daughter - long story, but anyway the rope is still good although hasn't been used as much as the Serenity. The Joker is also in decent shape and I've used it a fair amount as a winter rope, again hasn't been used as much as the Serenity, but probably will now that I have two 25 mtr bits of Serenity!

Basically 9mm triple-rated make great all-rounders if you're not falling off or top roping a lot.

In reply to SGD:
I'll second that, used mine a similar amount, and its well worth it for performance, and you will soon get used to the thickness!!
Nick
or thin-ness!!!!

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

Thanks all. Assumed a thin rope would be ok, but just need that confidence to trust it.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

I picked up a (bright pink!) Simond rope whilst out in Chamonix for some mountain stuff which comes in at 8.9mm and rated as a single or half. Been using it on single pitch trad back here and it's been great! It hasn't even crossed my mind about it feeling 'thin'.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

My 9.1 Beal Joker has been perfect. All the exclamation marks on the Beal website about it only being for advanced users etc made me nervous before I bought it, but I think that's just scaremongering to cover their butts. Beginners have used it, it's caught a few big falls (some with a very light belayer relative to the climber) and it's never not inspired confidence. It doesn't feel anything like hanging on a single skinny half rope. Everyone always goes on about how nice it handles and that they want one now.

Provided you're not an overly abusive rope owner there's not really a tonne of difference, apart from weight and pack size.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:
I'm also a Beal Joker user - and only have nice things to say about it. One of my favourite aspects is that when I pack for trips with 30m+ routes, I can bring the Joker + another half rope (alternating which half rope I bring per trip to spread the wear), and then depending on the route - I can either climb with halfs if it's hard / winding, or use just the joker as a single if it's easy or straight up.

My only complaint is that they got rid of the yellow and green colours (I've got a beat up yellow at the moment, and a brand new green joker ready to swap out for when it's dead - but after that I'm screwed).

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

Have just bought a 40m Mammut Serenity (8.7mm) which should be perfect for easier stuff where double ropes are not needed.

However, can't really comment on durability etc.. at the moment.

In reply to Father Noel Furlong:

I use an 8.7 Mammut serenity for long walk ins where the weight is an issue. I wouldn't want to take regular falls on it so as long as your gear isn't sparse and the grade isn't high then it should be ok. The durability so far is great after a year using it maybe once a month. Usually I use halves.

In reply to SenzuBean:

I too have a Joker Unicore 9.1mm and have to say it's worn pretty badly! It's not had that much use (exclusively sport climbing I think) and it furred up really quickly. It's already been chopped several times. It's lovely to climb and belay with though, but I'd not get another. I'd go for 9.4/5mm as a 'jack of all trades' rope.

I have a 9.5/6 Edelrid at the moment and it's great but will probably try a Mammut next time.