UKC

This may sound a bit cheapskate but hey ho.

I'm looking to replace my tatty, fluffy 40m Edelrid sport rope that I've had since I first started out, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by choice, and I've got to admit that rope (along with rubber compounds) are definitely my weakest areas of kit knowledge. I'm looking for something that I can sport with, use as a half for trad, and also use for summer alpinism, which I know will be compromising in some areas but being a student I can't afford a roster of ropes! There was a promising looking Edelrid (Corbie I think) on sale recently that was triple rated, but I understand top-roping for working routes on this sort is a bit of a death-wish? Or is that simply not true?

Also, 60m?

Would really appreciate any advice or recommendations!

In reply to TomAlford: What ropes do your climbing partners have?

If you're skint then buying super skinny triple-rated ropes is probably a luxury.

If you're going to climb indoors or dog sport routes more than once in a blue moon, 9.4mm or thicker single is the sensible option. However, if those you normally climb with already have ropes you can use much of the time, a 60+metre skinny single might work out great as you can save it just for the longest and hardest pitches outdoors.

Equally, if you're going to climb trad you'll want a reasonably matched pair so either that is a major investment for two ropes or might you'll want to go one each with a partner.

Whatever other ropes I have, these days I ALWAYS have a short (30-40m) cheap single that I use at the wall and whenever possible outdoors so that my more expensive ropes are kept for when they are actually needed.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:

That sounds very sensible, I was just worried about potentially wearing out a fancy rope too quickly by dogging sport routes! Also, is it worth paying for the posh tech that you often see in alpine ropes, or is it largely unnecessary for the Alps in the summer?

In reply to TomAlford:

You can pick up a 60m Edelweiss Performance for £125 on bananafingers.

http://www.bananafingers.co.uk/edelweiss-performance-92mm-p-1642.html

Best rope I've ever owned, I got the 70m and it comes in at about 3.8kg. Electric pink of course, it looks amazing. I've had it a couple years and used it for everything from sport > winter > trad as single and halfs > TRing. Still handles quite well and it's got a lot of life left. I'm sure there's loads of reviews out there for it that'll explain its qualities better than I can though!

In reply to TomAlford:


If you're lookin' for most bang for bucks. Get 2 ropes, I'll work out cheaper in the end.

A sturdy (and cheapo) ~10mm single rope for sport, toproping and workin' routes (60m is fine for most stuff, 50m might be ok for UK but not sure of this... oh and such a rope should not cost more than 80 quid, preferable less for 60m eg. https://www.bergfreunde.co.uk/mammut-zopa-97-bergfreunde-edition/ ).

Then get a triple rated (bargain) rope to be used in the alps and as a double... also can be used for those desperate redpoints (as a single). Size to match your partners rope. (eg. http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/mammut87serenitydry-p-372270.html or the bargain Swift in 80m).

In reply to TomAlford:

The majority of the strength of a rope is provided by the core, for a skinny single (or triple rated rope that has to meet the single rope standard) this means that the core has to be fat to provide the strength and the sheath has to be thin to keep the diameter down. The sheath provides some strength, but its main purpose is to protect the core, the thinner the sheath the less durable the rope. Trad climbers will not tend to work a route taking repeated falls, or use the rope to lower off (they may top out, or abseil off multi-pitch routes, so the rope isn't dragged through a lower-off or over edges whilst loaded) so the sheath doesn't take too much punishment. Sport climbers may find that a rope with a thin sheath wears faster and needs to be replaced more often, so whilst the initial outlay is greater, you may end up spending less in the long run by having thin halves and a fat single rather than one triple rated rope.

In reply to EddInaBox:

This makes so much sense, why did no one ever explain rope to me like that!