TAKE..! Jack Geldard reviews the Infinity Sprint 9.2 from Wild Country

What is it?

The Sprint 9.2 is a super light single rope. It can be for Trad climbing or Sport climbing. It is available in a variety of lengths to suit your purpose.

An explanation of the different types of ropes and their uses is available in the UKClimbing FAQ Article ' Ropes'

I have used the Sprint for around 6 months, from single pitch sport climbing, multi pitch trad climbing, dogging routes (more often than I'd like to admit), redpointing, big walls, indoors - everything. It has been brilliant. It is often thought that a skinny rope won't last long and is best kept for the crucial redpoint. With the Sprint I threw caution to the wind and used it for everything and it is still in great shape. I think this is down to the sheath - Wild Country seem to have managed the impossible, they've made a really tough hard-wearing sheath, that is supple enough to handle well.

The rope is super thin - it looks like a half rope! This is great because it is really light, but can be a bit unnerving at first. It does mean that the rope has a wide variety of uses - from being doubled up on trad routes with virtually no extra weight, to being used as a single rope on sport routes. I would recommend testing out your belay plate before attempting to hold any huge lobs, as the rope does feel very slick - a 'grabby' belay device is essential.

The rope really came in to its own in Madagascar recently, where we were climbing big routes and needed light ropes, but also wanted to do some sport climbing too. The Sprint was tough enough to deal with the sandpaper granite and light enough to go extreme big walling. We needed two ropes so that we could do full length abseils, but as the pitches we were climbing were right at our limit, we wanted to red-point on a single rope. Perfect.

Pros

• Super Light
• Tough
• Superb Handling

Cons

• Slick in large belay devices
• Won't take as many falls as a thicker rope

Technical Stuff

The Sheath: The unique feel of the sheath is due to Wild Country adopting lighter 'sheath yarns' which are finer and allow a more supple feel whilst retaining the durability.

The Core: The rope has an elongation of 7% and is rated to take 6 falls. It has an impact force rating of 840 (whatever that means?!) and a weight of 52g per metre. Any rope with a weight of less that 55g per meter is extremely light and the fact that Wild Country have got this rope down to 52g whilst maintaining a thickness of 9.2mm is astonishing.

Money - The Biq Question!

The Sprint 9.2 retails prices are: £115 for 50m, £135 for 60m, £150 for 70m

Conclusion:

A superb, super-light rope from Wildcountry. Perfect for those hardest redpoints. Can be used as a half rope. Handles well. For out and out sport dogging, I might go for a thicker model.

Other light weight single ropes include:

• Mammut Revelation 9.2 (55g per metre)
• Mammut Serenity 8.9mm (52g per metre)

Read the UKClimbing FAQ Article ' Ropes'