UKC

The Pitch is billed as the 'ultimate half rope for four season use in all weather conditions'. So is it? Heather Swift subjected it to months of alpine and cragging action to find out.

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In reply to UKC Gear:

On the face of it nothing described seems an improvement over the standard choice Mammut Genesis - which has been around for 10-15 years - and the DMM is heavier. (100g might not be much to the reviewer in the alps but it's a lot at the end of a long trad pitch - 3 or 4 lightweight quickdraws, and I have fallen off routes before because of rope weight.)

It's really disappointing if there is still no half rope out there with Genesis durability (and stretch) but ~8mm thick and a lot lighter. Singles have come on hugely in that time period.

In reply to Si dH:

I'd expect it to be more durable than the Genesis, as it's got more material per metre plus a higher sheath percentage. Your expectations regarding getting a thinner rope to be as durable as a Genesis are misplaced. How exactly could this be achieved? The answer is with a thicker sheath, but you then run into the problem of less material in the core, which makes it difficult to keep the impact force low. This is a big problem because thin, light ropes are used for exactly the sort of climbing where protection is poor and spaced and hence the low impact force becomes important. Not much point having a durable rope if you're not around to use it anymore!

In reply to danm:

The answer is not a thicker sheath, the answer must be in improved materials technology. As I said - Genesis have been around for 15 years and are still the best thing out there, which is utterly ridiculous.