UKC

at present i've a 50m single but looking at going to half ropes should i go for 50 or 60m length? i climb mostly on grit hence half ropes but intend to go hot rocking (spain/majorca) this year.

In reply to Paul Hy: As a general rule: 50 metre half ropes are sufficient for UK trad; 60 metre single for UK sport; 70 metre single for European sport; 60 metre half or twins can be handy on continental ice. There are one or two places where an 80 metre single is required but to date not many and you can usually frig them.

Al

In reply to Paul Hy:
For the uk i would go for 50m, i have been using 60's and have never needed the extra length, i am however constantly annoyed about having to pull up 10 more meters of slack for a second.
You mentioned short grit routes too, potentially you can just use your single rope, but tie in to both ends and voila, double ropes.
If you are planning a sport trip then you might want a 70m single rope, there are plenty of routes that will come in handy for over there, in the UK your 50m will be fine.

In reply to Paul Hy:

I've just ordered a skinny (9.4mm) 80m single bicolour rope to use as halfs for UK cragging, but to also allow it to be used as a long continental sports rope. I'ts not ideal, but seemed the best option to me without having to buy a pair of halfs and a separate longer rope for sports

In reply to Paul Hy:

Rope length is nearly always a compromise. I have used pretty much any length. My biggest problem is usually with the amount of rope I have to pull through - that often seems to be the most tiring part of the day! For grit, I have to admit that I prefer my 35m half ropes (cut down from old 50m ropes). I currently use 60m half ropes for most of my climbing - I bought them with an eye to winter climbing - and while they have been very useful several times (I like to run pitches together, and some of the abseils descents in the Wye valley are easier on longer ropes), they are substantially heavier and bulkier than 50m ropes and there is noticeably more rope to pull through on shorter pitches. For grit they would be massive overkill.

I think for summer use in the UK, I would stick with 50m half ropes for most cases.

For Spain, I have to admit that I would get a rope that is at least 60m, but depending on where you go, you can usually do quite a lot of routes with a 50m.