UKC

What options are there for thin single ropes please?

In reply to The Lemming:

Depends a lot on what you're climbing. Trad or sport? Mainly onsighting or doing a lot of sitting on rope redpointing?

In reply to The Lemming:

9.8mm? Thin?

In reply to The Lemming:

9.8mm isn't particularly thin, in fact I would say it is about the thickest rope most people should consider buying for sport climbing. Maybe a 10mm but don't go any thicker than that if you want it to function with an assisted-braking belay device.

The rope you have will work with all the devices we review here -
https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=9402

Alan

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:

Borrow a load and try them out. I've got 4 or 5 different ones and always come back to my well-worn ATC Sport.

In reply to The Lemming:

GriGri works great with 9.8mm.

In reply to The Lemming:

9.8 is thick nowadays... and still the best for such a rope is the orig. GriGri (not plus or 2).


That said, perhaps you made a typo and actually meant 8.9mm (eg. Edelrid Swift).

In which case, the answer is still orig. GriGri, but newer ones do work better with thinner ropes. In fact, about all assisted breaking devices will work, provided you utilize them correctly (as in assisted breaking, not autolock... so never ever let the dead mans end loose/un-gripped).

In reply to Si_G:

I have an ATC XP at the moment and was wondering what else was out there. I was out at a crag last month and somebody had what I thought was an over-engineered piece of kit for the purpose of causing friction and it got me wondering what was out there in this brave new modern world.

Thanks Alan, for the link to the reviews of modern designs of belay devices.


Edit

Anybody use a click-up, and what do you think of it, especially for somebody that has used an ATC for 20+ years?

In reply to The Lemming:

I use a click up for sport. It seems very intuitive and smooth when paying out or when lowering. To me, more so than with Gri-gris... but I guess it is a case of what you persevere and practise with. The audible click is reassuring!

In reply to The Lemming:

Edelrid Jul 2 is simple, steel and compact. There's plenty of decent semi-automatics out there, but that's my favourite having used the Smart, Fish, Jul/Mega Jul to name a few. Grigris are ace but heavier and more complex - coming from an ATC you might not appreciate it.

In reply to The Lemming:

As others have said, that's not thin.

Stick with your current device unless you want an assisted breaking device for working sport routes and such like, for which personally I'm a grigri fan.

In reply to The Lemming:

The DMM Mantis is fab, works from 10mm single down to 8mm half ropes and it's really light.

In reply to The Lemming:

I use a Click-Up indoors and out, it's really easy to use and intuitive and easy to pay out loads of slack quickly. It also stays functional as a belay device if accidentally threaded the wrong way, although it won't lock automatically and I've never done this.
I'm sure it would work fine with a thickish rope, it works with the top ropes at AW and they're massive!

In reply to MischaHY:


My mates have had grigri's since they first came out and I have never been allowed to play with a grigri.

In reply to The Lemming:

Most people I run into use devices similar to the ATC, they are simple, last forever, light and have very little to go wrong. I had to switch from my DMM Bug to DMM Mantis when I went down to 8mm half ropes and was very impressed.

I don't think I'd personally use a Gri-Gri, but our local climbing center makes good use of them on the beginner courses.

In reply to The Lemming:

Do so, they're brilliant.

Some people inexplicably prefer the old style atc but I strongly assume these people dont catch many falls.

In reply to MischaHY:

It's the catching that I am concerned about. Even though we follow the climber must not fall rule and we've had 4 falls in 20+ years, outside, I'm concerned about holding a fall with an ATC these days.

I shall treat myself to a new bit of kit.

Cheers all

In reply to The Lemming:

The Click Up is brilliant.

In reply to The Lemming:


Gods, if I followed that I'd never get anything done!