UKC

I'm in the market for a new 80m rope. Any recommendations? It'll be used for both onsighting and projecting. I'd rather it was more hard-wearing than lightweight (within reason).

I've seen this one from Decathlon but I don't want to fall into the buy cheap, buy twice trap!

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/climbing-rope-9-5-mm-x-80-m-cliff-green/_/R-p...

Thanks 

I would say the best rope I have used is the petzl 9.2mm Volta it has been the best handling and the longest lasting, I normally go through a rope a season and have ropes for work to that get a lot of use. But its not cheap unless you can find it on offer. To be 100% open I used to be supported by Petzl, but I have changed who I am supported by, and I still rate petzl ropes the best rope I have used so I am happy that is un biased opinion. 

Second I would go for beal joker a good around rope and not far or the Petzl, and then I would go for an Edelrid (sorry I can't remember the name of the rope I had)

For the decathlon I tried the 9mm rope in 80m (it was a few years ago but don't think they have changes) and to start with it felt ok but turned almost cable like very quick and became hard to handle and not nice to use, so you end up replacing it before you need to. I wouldn't buy one again. 

I have one of those. It's completely fine and hard to beat at the price. Plenty of people I know use them too and I've yet to hear a complaint.

Is buying a half price rope twice as often actually an issue?

However I've had a mammut one for a number of years and besides the top roper swinging about burr a few meters in. Has also been fine. 

But then I'd prefer not to have that burr. So maybe buying twice as often would be an advantage. 

I have one of the Decathlon ones. They’re fine no nonsense, bargain ropes.

I used this one all this winter in Spain, Edelrid Kinglet 9.2. It is much nicer to use in terms of handling, seems stretchier too but I haven’t looked at the numbers.

https://www.outside.co.uk/edelrid-kinglet-9-2mm-single-rope.html

Have you had the chance to compare the Petzl Volta to Mammut ropes? 

I've used both the Mammut Infinity 9.5 and Serenity 8.7 for years.  They both have really nice handling and last well.  I need to replace my Infinity 9.5 sometime soon -- for general purpose sport climbing (and some Dolomiti trad) -- and would consider other options if something were really good.  Especially since the Mammut Infinity seems to be replaced by the Mammut Alpine now so may be different anyway.

But you know how you don't ever want anything "less" than what you already have used.

Sorry I haven't used a Mammut rope for quite a long time, I think the last Mammut rope I had was an 11mm, No reason for this just never seamed to be on my radar when I needed a new rope.

I understand that issue of not want to try something new and find its not as good or the worry when a brand changes what they offer, I hate this with climbing shoes. 

If I was you I would probably try the new Mammut rope as you have great experience with their rope's and you like them. If its not as good as the old models, I would send them an email about this. They need to know and then try something new. I do love the Volta and if I was buying tomorrow and not worried about the money that's what I would get, it just seams to hold the handling ability longer than another rope I have used. I have never seen a bad review for it ether but, it is expensive som maybe you can get very close for less.

I recently bought an Ederid Swift Eco dry based on this review: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/climbing/climbing-rope/edelrid-swift...

It was the only rope we used for a 3 week trip to Spain and very impressed with it so far and no real signs of wear so have high hopes that it’s going to last. Got it on a Black Friday deal for £158 with Bannanafingers but just checked and they are out of 80m and from a quick google can’t see any suppliers near that price.

The top end Decathlon rope has been very popular with people I know who say it lasts well and is great value at £130 https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/climbing-standard-triple-rope-8-9-mm-x-100-m-... though I’m sure the one you’ve linked is fine too

Cheers!  Just wondered as you have obviously tried a few diff types.  Yep, as illustrated in this thread, everybody has their favourites.  And of course most modern ropes are all pretty good, except for the odd handling nightmares.  The mammuts are mostly good for handling, but not all (8mm Phoenix and 10mm Galaxys are wirey things).  But the trick really is to not end up buying too many ropes full stop

If you want a really durable rope then go for Edelrid. They do handle a little more stiffly than the french offerings such as Petzl/Beal but offer vastly superior lifetime. With respect to the chap above I strongly disagree with his statement about the Volta, it's a fantastic rope but not durable unless you plan on only doing onsights/one hangs/alpine. Any serious projecting use will quickly knacker it (I've had test models from Petzl and experienced this first hand). 

For comparison Mammut have a similar stiffness to Edelrid (occasionally slightly softer) but generally poorer lifetime and a tendency to get fat quite quickly. They also generally suffer more from sheath slippage and can be quite arsey about warranty claims regarding this issue. 

Beal have lovely feel and better prices than Petzl but again suffer from shorter lifetime when projecting. They are perfect for running up endless limestone sport cliffs which makes sense considering where they are based (south of france). 

Tendon have a weirdly 'cheap' rep but actually have really good quality and lifetime although a distinctly cable-like feel which some people find offputting. Well worth considering. 

Simond (Decathlon) offer the best value by far but do fall a little short on the weight/thickness side of things so if you choose one from them it's better to go a little slimmer (9.5>). 

In the last 5 years I've extensively used the following ropes (some to failure) through my job: 

Petzl Volta/Arial

Edelrid Swift/Neo 3R/Heron/Eagle Light/Canary

Beal Joker/Opera

Mammut Galaxy/Serenity/Infinity 

Tendon Smart Lite 

From these the ranking would be as follows: 

Best overall rope if I had to own one: Edelrid Swift 

Most durable whilst staying light/flexible enough for most things: Edelrid Eagle Light

Nicest rope to climb with: Petzl Volta 

Lightest 'feel': Beal Opera 

Longest Lifetime: Edelrid Heron

Based on what you've mentioned you're likely best placed with a hardwearing 9.5 which would leave you with the Edelrid Eagle Light as my top pick - but there's no denying that the decathlon ropes are fantastic value. If I was on a very tight budget I'd be buying one of those. 

Hope this helps! 

I'm impressed with Edelrid's durability, too.  I have their skinny doubles (Apus) and was a bit nervous about using them as my main mountain ropes, but they are really holding up well.

I think Edelrid makes Petzl ropes, or at least think they used to, I am sure the petzl rad line was worked with Edelrid.

I do like Edelrid ropes I had a swift to test when it first came out, plus some others that I can't remember the name of. I tend to prefer ropes around the 9mm mark, Ii have a Climbing technology 9mm rope to use this season. Due to that maybe I am not the best person to comment on thicker ropes 9.5 and up, but I would expect them to maybe wear a little better if not a discount model. I shall bow to your 5 years of extensive use  

As far as I am aware Edelrid still design and make petzl climbing ropes. 

and Tendon make the current black diamond ropes.

I'd wager there's a few other brands doing similar. the world of dynamic rope manufacture seems quite small compared to industrial stuff. 

As you say very few actual rope manufacture's, I think Mammut make DMM ropes.

Wow, thanks all for your replies! I decided to go with the 8.9mm Simond from Decathlon, despite what I said about wanting hard wearing. Mainly because it's cheap for it's dia. and it'll look good in photos.

It will have a few weeks use at the end of the month in Kalymnos, so I'll report back with how it goes. Thanks again!

Avoid the Mammut Crag Classic. Last one of mine wore out much quicker than I’d expect from a decent sport rope. 

Good call. The pink Decathlon 8.9 is one of the best ropes I've ever had - good handling and surprisingly durable for its thinness. 

Contrary to John A & his friends' experience, I found the handling of the green 9.5 very disappointing by comparison.

Edelrid do indeed make Petzl's ropes but the spec comes from Petzl - they then produce the rope exactly to the spec given. Petzl amongst other things specify their ropes to be very soft because it gives them the nicest feel but this does compromise on durability. You can compare this by having a feel of an Edelrid Hummingbird next to a Volta - the Hummingbird feels much more sturdy despite being the same diameter. 👍🏻

Based on my personal experience, you won't be disappointed with this choice. I have two of the pinks, one 80m and one 100m and also one of their green 70m ropes. I also have a shorter 45m blue & white one and a 30m white static, all from Decathlon and all have been hard wearing and handle nicely. In terms of value for money, I just can't see past these ropes.

Edelrid Swift Protect Pro Dry 8.9mm at Rock + Run can be bought by the metre. 2 of my mates use it and although it looks like a poisonous tropical snake, it handles well and has a durability feature that should make it last. We did find the handling stiff as others have mentioned but no doubt it will calm down over time a little. I don't own this rope but wish I did.

Worth pointing out that R&R say the Swift Protect Pro Dry is not suitable for top-rope or working routes, although I can't see this stated anywhere on Edelrid's site.

I have a 60m Swift Protect Pro Dry that I use for trad & mountain, but use a cheaper fatter rope for sport and TR (Edelrid Parrot, which handles really nicely).

I've got a 100m 8.9mm triple rated rope from decathlon and its excellent. I bought longer thinking that if necessary can happily chop it several times before would start impacting on what routes can be done with it.

Sean

Where does it say this and why on earth would it not be suitable for top roping?

I agree. Nice rope that handles well. I actually only went to get a wall rope, 40 metes, the the 80s were on offer. Can’t miss a bargain 

https://rockrun.com/products/edelrid-swift-protect-pro-dry-8-9mm

You'd have to ask R&R, as I said, I didn't see anything on the Edelrid site.