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Beal are giving you the chance to win one 70m Beal TOP GUN II 10.5mm UNICORE DRY COVER rope.

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In reply to UKC Articles:

What happens on the 12th fall? 😱

In reply to myrddinmuse:

It still holds the fall but exerts a force on the mass representing the climber which exceeds the threshold set by the test.

In case there's any confusion, ropes don't need retiring after they've taken the number of falls they're rated for in the test. The test measures their response to unusually severe falls which won't often be encountered in everyday climbing situations and failure in the test doesn't mean snapping.

In reply to Luke90:

Err no, the impact force is only meaured on the first drop. The number of drops given are to failure 

In reply to jimtitt:

Sorry for posting complete nonsense, I clearly misremembered almost entirely. How embarrassing.

In reply to jimtitt:

I am now totally confused. Are you saying we should retire ropes once we reach the quoted number of falls? If so, that would give many a sport rope a life expectancy of a week and a half, given the number of falls some people take working a route, let alone when practice falls are taken into account,  Surely that cannot be correct so I presume I must be misunderstanding what you are saying? To a non-technical bloke like me it seems that the length, severity, fall factor, soft catch/hard catch etc  must all come into the equation. My ropes take dozens of falls over their lifetime.

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

I've rather ruined my credibility on this thread, but yes, all those things are relevant. The test falls are a specific and very violent fall under controlled conditions. So no, your average real climbing fall is not equivalent to one of those eleven falls that this rope took before failure.

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

No.

In reply to jimtitt:

Well, as I said in my post, I was already sure I was misinterpreting what you weresaying  so I guess my question still stands. I{n practical terms what does the quoted number of falls mean for the average dimbo user (ie me) if indeed they mean anything  at all?

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

Probably nothing, some will tell you the rope might be more durable. Whether this is true is debateable.

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

If, after a fall, you think to yourself "blimey, that was harsh, that fall was so severe I can't believe the rope didn't snap" then you may want to consider it as having been close to a UIAA test fall. Most all other falls are insignificant plops that leave the rope completely unaffected, although if you do fall maybe 10m or more you'd be advised to let the rope 'rest' for half an hour or so while it regains its full elasticity; either that or just climb on the other end of it!

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

If you take a fall past your belayer 11 times then it is probably worth retiring your climbing shoes at the same time as your rope.

In reply to jimtitt and John Arran

So since my highly conscientious yellow streak keeps me away from such dramatic plummets I shall carry on as I have in the past and simply ignore the figures

In reply to JoshOvki:

Quite!

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

From memory a UIAA fall factor is 1.77 which is harsh! given that the average lead fall is probably more likely <0.5 (ie 10m of rope out, fall 1m above gear = FF 0.2 *) in real life a rope can take many falls without problems.

* I am aware that in practice friction through gear will effect the 'effective fall factor'

Steve

In reply to SteveD:

Exactly. I've been out today and taken a couple of bijou slippettes. I will not be binning the rope.

In reply to Wiley Coyote2:

Oh I think you should... just to be safe