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REI Dividend + Need a New Rope = Which rope?

Original Post
RimWalker Howard · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 0

Hey everybody, long time listener, first time caller.

I've got round about $200 in my REI dividend, which looks about right for buying my first rope. Leaders from their selection so far are the Petzl Xion 10.1 60 meter and the Mammut Tusk 9.8 70 meter, but I'm open to suggestions.

To round out my info - I climb in the Donner-Tahoe area with trips throughout the Sierra - mostly been bouldering but aim to do more top roping and sport climbing this summer.

I've got an ATC XP, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any advice.

S Denny · · Aspen, CO · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 20

I've heard nothing but complaints about Petzl ropes.

I love my Mammut Infinity.

Alvaro Arnal · · Aspen, CO · Joined May 2010 · Points: 1,535

+2 for the Mammut Infinity. Just started using mine but so far it's a great rope: light, smooth, feels great.

RimWalker Howard · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 0

Thanks guys. Wouldn't 9.5 be a little skinny for a newer climber/top roping?

NC Rock Climber · · The Oven, AKA Phoenix · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 60

IMHO, your first rope for TR and sport should be the cheapest one you can get your hands on. The New England Equinox 10.2mm x 60m Dry Rope that REI has for $144.00 looks perfectly fine. So does the Mammut Apex Classic 10.5mm x 60m Non-Dry Rope for $159.95.

Other than price, the big question should be 60M or 70M. I have owned 70s exclusively for a while now. In the right situation the extra 10Ms is priceless. However, for a lot of the stuff I do a 60M works great. You need to decide which length is right for you.

I have owned Sterling ropes for a while now, and think that they make an awesome rope. In my experience, they just last longer.

Good luck with you purchase.

Adam Stackhouse · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 13,970

Don't forget to employ the annual 20% off coupon.

RimWalker Howard · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 0

Thanks NC - that sounds more like what I've heard, but I do want to get a dry treated rope for all the dust up here. I have heard bad things about the last generation of Petzl ropes, but this Xion seems to have good reviews.

And good call on the 20% coupon, I imagine that'll be out next week?

Peter Rakowitz · · Portland, OR · Joined May 2010 · Points: 440

The New England Glider is an awesome rope.

Finn The Human · · The Land of Ooo · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 106

The 20% off coupon came in the mail with my dividend. I'll also add another vote for Sterling, they make good, durable ropes.

Rob Selter · · running springs Ca · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 125

I have to say that petzl ion is not a bad rope. I use mine at least once a week from family TR to jousha tree trad, and it is still in good shape. But if you are willing to fork out a few buck the the mammut supersafe is a awesome rope I just got a 70.

Parker Kempf · · Bellingham, WA · Joined Jul 2011 · Points: 210

i haven't found any 1 company to be better than any other, i've owned petzl, bluewater, mammut, edelweiss, PMI, and beals so far
i make sure that my rope is always at least 70 meters and dry treated...you never know where you may end up climbing in the coming years
i like bi-pattern except if you have to chop an end 'cause of a core shot the middle mark is no longer correct....but at least your rope is probably still at least a 60m!
I like to keep the diameter between 9.4-9.8, any bigger and it gets alot bulkier and heavier (more suited for walls) and any smaller and it gets harder (IMO) to safely belay with

happy hunting

B Owens · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 60
NC Rock Climber wrote:IMHO, your first rope for TR and sport should be the cheapest one you can get your hands on. The New England Equinox 10.2mm x 60m Dry Rope that REI has for $144.00 looks perfectly fine. So does the Mammut Apex Classic 10.5mm x 60m Non-Dry Rope for $159.95. Other than price, the big question should be 60M or 70M. I have owned 70s exclusively for a while now. In the right situation the extra 10Ms is priceless. However, for a lot of the stuff I do a 60M works great. You need to decide which length is right for you. I have owned Sterling ropes for a while now, and think that they make an awesome rope. In my experience, they just last longer. Good luck with you purchase.
I don't see any reason to get the cheapest rope possible?

That said, I do think that a 10.2mm rope would be more ideal, and whether you should get a 60 or a 70 depends on the routes in the area you climb most. While you can save money by getting a non dry treated rope, it is a nice feature to have and improves rope longevity.

I don't want to say that the more money you spend the better the rope will be, because that's not true, but I don't think that you should buy from the bottom of the barrel if you can avoid it. Ropes around the $200 range seem to be of ideal quality and value, and they are often on sale.
FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276
Tim Stich · · Colorado Springs, Colorado · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,520
Bowens wrote: I don't see any reason to get the cheapest rope possible?
Well, they tend to get trashed a lot faster. So cheap is good for this kind of use.
dorseyec · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 5
Bowens wrote: I don't see any reason to get the cheapest rope possible?
Thats because you are a new climber yourself... Typically a first rope gets top roped on a lot which causes it to wear out faster. So whether you spend $200 or $100 on a rope its going to wear out just as fast. Make sense?
wankel7 · · Indiana · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 10

Get a bI pattern rope...you'll thank yourself every time you setup a top rope or rap.

jack s. · · Kamloops, BC · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 10

My 2 cents:
There seem to be two classes of thought on Petzl ropes: most people love them and write glowing reviews. Then there are the 10% (guessing) of people who had their rope disintegrate on the first couple uses and were told to f off by Petzl. This last reason is why I will never buy a Petzl rope again. The sheath should never peel off by rappelling with an ATC when the rope is new out of the packaging, IMHO.

So yeah, perhaps some other 10mm rope would be good as a first rope? I like my Edelweiss.

B Owens · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 60
dorseyec wrote: Thats because you are a new climber yourself... Typically a first rope gets top roped on a lot which causes it to wear out faster. So whether you spend $200 or $100 on a rope its going to wear out just as fast. Make sense?
No, that doesn't make sense. For one, many climbs often involve top-roping for at least one climber involved (multipitch/most trad climbing). Second, the abuses from multipitch climbing seem to be just as harsh sometimes as top roping; don't you think that lead falls, rapelling, and winding trad pitches are harsh on a rope?. Third, the assumption that a climber's first rope will see a lot of top-roping seems far less than universally accurate; although in the first few months it saw more toprope action, at this point my first rope has seen as many pitches of lead climbing as it has top-rope belays, and the lead climbing has worn it out far worse than the top-roping. Why shouldn't I have made my first cord one that could transition well into multiple uses?

Last, and most important I think, your logic, if valid (that you should get a cheaper rope just because it's going to where out) should apply with equal force to every rope a climber purchases, not just the first.

No, I think that the price-point that one decides upon should be a factor of what they can afford and their intended usage. If you anticipate anything beyond setting up topropes for the next two years, then I think that you should consider it when buying your first rope.
DannyUncanny · · Vancouver · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 100
Bowens wrote: No, that doesn't make sense. For one, many climbs often involve top-roping for at least one climber involved (multipitch/most trad climbing). Second, the abuses from multipitch climbing seem to be just as harsh sometimes as top roping; don't you think that lead falls, rapelling, and winding trad pitches are harsh on a rope?. Third, the assumption that a climber's first rope will see a lot of top-roping seems far less than universally accurate; although in the first few months it saw more toprope action, at this point my first rope has seen as many pitches of lead climbing as it has top-rope belays, and the lead climbing has worn it out far worse than the top-roping.
Really? None of those situations are similar to top roping. The thing that kills ropes is lowering. Unless all of your top rope climbers plan to walk off or rappel every climb, then the rope will be weighted and dragging over rock as they come down. The same applies to lowering off a lead climb.

I agree with the original advice, get the cheapest possible rope. Over 10mmm diameter too. Don't go for light or waterproof or bipattern or anything fancy. 60 m is plenty in my opinion, this may vary by region. There are lots of people out there with 5 year old unused ultralight bipattern twin ice ropes that have never used them once. If you haven't done something before, there is a risk that you might stop doing it in the near future. Don't get stuck with a $300 alpine technomarvel in the closet.

If you have lots of money to spare, and get personal gratification from having the newest best gear (not that that is a bad thing), then get whatever the sales person sells you on.
Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
Bowens wrote: No, that doesn't make sense. For one, many climbs often involve top-roping for at least one climber involved (multipitch/most trad climbing). Second, the abuses from multipitch climbing seem to be just as harsh sometimes as top roping; don't you think that lead falls, rapelling, and winding trad pitches are harsh on a rope?. Third, the assumption that a climber's first rope will see a lot of top-roping seems far less than universally accurate; although in the first few months it saw more toprope action, at this point my first rope has seen as many pitches of lead climbing as it has top-rope belays, and the lead climbing has worn it out far worse than the top-roping. Why shouldn't I have made my first cord one that could transition well into multiple uses? Last, and most important I think, your logic, if valid (that you should get a cheaper rope just because it's going to where out) should apply with equal force to every rope a climber purchases, not just the first. No, I think that the price-point that one decides upon should be a factor of what they can afford and their intended usage. If you anticipate anything beyond setting up topropes for the next two years, then I think that you should consider it when buying your first rope.
It doesn't look like you understand what wears out a rope. The climbing is not what wears out a rope, it's the lowering and hanging that do (specifically lowering and hanging on low angled rock or routes that go over a bulge). Seconding a multipitch won't put anywhere near the amount of wear that a new climber TRing a route will. Most lead falls will put much less wear on a rope than TRing will because the rope is generally only running over a carabiner while weighted, not over the rock. Again, the part that wears a rope is when the rope is moving over the rock while weighted. The advice is true, you will wear out your first rope(s) much more quickly than later ropes, so get a cheaper (and thicker) rope to begin with.
Matt Roberts · · Columbus, OH · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 85

My first rope was a Sterling Marathon 10.4 Bipattern, that was ~3-4 years ago. My second was a Marathon 10.1 Bipattern.

The Marathons handle very well and are very durable. They aren't the lightest, especially at 10.1 and 10.4, but if you are asking which rope to buy, then the weight of your rope will not be your limiting factor for a while.

Personally, I'm happy to pay extra for the bipattern. I came to climbing late, and with a significant number of dependents, so an extra $30 for some peace of mind on long routes & rappels is worth it for me.

In short, buy something durable, thick and cheap. If you've got cash to blow, buy something durable, thick and colorful, and get some cool biners or QDs.

Matt.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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