Sterling Evolution Velocity...

My last rope was a Sterling Nano 9.2 and other than the fact that it had to my top-roping friends an annoying amount of static elongation, I loved the rope. I just picked up the Evolution Velocity last week and have climbed on it twice. My initial impressions are that it is durable so far, has a very good feel, love the look (I snagged the bicolor silver), and seems light to me. It literally feels very similar in weight to the Nano I had... or perhaps I have gotten stronger :). As was said before, I am surprised at how fast this thing picks up dirt. I used a tarp religiously on my first two outings, and my hands are already getting dirty belaying with it. I am sure the g/f will complain about this soon as well. Other than that, I like the rope a lot!

Jeff Chrisler wrote:My last rope was a Sterling Nano 9.2 and other than the fact that it had to my top-roping friends an annoying amount of static elongation, I loved the rope. I just picked up the Evolution Velocity last week and have climbed on it twice. My initial impressions are that it is durable so far, has a very good feel, love the look (I snagged the bicolor silver), and seems light to me. It literally feels very similar in weight to the Nano I had... or perhaps I have gotten stronger :). As was said before, I am surprised at how fast this thing picks up dirt. I used a tarp religiously on my first two outings, and my hands are already getting dirty belaying with it. I am sure the g/f will complain about this soon as well. Other than that, I like the rope a lot!

I don't think it's dirt, it's the aluminum oxide from the carabiners.

best ropes i've ever owned also. i probably won't buy anything else again. i have an 80m and don't really find it THAT heavy. durable as hell.

on middle marks

1. get a light coloured rope if you want to be able to see yr middle mark after some use ... DO NOT get a dark coloured one ... when you depend on yr middle mark, ie cold tired hungry and in the dark, you want it to be more visible than times square ...

2. IMO you should be training yourself to find the middle the old fashion way ... one of these days youll be climbing on someone elses rope, or a rope that has been choped, and the habits you develop will follow you ...

3. for multi rappels, simply have one person put the end through the chains and secure the rope ... that person then pulls the rope though while the other makes sure theres no knots and it runs clean ... when the rope falls, pull up that end and feed both through at the same time ... IMO its a very good idea to pull up that end anyways to make sure it doesnt get caught ... with practice this is fast and makes sure yr at the halfway, and keeps the rope cleaner ... while speed is important on multi rappels, not effing up is even more so IMO

Ryan Williams wrote: So to summarize: 1) You uncoiled the rope inproperly and/or aren't very good at threading anchors or rope management 2) You are too lazy to find the middle of the rope the normal way 3) You bought the wrong diameter rope! Of course it's heavier than a 9.5... because it's a 9.8! It's no heavier than any other 9.8.

Agreed that is a pretty snotty remark. Especially coming from a moderator. How about moderating yourself and following rule number 1?

I have this rope as my beater working rope now and would recommend it. Of the working 9.8-10 ropes I've used in the last few years (Mammut Tusk and Galaxy, Maxim Glider and Sterling Marathon) I would say it has the best hand and is definitely the dirtiest (?). The impact force is pretty low - certainly compared to the Maxim, and impressive given the low dynamic stretch. None of that matters if you have a modern belayer. I was prepared to be annoyed at the high static stretch when dogging routes but you don't really notice. My partner got one after using mine. It's the lightest of the working ropes I've used but still 62g/m. I have a 9.1 Joker for sendage - or more accurately -when I think (usually incorrectly) I'm gonna send.

And it comes in bicolor if that's important to you. Downside: pricey (but I found one from EMS on sale - with the gear bucks it was about $140 -score).

Good luck! (the truth is you can't really go that wrong with any certified rope)

David Horgan wrote: 0) Hm. Well, since I responded to the OP with actual experiences I've had with the product he's interested in and you responded with a bunch of sarcastic comments, I think many reasonable folks might read your reply and say, "Ryan is being a jerk." Which I did. 1) Since you weren't with me, not sure how you can say that. In this specific case, I was actually rapping on my OTHER Sterling yesterday (I think it's a 10.1x60 or something like that, not really sure): no kinks. That rope never gives trouble. It was based on that rope's good performance that I bought the 70. I handle it the same way as the 70. Ropes have different handling characteristics. That's why the OP was asking the question to begin with. I bought a pair of Black Diamond doubles, must be almost 15 years ago now: every rap, by the time you got near the bottom, the ropes were a horrible mass of spaghetti. I called BD, they very nicely replaced the ropes with what appeared to be an identical pair...and the spaghetti (with identical rope management) never came back. 2) Well, since I describe the method I use to mark the rope, I guess that might not be true. But if by "normal way" you are referring to grabbing both ends and using them to find the middle, and having NO middle mark, then I would say that this is pretty inconvenient on multipitch rappels, which in turn is one of the (several) reasons why people want a middle mark. So I re-assert that my rope should have shipped with a middle mark, as many ropes do, and that this is either lack of attention to detail on Sterling's part, or some kind of weird nanny state liability thing, cheapness, or just laziness. 3)I agree that I bought the wrong size rope: that's why I described that action in my post as a "major miscalculation on my part." Was trying to save the OP from doing the same, or at least let him be aware of the issue. Really, Ryan: recently the MP admins, of whom you are one, have been working hard to improve the tenor of the site. Your post does very little to achieve that goal.

Alright, I'll apologize for being a jerk. To me this is all in good fun - that is just the way I talk. But you couldn't possibly know that because I wasn't talking, I was just typing on the internet - so I apologize. But I still don't think that the comments you posted were any more relevant than mine.

Your BD story only proves that the kinking of a rope is not common to a particular model or brand. Your rope kinked up for some reason, just like your BD ropes did. The seemingly identical BD replacements didn't kink, and I'll bet that the seemingly identical rope that the OP buys won't kink either.

As for the size and weight of the rope, well, I just don't think it makes sense. The OP didn't ask how heavy the rope was. It is not a problem with the rope, and is therefore not an "issue" as you call it. Sure, give the advice anyway, but don't expect for no one to notice that it wasn't asked for or needed.

As for the middle mark - calling you lazy was bad form - I still think that whether a rope has a middle mark or not is an after thought. And a lot of the climbing I do is multi-pitch trad where multiple raps are required. The middle mark wears off after a few weeks anyways and you have to mark it again (if you need it).

As far as me being an Admin, well, I don't moderate the forums and don't have the rights or privileges to delete anything. I try not to be a jerk but sometimes things don't come out the right way. That's the way typing on the internet works.

I think everyone that has met me in real life, and many people who haven't, know that I am a very kind person and never mean to hurt anyone. If I'm giving you a hard time, it is because I expect to get it right back. Again, all in good fun. Sorry if that offends anyone but I don't think I'll be changing any time soon.

Ryan Williams wrote: Alright, I'll apologize for being a jerk. To me this is all in good fun - that is just the way I talk. But you couldn't possibly know that because I wasn't talking, I was just typing on the internet - so I apologize. But I still don't think that the comments you posted were any more relevant than mine. Your BD story only proves that the kinking of a rope is not common to a particular model or brand. Your rope kinked up for some reason, just like your BD ropes did. The seemingly identical BD replacements didn't kink, and I'll bet that the seemingly identical rope that the OP buys won't kink either. As for the size and weight of the rope, well, I just don't think it makes sense. The OP didn't ask how heavy the rope was. It is not a problem with the rope, and is therefore not an "issue" as you call it. Sure, give the advice anyway, but don't expect for no one to notice that it wasn't asked for or needed. As for the middle mark - calling you lazy was bad form - I still think that whether a rope has a middle mark or not is an after thought. And a lot of the climbing I do is multi-pitch trad where multiple raps are required. The middle mark wears off after a few weeks anyways and you have to mark it again (if you need it). As far as me being an Admin, well, I don't moderate the forums and don't have the rights or privileges to delete anything. I try not to be a jerk but sometimes things don't come out the right way. That's the way typing on the internet works. I think everyone that has met me in real life, and many people who haven't, know that I am a very kind person and never mean to hurt anyone. If I'm giving you a hard time, it is because I expect to get it right back. Again, all in good fun. Sorry if that offends anyone but I don't think I'll be changing any time soon.

Thanks Ryan, I appreciate your reply. I know what you mean about subtle points of humor getting lost in the internet.

I'd agree that it was imprecise of me to say that this particular 9.8 was somehow an outlier, weight-wise: what I really meant to say is that if I had it to do over, I'd buy a thinner 70. The extra weight has frequently been annoying, as much for trying to get a bag of trad gear and camping gear packed and under the 50# airline limit as anywhere else.

And you're definitely right that the middle mark wears off pretty quick...it just seemed to me that with a rope that cost quite a respectable chunk of change, Sterling could have bothered to mark it.

Actually, in your first reply in this thread, you mentioned rope handling/anchor threading as an important variable in rope kinkage. Could you (or anyone else with thoughts on this) expand on particular things that you do or don't do that help with this? Again, in my own experience some ropes rarely/never kink, and others that give continuous problems with this, but I'd be interested to learn more about how to avoid problems in this department.

Cheers,
David

There are a lot of things that can twist the rope. The most common is a lower off that is set up so that the rope has to twist or make a 90 degree bend in order to get through both anchor points.

The picture in this article shows two flat anchor bolts with a single ring on each hanger. This allows the rope to run straight through the rings, which are oriented perpendicular to the rock, if you will.

You can see in this picture that someone has threaded this same type of anchor set up incorrectly. The rope is already starting to twist.

This picture shows a different type of hanger. There are two rings, and the lower ones will sit perpendicular to the rock and the rope will go through them in a straight line. Sometimes though, you will find hangers like this with one ring or a quick link. If one or both of the hangers have one quick link or one ring then the rope will do a twist to get through both anchor points and will kink up.

Sometimes it's impossible to avoid, but sometimes it's just a matter of threading the rope properly. You might already know all this - if not I hope it was helpful.

Regardless of how you thread the single ring fixes they're gonna twist your rope. I hate these with a PASSION. It's especially bad when lowering but you'll still get the twists when pulling your rap rope. It's because when pulled together the ring twists a bit and ends up being less than perfectly perpendicular to the rock. This cause the rope to twist when being pulled through. you can see the twisting in the left ring.

The double ring Fixes (or QL and Ring) are far,far better. That extra ring allows the bottom to adjust more freely and be nearly perpendicular to the rock.

In Chain anchors or a single, LARGE ring, or this:

the rope makes a complete 90 degree turn around more or less ONE single point. It does not have to wrap "out of plane" and thus, does not twist.

It's hard to verbally describe but evident if you watch a rope pulled slowly through the different styles of anchor...

mattm wrote: It's hard to verbally describe but evident if you watch a rope pulled slowly through the different styles of anchor...

This. As with most things in climbing, it just takes experience. Try to learn something on every pitch that you climb!

Ok since everyone is still adding to this thread...i need QUICK opinions. I need to order my rope today to ensure its here on Wed. before I leave for NRG. Anyway....The company Ive been dealing with has a 80 meter bi-color Dry that they are willing to give me at a discount. Lets just say its a really good deal that I dont want to pass up. I dont think I want to carry an 80 meter around....but should I just buy it and cut 5 meters off each end (so the bicolor remains center) and have two 15 foot ropes to use for rigging and stuff with my tree work? Or maybe i'll just leave it as 80 meters for this trip and see how much of a pain it is having 33 more feet of rope than usual. Does anyone really use an 80 meter for trad?

80m is a lot of rope, especially at the New, where a 60 is all you need 90% of the time. And 80m is also too much rope to take on a multipitch route.

Cutting the rope is pointless. The whole point of getting a long rope is to be able to wear out the ends and chop them off w/o making your rope too short to use. Don't chop a new rope.

PS, no reason to have a middle mark at single pitch areas (NRG).

I know this.....Im not a sport climber. I dont climb sport more then once a year (if that, last time i climbed sport was prob 6 years ago).

I have a 60M and 70M, both used for multipitch, although my 60 meter is now retired. My 70M is a 10.5. I climb trad, mostly all multi pitch, and enjoy linking pitches to speed things up. I dont feel the need to cut a new rope, which is why I wouldnt normally buy a 80 meter. EXCEPT the fact that i can get a bicolor velocity for the same price As the 70 meter single color. Which is the only reason im considering buying it. Since i want a 70 meter bicolor but cant find one in time, So they made me a deal on the 80. Maybe I should of explained myself better initially. Im not buying this rope to go climb sport. It just happens that I am going to the new this week. Regardless, I was buying a new lead rope. So I figure I may as well buy it since It will be one heck of a deal, even if it were a 70 meter bicolor.

How about you buy it and don't chop it?

Thats why im asking opinions on 80's. I'd like to hear from those that climb with them. Likes, dislikes? I am def not chopping it right away...I figure I'll climb with it a lil and see how it is, and I'll have the option to do so if I dont find myself ever using the extra 10 meters.

I hate having more rope than I need. I've never needed more than a 70 to link pitches... you probably haven't either.

If you're not in the habit of working routes then you probably won't trash the ends any faster than the rest of the rope so my comment above doesn't apply.

An 80m rope would be 20m too much at the New and 10m too much on multi-pitches. It sounds like those are your main uses for this rope. Single pitch sport is where the 80m shines, and you don't do that very often.

If it's a good deal then get the rope and do what you want with it. If you have to buy an 80m and chop it to get what you want then so be it. If you aren't paying 80m price tag and you have a use for two 5m sections of rope - even better.

i only use my 80 in the desert, 70's everywhere else.

Well I got it. I'll use it as an 80 meter for now and see if it becomes more of a nuisance then its worth as 80 meters. It isnt much more bulky then my 10.5 70 meter. Im going to weigh them on our shipping scale and see if theres much of a difference.