static rope vs webbing for top rope anchors

Let me get this straight. People are willing to carry up to 90' of static cord? I bring 40' of 1" webbing and that is more than enough. Why would you ever carry 90' of cord up.

And can someone fill me in as to why it is dangerous to rapp off a TR anchor made of webbing is dangerous?

alpinejason wrote:8mm sounds shady too. Why skimp? Especially Devil's Lake. Approaches aren't that bad that we must top rope off of shoe strings to save weight.

8mm is pretty burly at least to me. My half ropes are 8.5!

I have a couple sets of cordellette I use for TRing, an 8 and a 9mm. I'll use my 7mm cordellette and slings if that isn't long enough. I don't really use webbing, but I haven't climbed at DL where it seems you need a reeeally long setup.

Seems like mostly personal preference really.

Tom Lausch wrote:Let me get this straight. People are willing to carry up to 90' of static cord? I bring 40' of 1" webbing and that is more than enough. Why would you ever carry 90' of cord up. And can someone fill me in as to why it is dangerous to rappeling off a TR anchor made of webbing is dangerous?

Yup. Just lengths of webbing, doubled up, doubled biners over the edge, no need for equalized static line set up for most belays because the boulders or big trees are often inline with your climbs below.

Federico wrote: Unless i'm reading his post wrong, i'm pretty sure he said a clove hitch not multiple.... and I'm pretty sure that using a clove hitch on one side of a top rope anchor, is ok by amga standards.... at least it was at the classes i've taken. Or should i rethink my anchoring???

Clove on one end of anchor point (e.g. a tree) on a static rope that you have used to create two independent strands out of with other tied off with an 8 at the other anchor point, equalized with two figure 8s on bights at bottom, is fine. Otherwise it's annoying to tie off the second end of the rope if it's really long

You should check out the excellent boo Rock Climbing Anchors by the late Craig Luebben for more questions on anchors.

Scott McMahon wrote: Seems like mostly personal preference really.

Static cord, static rope, webbing and even slings are acceptable anchoring means. On lead, you can even build the anchor out of your dynamic rope! Learn them all and have them in your "tool-box" of climbing knowledge and you can practice them all when you build your anchors. There are often trade offs with the varying means. If the anchor is built with a stable master point by good extension angles, the quartzite edges at Devils Lake become a non-issue.

just my 2-cents

Tom Lausch wrote:Let me get this straight. People are willing to carry up to 90' of static cord? I bring 40' of 1" webbing and that is more than enough. Why would you ever carry 90' of cord up.

I carry 80' of big honking 7/16" (11mm) static cord to set up TRs. Trees or anchor points are often far from the cliff edge where I climb. I don't mind the little extra weight in my pack for cragging.

Get the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Manual by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin. It will show you everything you need to know about setting up top ropes with Static Ropes (which is the fastest, most versatile, and efficient way when you get good at it). Also, I highly recommend taking the AMGA SPI course ESPECIALLY if your like me and you like to teach others. When we teach others rock climbing, we owe it to them to teach them best practices that minimize the most risk, and the AMGA SPI course will teach you how to do this.

Evan Marsh wrote:Get the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor Manual by Bob Gaines and Jason Martin. It will show you everything you need to know about setting up top ropes with Static Ropes (which is the fastest, most versatile, and efficient way when you get good at it). Also, I highly recommend taking the AMGA SPI course ESPECIALLY if your like me and you like to teach others. When we teach others rock climbing, we owe it to them to teach them best practices that minimize the most risk, and the AMGA SPI course will teach you how to do this.

I can guarantee you that I can set up a TR faster with webbing, especially after a long uphill hike to the crag. Static rope is an overkill unless you are setting up a TR for a whole day of fat people gangbanging one climb IMHO.

Static line is round and can roll, causing issues on sharper edges. I use static for LONG anchors, but short of the lip. I use webbing over the edges and for shorter anchors.

Doug Meneke wrote:Static line is round and can roll, causing issues on sharper edges.

I'd prefer rolling to sliding!

Besides static rope has a protective sheath any wear is clearly visible before strength is compromised. Webbing does not have this.

How many minutes are we talking about as fast for a top rope? I have been climbing in Maryland at small crags and at Great Falls in Va, and the top rope anchor trees are too far back to girth hitch 30 foot webbing tied into a fig 8, so I bought static line. I use a bowline on one tree and wraps on the other, equalize the static with an overhand in some cases, tie a fig 9, pad both if I can, and I got myself an anchor. The Rock is sometimes sharp here, so after a number of outings i have noticed some wear on the static line sheath.I would prefer to use webbing, tied together,cheap, fast and safe. 8 mm is totally fine too.

Static rope TR's can be edge protected by a piece of an old garden hose.

Webbing with multiple wraps is kinder to the trees and their bark. They grew for a couple decades or more to provide safe anchorage to you and youRs, and also for those fat bastards gang hanging the same route per above comment.

Damage to tree bark allows insects and fungus in. Let the anchors live! Use webbing in heavy traffic tr areas.

I think everyone over thinks everything ;) serene n your good to hook

Doug Hemken wrote: ... As long as your anchor material doesn't stretch, durability shouldn't be too big a deal: you just need to build your TR anchors stable in the first place. ...

I pack & use both as the situation dictates, and Doug nailed the key point IMHO: If your anchor is poorly constructed and webbing/cord is running, unprotected, over a classic Devil's Lake sharp edge, it may get damaged if it shifts.

In my experience, both materials will stretch a 'lil, but a solid 3-point anchor, when used on the route it was built for, shouldn't shift when loaded.

I wasn't able to find much more than opinions on this topic. If anyone can share some facts I would very much appreciate it - I'd rather be wrong than dangerous.

Sam Johnsona wrote:

I pack & use both as the situation dictates, and Doug nailed the key point IMHO: If your anchor is poorly constructed and webbing/cord is running, unprotected, over a classic Devil's Lake sharp edge, it may get damaged if it shifts.

In my experience, both materials will stretch a 'lil, but a solid 3-point anchor, when used on the route it was built for, shouldn't shift when loaded.

I wasn't able to find much more than opinions on this topic. If anyone can share some facts I would very much appreciate it - I'd rather be wrong than dangerous.

Bro, you are talking to ghosts.

(I genuinely love thread necromancy *so much* haha.)

Timothy Mark wrote: Webbing advantages: - Lighter - Less bulk - Cheaper Static line advantages: - More abrasion resistant - Easier to handle / tie / untie - If you want a quick safety line, just put a friction knot around one of your static lines.

Yeah this thread is a resurrection but….

Timothy is right it’s pros and cons. Plus there is what makes sense to you, what are you comfortable with, and what you have laying around. Webbing, rope, cord all work fine some a little better in some situations. Using a garden hose sliced lengthwise (as mentioned ) or even better a rope protecter which is similar but wraps tighter around the rope and doesn’t slip is an advantage of rope. If i climbed at Devils lake with a lot of TR and sharp edges that’s what I’d likely do. No fussing with something to pad the edge which may blow away or have to be taped in place. 

For goodness sake this a lot of back and forth from 2016 about 2 products that both work adequately for setting up TRs. There are pros and cons of both and both have the honor of being the best option for certain situations.
More important than webbing Vs cord is how you rig your TR with the available anchorage and understanding how to mitigate the risks of that given rig with thew supplies at you brought with you.

YGD, choose wisely.