60m or 70m rope for Utah climbing?
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I am moving to Utah this fall (likely to the Provo area) and I'm also in the market for a new rope. I mostly do single pitch sport climbing so I'm thinking a 60m rope should suffice unless there are a lot of routes over 100ft in the Provo area. Any reason I should spring for a 70m? |
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If you are mostly cragging a 60 will do you fine. |
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I know rock canyon has a bunch of new sport routes going up that want a 70 to lower off. |
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I'd go with the 70m line, there are plenty of climbs in the area you'll be glad you have a longer line for. Will you be okay with a 60? Sure, but why put those limitations on yourself? I switched over to 70m lines a couple years ago and have only been happy that I did so. |
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Another thing to keep in mind is that a 70m gives you more room to cut off the ends when they wear out. Sometimes the price difference between 60 and 70m isn't that huge -- the last 70m I bought was a Mammut Climax 9.6mm for $95 after stacking a sale and a coupon (campsaver.com) -- and if I only had one rope I'd definitely take a 70 over a 60. Even if your home crags don't require 70m, you never know what you're going to need when you travel a bit. |
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Thanks for all the input. I had actually been pretty much decided on the 70m until a 60m length of the rope I want went on sale for $136, making it almost $100 cheaper than the full price 70m. It's a tough call... |
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I will never buy another 60m. Look for the 70m on sale. |
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scottso wrote:I will never buy another 60m...Same here. I only buy 70s. I will also add that bi-color is another option that I will never do without on my own ropes. YMMV, but I find that the Bi-color is totally worth the additional cost. |
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I lived 5 minutes from AF canyon and my 70 m was over kill for almost all the routes. Here is the thing though. your not going to be only climbing in rock or AF canyon while living in Provo. You will for sure go climb big/little cottonwoods, maple and even moab. All these places you will want a 70m. Also like many people said if you need to cut 5 or 10 m off your rope now you have a 60 instead of a 50!!! |
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Thanks for all the input guys, I'm going to hold off for a good deal on a 70m. |
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A 60 meter rope is just a worn out 70 meter rope, why buy your rope pre worn out? |
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One thing to consider if you can wait till you get here liberty mountain(wholesale outdoor retailer) has a small outlet in sandy. The selection is abysmal but they almost always have ropes including 70m and it is a major discount over normal retail. My last 70 I picked up for $110 |
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I would go with 60m for sport (a bit fatter so you can beat it up when working routes), 70m for trad (skinny and light), and wait for sales. You can end up with 2 ropes for not much more than the price of 1. |