Rope sheath damage?

Hi,

I bought this edelweiss toplight ii rope from backcountrygear.com pretty recently. Only used it a few times so far; some top rope and lead. Here is what I noticed after top roping this past weekend. I'd appreciate some advice on what steps I should take next/some words on the health of this ropes condition. Contacted backcountry and they said to email the manufacturer.

Thanks guys,

Steve

Pic 1

Same spot

Looks like its damaged.

Looks like it ran laterally over a sharp edge when someone fell or was working a move. Oops.

yer gon die

I just sent my edelweiss rocklight 2 back after using it ONE time and noticing sheath damage as well. The online retailer I bought it from contacted Liberty Mountain in Sandy, and then had me send it back to them ( that's where they got it from) I would reconnect with backcountry and ask them exactly how to contact edelweiss. They should be helping you more. I will never buy an edelweiss again...my sterling, and blue water ropes dont have sheath damage after 3 years of use and abuse!

Leslie McG wrote:I just sent my edelweiss rocklight 2 back after using it ONE time and noticing sheath damage as well. The online retailer I bought it from contacted Liberty Mountain in Sandy, and then had me send it back to them ( that's where they got it from) I would reconnect with backcountry and ask them exactly how to contact edelweiss. They should be helping you more. I will never buy an edelweiss again...my sterling, and blue water ropes dont have sheath damage after 3 years of use and abuse!

None of that really matters. All it can take is one sharp edge or constriction one time to damage a rope like that. Manufacturer and age is irrelevant.

Hm. Sounds like I may be out of luck? Just curious, what does it take for the manufacturer to actually admit fault then.

I had the same rope, it just didn't last. Its not a manufacturing "fault" just a shitty rope. To send a rope back after you used it and tell them its a manufacturing defect is lame. Ropes get nicked, its what happens when you climb on rock. The rope looks fine, no core damage. If its a manufacturing defect you'll know when your rope breaks or the sheath slides off the rope. Chalk it up to oh shit that sucks and I need to be more vigilant when I climb, or do what I've done for the last 20 years and buy a new rope when that one wears out, and when the next one wears out, and the next one, and the next one. Good luck and if you don't want to use it, I'll pay for shipping and you can send it this way :)
Cheers
Kurt Burt

Check out this older thread:
mountainproject.com/v/edelw…

Never buying an Edelweiss again after my experience with them.

Some ropes are junk. I bought a Mammut Apex 10.5mm standard 60M rope a couple years back. I got it for a good price and thought it would be durable due to the diameter. Three of us rapped off the same three weekends in a row and I whipped on it once. The rope had a soft spot from the fall and two spots on the sheath were worn badly. I rappelled off the same spot with a Bluewater 10.2mm and not a scratch on the sheath.

I'm kinda glad that ropes done for. That thing was crazy heavy!

will gladdly pick up the rope

Nothing wrong with your rope: it was sawed over an edge with lateral movement.

If you complain loud enough, the rope manufacturer or seller might replace it: but they are being taken advantage of if they do. This was 100% a user issue, not any kind of defect.

Sorry. It happens.

I can understand that it was a user error. Thanks for making that clear. Dan, teece, kurt, and anyone else who is more experienced, you'd feel comfortable using this rope again?

I'd have to see it in person, but I think yes. As long as most of the sheath there is still intact.

Up to you to decide. I probably would be fine with it. The below article contains links to various manufactors' guidelines.

rollglobal.org/2010/11/rope…

I'm definitely not using that rope. That's all I would be thinking about while climbing.....ehhh

Steve Pisano wrote:Hm. Sounds like I may be out of luck? Just curious, what does it take for the manufacturer to actually admit fault then.

Probably about the same thing that it takes for a user to actually admit fault.

Hard to say one way or the other Steve without seeing it in person. My general rule of thumb is that if it is a few snags it's OK. But if the sheath exposes a large portion of the core, or the core could have been cut, or there is a noticeable difference in the pliability of the core at a certain spot, it's time to retire the rope. Do you have a local gear shop in the area (not a big chain)? If so, you could take it in there to get a second opinion.

My primary rope atm has a ton of sheath damage to it, about 1.5 years old. I have an old rope that is like 5 years old with one single spot where the core is exposed. I use my old rope to still top rope / rappel because i am not worried about it and have put some protection around where it was exposed.

Sux that when pulling the old rope it got caught on something when we pulled it (got stuck and we had to get another rope to recover it) but the core is untouched. It was a 10.5 blue water and it is really fine just for safety i don't use it to lead anymore.

My primary rope is a 5.8 sterling and it is nice to have a lighter rope, the sheath has seemed to take damage alot faster than the blue water but than I have probably put more climbing / abuse into it than the blue water.

Worst case i would say put some protection around the damage and at least use it for a secondary rope when you need 2 for rappelling / want to take out friends to top rope. Hard to say how damaged it is from the picture so if the core isn't exposed it should be fine, just keep an eye on it.

Dan G0D5H411 wrote:Check out this older thread: mountainproject.com/v/edelw… Never buying an Edelweiss again after my experience with them.

There are a number of manufacturers that have had problems with this before: Petzl, Sterling, possibly Maxim, seemingly Edelweiss and maybe others. I am pretty confident the real underlying issue here is not the rope manufacturer but the nylon manufacturer. Rope manufacturers do not make the nylon, they buy it on large spools and there are a very limited number of companies in the world in which you can buy nylon on a spool. This would explain why multiple manufacturers are having identical issues with sheath degradation on very specific colors (red being the most common so far). The real annoying part is the unwillingness of some manufacturers to recognize this obvious higher-level defect.

As far as the OP's rope goes, who knows if it's defective or not. I am guessing it's not. Most of the defective ropes I have seen degrade in multiple places with very little use. For what it's worth, I have owned 15 ropes from over 7 different companies, and only one lasted much less than expected. Most ropes are good, even if one particular model sucks.

whats up Steve, hope i didn't come off as a jerk, it wasn't my intent. I would have no issue using the rope if thats all that is wrong with it. Sheaths are going to get nicked sometimes but if there is no damage to the core its fine. the sheath just protects the core, so if the core is ok you should be all good. Hope that helps

Cheers
Kurt Burt