Ropes question.

eli poss wrote: Not necessarily. Gym ropes, for example, almost always wear out in the core before the sheath because they take a lot of falls and don't abrade because gym walls a typically overhanging. And do you have any evidence that says that more core doesn't equal longer lasting elasticity because the above chart by the UIAA would suggest otherwise

yes of course, there are always exceptions to everything, a gym rope isn't going to abrade much so the core will wear out first, and of course more core will equate to longer lasting elasticity. The point is that knowing the number of UIAA falls a rope can take really doesn't tell you anything meaningful because there are just too many additional variables that need to be considered.

Jake Jones wrote: It is likely that you will never even see a 1.7 ff fall in your climbing career, much less multiple ones in a row. A 1.7 ff fall will take its toll on your body. I've taken a ff 1 fall once and sat there for quite a while considering whether or not I wanted to give it a second go.

Question / comment about fall factors - It seems like in a single pitch climbing environment, trad or sport, it would be hard to take a fall factor 1 or greater fall without decking? Say you had 20 feet of rope out and fell 20 feet, yes that is a factor one fall, but unless you belayer is on a ledge or hanging you would deck first.

So the only time you really, really need to worry about high fall factors is in multipitch climbing while you are leaving the belay? I.E the dreaded factor 2 fall.

Rich Bergstrom wrote: Question / comment about fall factors - It seems like in a single pitch climbing environment, trad or sport, it would be hard to take a fall factor 1 or greater fall without decking? Say you had 20 feet of rope out and fell 20 feet, yes that is a factor one fall, but unless you belayer is on a ledge or hanging you would deck first. So the only time you really, really need to worry about high fall factors is in multipitch climbing while you are leaving the belay? I.E the dreaded factor 2 fall.

This is exactly correct, in single-pitch climbing, the fall factor would almost never exceed 1. It can only exceed 1 if the climb starts from a ledge. In fact, in single-pitch climbing, fall factor rarely even approaches one. In most cases, if it reaches 1, the climber has decked.

mammut wrote: If you climb both abrasive rock and you fall alot, then think about how you wore out your last rope—if it went flat 10 or 15 feet from the ends, then get the rope with the high fall rating for the size and if the rope just fuzzed up to the point it felt sketchy or fat or lost its dry treatment, then concentrate on a rope with a thick sheath and a compact weave.

Or, buy two different ropes. Use one for the abrasive rock, and the other one for climbs on which you fall a lot. Unless, of course, it is the same climbs... then you're just going to chew through ropes fast.

David Gibbs wrote: Or, buy two different ropes. Use one for the abrasive rock, and the other one for climbs on which you fall a lot. Unless, of course, it is the same climbs... then you're just going to chew through ropes fast.

this is more important than most folks think ...

if one looks at the chart i posted on the prior page ... even if a rope has never been fallen upon it will wear out its dynamic properties significantly from just lowering/rapping/ TRing

now as the chart shows a "higher fall rating' rope can counteract this to some degree ... but honestly one is just better of having a cheap thick rope for TRing, rope soloing, handogging, projecting, etc ...

and save the good skinny stuff for the alpine, long multi, hard redpoints/onsights

the other durty little secret is that the sheath of the rope provides a decent amount of strength .... ropes with an extremely worn sheath have been tested to have their "number of UIAA falls" greatly reduced ... even if its just from rapping/lowering/TRing

in some cases from around 6+ UIAA falls or more (5 is the minimum) to 1-2 from non falling use

now this doesnt mean the rope will break ... but it may mean that a rope may go flat or develop weird spots faster

so ALWAYS have a cheap ~10mm rope for rough use

;)

bearbreeder wrote: so ALWAYS have a cheap ~10mm rope for rough use ;)

What, no link to the Tendon 10mm one from La Cordee? You're slipping, BB, you're slipping. :)

David Gibbs wrote: What, no link to the Tendon 10mm one from La Cordee? You're slipping, BB, you're slipping. :)

It's only $60USD right now ;) Even shipped that's a steal.

David Gibbs wrote: What, no link to the Tendon 10mm one from La Cordee? You're slipping, BB, you're slipping. :)

jus fur u babiii

lacordee.com/en/climbing/ro…

;)

On sale right now.

I do not need more climbing rope. I do not need more climbing rope. I do not need more climbing rope.