Question: Best gym rope for lead climbing

I'm looking to buy a rope just for lead climbing in the gym. I'm no gym full timer, but I'm tired of dragging my 60m lead rope around...

Anyways - I searched on MP forums for about 45 minutes and could not find a good list of gym ropes for lead climbing.

I was hoping for some of these specs:

• Thick. Like 10.5 or something. (10.5 used to be tiny, didn't it?)
• Durable
• Cheap
• Good hand/feel/clipping
• Length 40-50m (Does any rope manufacturer make a 40m or sell by the meter?) I think a 30m might be a bit short for some of the long roof routes and such at my local gym
• Doesn't have to be dry coated at all (indoors only)
• Cheap

chop your lead rope in half and get 2 gym ropes.

then buy a new lead rope for the year.

Right, so if you don't feel like "retiring" a rope to gym use and buying a new one for outdoors, short ropes are available. These tend to be available sporadically though and subject to manufacturers availability.

For Example, GearExpress has them. They are all sold out now but check with them as the inventory changes often.

tinyurl.com/4m8wpgt

Otherwise, you can snag 50M ropes on the cheap. I'm way less picky with a rope I'm clipping gym draws with than those I'm placing gear, putting in my own draws on.

Also, keep the length/height of the local gym in mind. Those stretching past 50 feet can be a real bitch to lower off if you are on a sub 100 foot rope:-)

No dirt, no sharp edges, and lots of belaying I would not think off getting anything over 10.2, and I would consider smaller. However, I do all my belaying with a grigri where the handling seems to improve greatly with smaller diameter ropes.

I'd also recommend trying to get something as close to the minimum length as possible. Less rope to flake out and its faster to pull threw when you want to do multiple laps without untying.

Dunno about the 'best', but I picked up an Edelweiss Ally 10.3mm x 50m non-dry for about $80 from alssports.com with a discount code last year. Handles like a thinner rope, clips well. I also use it for short stuff at some local crags.

+1 on Gearexpress.com ... sometimes if you wait you will see great deals when places like REI blow out last year's models.

When I built a climbing wall I bought a chunk of Sterling Jungle Gym from Gear Express. It's been good for that use, but we just TR on it.

For glacier travel and leading at (short) local crags I got a 38m piece of Fusion Nano (9.2) from them. It was so good I bought a full 60m Fusions Nano for longer stuff.

Neither of those is a good choice for you, I guess I'm just saying GearExpress shorts are awesome.

Chop a 60m or 70m rope in half....plenty long for lead in a gym

I chop my old ropes in half and use those. Store one in the closet and climb on the other; when the first starts showing serious use from all the catches, retire it and start using the second half. By the time you've gone through both, it'll be time to retire the next outdoor lead line and the rotation starts again (YMMV, I only climb at the gym during the winter months, so the ropes last a bit longer). Ask your gym what length ropes they use and if 30m will work - just to be sure, I knot the brake-end of the rope the first couple times I use it on the longer routes.

Wow thanks for all the great responses! As usual the MP community comes through for me!