Favorite Bi pattern rope

Why did you choose your bi pattern rope and are you happy with it? What is your favorite bi pattern/ color rope?  I have a dark green rope and after being trapped in a rain storm and not being able to find the center quickly , I’m looking at switching over.

I've had three - edelrid 9.8mm, not sure which one, but the bipattern was hard to tell once there was dirt on it.  Basically there's a stripey part and a faded stripey part.  My Sterling marathon pro in orange had a much better pattern - heavily striped or more dotted.  Then I just got another sterling, but this time a velocity evo, and that pattern is again a bit too similar - striped vs no pattern with a hint of the stripe.  I think if you go bi pattern you really want to make sure its bright with two really distinct different patterns because once it's not brand new you'll struggle to tell.

I have and Edelrid bi-pattern rope. It has a solid half and a "striped" half. Easy to tell where the middle at cause it goes from with to without..

Had a sterling helix 9.5 bicolor

Loved it.  Sterling ropes have given us great durability and good handling nice soft catches ect.
The 9.5 belayed in guide mode much easier than the 9.8 velocity my girlfriend had

The edelrid bicolor 9.7 I had went to shit in no time.  Probably the worst rope I ever bought.

I dont like how mammut ropes handle although a lot of people love them.

My blue water was good but haven't tried their skinnier ropes (had a 10.2)

My Beal was good but arguably too soft as some people thought it had dead spots when it was almost new  also they dont make a bicolor?

My edelweiss was durable but didn't handle super well and was stiff to tie knots ect.  Also didn't catch as soft.

The sterling has been the best but is also the most expensive so i dont know that its truly worth it.  Ours died in a rockfall incident and we are currently using another sterling 9.5 helix that is not bicolor and has been great.

I don't think petzl or BD sell bicolors but haven't tried their ropes.

FWIW I love bicolors for multipitch ect.  Speeds things up for sure.  We tried to save wear on out bicolor and crag with a cheaper rope...

Hey Nick!

You absolutely can't beat the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro DuoTec 9.6mm Dry, it's fuckin fantastic, and the bipattern doesnt become less visible as it gets dirty.

Mammut 

Can't go wrong with the Sterling Ion 9.4 bipattern rope. 

adeadhead wrote: Hey Nick!

You absolutely can't beat the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro DuoTec 9.6mm Dry, it's fuckin fantastic, and the bipattern doesnt become less visible as it gets dirty.

Second this! It is thin enough to use as a sending line for your project, but burly enough to haul with and jug on. If you are ever going to get into bigwall climbing it is the best in the game. Tommy knows a thing or two about how ropes should behave.

The Maxim Pinnacle (yellow Jacket) 9.5mm is definitely my favorite for single pitch stuff or shorter days. The sheath is super durable. I've used three between sport, trad and the gym over the last 4-5 years - between the desert, Voo, sport climbing and the gym, this thing is amazing. I do use a different rope for longer days as this one is a little on the heavy side; but for durability and the obvious change in pattern at the middle, this has been my favorite.

I’ve used the mammut infinity (9.5mm) dry bi-pattern for the past year and love it. It did developed a fuzzy spot after I snagged it somewhere, but nothing bad. Still works like a charm after 1 year. 

Sterling Fusion Ion R 9.4 Bi. Get the red, it is the easiest to differentiate in the dark. Has really treated me well for both sport and trad, is super light and had held up well.  On sale they will go for about $200 for a 70m.

My Mammut Infinity 9.5 Duodess has been a good rope too, about the same price as the Sterling, but it doesn't handle as well IMO.

Another vote for the Tommy Caldwell rope. It's a great rope and reasonably priced. The bright green and black coloring makes it easy to distinguish each half. As mentioned above, other Edelrid ropes can be a little difficult to distinguish when they get dirty. I had this experience with the light blue colored Edelrid. It's not a deal breaker but more of a minor annoyance. The TC rope solved this issue.  

The maxim pinnacle yellow jacket is definitely the flashiest bi-pattern, visually it really pops when it's new (to the point that it actually attracts bees!).  Really expensive, but it has a super good feel in the hand.

Now I have a beal joker, which has a more subtle differentiation between the two halves.  Cheaper, has the unicore (which I bought bc I use the rope for roped solo with ascenders and the like).  It's fine.

Sam Skovgaard wrote: The maxim pinnacle yellow jacket is definitely the flashiest bi-pattern, visually it really pops when it's new (to the point that it actually attracts bees!).  Really expensive, but it has a super good feel in the hand.

Now I have a beal joker, which has a more subtle differentiation between the two halves.  Cheaper, has the unicore (which I bought bc I use the rope for roped solo with ascenders and the like).  It's fine.

Not to be too contrary to your post but I wouldn't buy a maxim rope again.  Maybe at a huge discount but I didn't like the handling or catch (one of the firmest in the game) but my main critique is durability.  I got mine at a steep discount and the bicolor 70 pinaccle was still over 200 bucks.  It does seem to be somewhat more durable that other ropes but at the end of the day I'd rather be climbing on a cheaper rope that I replace more often that feeling obligated to use a expensive rope for a couple years.  It doesn't have any core shots but it's fuzzy and is a shadow of it's yellow self.

I know it's still safe etc. but I regularly get comments from partners about it fuzzy, retire it etc.  

I do love the joker and think unicore is definitely a nice feature on ropes.  I'm a big mammut fan as you can find them on sale often and spend around 1-150 for a 70 versus 300 for a top of the line maxim.   

adeadhead wrote: Hey Nick!

You absolutely can't beat the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Pro DuoTec 9.6mm Dry, it's fuckin fantastic, and the bipattern doesnt become less visible as it gets dirty.

Hey Buddy,  How have you been? Thanks for the tip!

Buck Rio wrote: Sterling Fusion Ion R 9.4 Bi. Get the red, it is the easiest to differentiate in the dark. Has really treated me well for both sport and trad, is super light and had held up well.  On sale they will go for about $200 for a 70m.

My Mammut Infinity 9.5 Duodess has been a good rope too, about the same price as the Sterling, but it doesn't handle as well IMO.

Did you find the rope handling of a 9.4 with a grigri to be hard because the rope was so thin.  I really like the color and I see how it could stand out in the dark.  

greggrylls wrote:

Not to be too contrary to your post but I wouldn't buy a maxim rope again.  Maybe at a huge discount but I didn't like the handling or catch (one of the firmest in the game) but my main critique is durability.  I got mine at a steep discount and the bicolor 70 pinaccle was still over 200 bucks.  It does seem to be somewhat more durable that other ropes but at the end of the day I'd rather be climbing on a cheaper rope that I replace more often that feeling obligated to use a expensive rope for a couple years.  

I actually agree, don't buy this rope for its durability (like I did).  What I actually wanted was a rope that had a reasonably thick sheath and is cheap.

Rope makers can find ways of charging twice as much as typical for a rope, but there is no way they can make a rope which is twice as durable.  Nylon is nylon for the most part.

Nick Haha wrote:

Did you find the rope handling of a 9.4 with a grigri to be hard because the rope was so thin.  I really like the color and I see how it could stand out in the dark.  

Works fine with a Grigri II, which is what I have. Also works really well with a MegaJul. 

The Mammut 9.5 feels like a thinner rope when rappelling for some reason. I use gloves if we are going to do a full rope rappel.

Thanks buck!

Nick Haha wrote: Thanks buck!

Did you get the Sterling?  You won't regret either the Sterling or Mammut IMO.

Maxim Platinum 9.8 70m dry.....little on the pricey side but what a work horse and the markings on the ends and middle are bonus. No sheeth slippage unicore

https://www.maximropes.com/home/products/dynamic_ropes/product_detail/product/maxim_platinum/