Edelrid Swift Protect Pro 8.9 - out in the wild? (aramid sheath)

Has anyone has actually gotten their hands on the edelrid swift protect pro 8.9? It claims to be the first rope with aramid sheath & 2X cut resistance, which seems like a game-changer.

Looking mainly for insights from those with real-world experience with it, specifically in the alpine. What are your perceptions on durability/handling/tangling/etc?

• Lengthy posts on related topic here
• "review" here

To be fair, none of you should have been getting out since it was released during the COVID19 pandemic. But can't hurt to ask...

I’m sure if it is as durable as they claim it’ll be great. Lightweight and durability are normally two contradictory things.

I haven’t used this rope but I have climbed with 9mm ropes quite a bit. The weight savings is a big advantage on longer routes.

If this rope wasn’t so expensive I’d probably buy one and try it out. 

Bump. I'm planning to pick one up, but can't find any info from anyone who has actually used it.

Following.

I'm on my 4th Edelrid Swift at the moment. The first three had been surprisingly durable given how scary thin they are. I've used them for everything from projecting sport climbs to long routes in the mountains without too much issue other than the psychological leap I've had to make to push my limits on such a thin cord. They've held up better than expected (I try to keep my expectations conservative for a rope like this).

However, my current, and nearly new, Swift developed a horrible and inexplicable core shot during a seemingly casual rappel: I rapped, everything was fine. My partner rapped and slammed on the brakes about halfway down: huge coreshot/complete shredding of the sheath. No obvious cause but the rope was ruined. I'd never seen anything like it in two decades of climbing.

Prior to this incident I had thought the new Protect (Aramid fiber) version would give me added peace of mind and any increase in longevity would be a bonus. Since the incident, my feelings about the Swift are a bit more complicated... but I think I would probably not buy another one unless it was the new Protect version...

I'm eager to hear some long term reports.

I’ve got the 70m but it’s sadly still in the package.

I’ve used it 3 or 4 times in the alpine and in the black. Probably logged 30 or so pitches. No complaints, great rope. No falls thus far and it’s hard to comment on durability this early.

I recently got one and have done a few multi-pitch days with it so far. It handles nicely and works well with various belay devices (tested with grigri 2, Edelrid Gigajul and ATC). It's obviously light and thin, but it doesn't feel so thin that I'm worried about it, especially because of the extra cut resistance. Already took a decent whipper on it as well, nice soft catch.
This rope replaces my Mammut revelation (9.2) and I like this Edelrid much better. It is on the stiff side (which I personally prefer).

I got mine and I am taking it out tomorrow!

The edelrid swift protect pro rope seems fine.  The rope is stiffer than my mammut serenity.  It feels a little different, as if the dry coating or aramid fibers have a different feel.  The rope also transmits sounds which was especially noticeable with a weird humming sound while my partner was rappelling.  It kinda sounded like there was a bird in a crack near me but it was the rope.    

I used a beal escaper to rappel and the rope seemed springier than the serenity when pulling/tugging on the rope to get the escaper to release.  This is probably an advantage.

The sheath has a tighter weave and seemed to pick up fewer cactus needles than the serenity.  Maybe this is because it is new.  This is an advantage for sure. :)

So lots of minor difference none of which really effect anything important and will certainly be considered normal as I use the rope more.  No complaints.

%15 off all sizes at epic.tv right now. Free shipping to US. Just ordered so I'll report back once I use it. 

Bear in mind I haven't laid my hands on one yet, but going off the videos and the product description a couple issues came to mind. First being that the presence of the aramid in the sheath creating much higher abrasion on belay devices, and second being the actual degradation of the aramid after prolonged sun exposure. I know there are some fibers that resist UV damage, but according to my (faulty) memory, kevlar specifically was mentioned in the rope sheaths. I'm sure these are both issues that would have been addressed in the qc, but still?

Evan Erwin wrote: Bear in mind I haven't laid my hands on one yet, but going off the videos and the product description a couple issues came to mind. First being that the presence of the aramid in the sheath creating much higher abrasion on belay devices, and second being the actual degradation of the aramid after prolonged sun exposure. I know there are some fibers that resist UV damage, but according to my (faulty) memory, kevlar specifically was mentioned in the rope sheaths. I'm sure these are both issues that would have been addressed in the qc, but still?

You're pretty unlikely to have an issue with uv exposure or belay device wear, most likely makes up a very very small percentage of the sheath. Aramids have made allot of progress in the last 30 years regarding the self abrasion issue, technora being good enough to be used in industrial conveyors. 

With this being said, I still really don't like their aramid core cord things. 

The impact force is greater than other similar ropes - very roughly about 10% - sort of makes sense given the incorporated material - I'm slightly put off by this

John Kelly wrote: The impact force is greater than other similar ropes - very roughly about 10% - sort of makes sense given the incorporated material - I'm slightly put off by this

I've not really looked at the numbers but did whip on it a bunch of times already and it was fine. No noticeable difference to me.

John Kelly wrote: The impact force is greater than other similar ropes - very roughly about 10% - sort of makes sense given the incorporated material - I'm slightly put off by this

Takes about 2 minutes to see both the swift and swift protect have the same impact force ratings of 8.8kn.

I stand corrected
The reasons for the harder catch is probably due to the aramid binding with the nylon around it, making so disproportionately harder catch to the amount of aramid in the sheath. 

that guy named seb wrote:

Takes about 2 minutes to see both the swift and swift protect have the same impact force ratings of 8.8kn.

Not sure that's correct

https://www.edelrid.de/en/sports/dynamic-ropes/swift-pro-dry-8-9mm.html

Swift [Kn]: 8,8/6,7/10,4

https://www.edelrid.de/en/sports/dynamic-ropes/swift-protect-pro-dry-8-9mm.html

Swift protect[Kn]: 9,9/7,3/11,8

I have one, have not used it very extensively although each of the three times I have used it were in the alpine where we were simuling 15+ pitch climbs. I feel like the sheath has held up really well to simul climbing for extended periods of time. 

John Kelly wrote:

Not sure that's correct

https://www.edelrid.de/en/sports/dynamic-ropes/swift-pro-dry-8-9mm.html

Swift [Kn]: 8,8/6,7/10,4

https://www.edelrid.de/en/sports/dynamic-ropes/swift-protect-pro-dry-8-9mm.html

Swift protect[Kn]: 9,9/7,3/11,8

It would appear alpinetrek lied to me. 

Beal Joker is lighter at 52 g/m, 9.1 mm and has Unicore. If you're okay with dry cover (single), cheaper too.

Matt N wrote: Beal Joker is lighter at 52 g/m, 9.1 mm and has Unicore. If you're okay with dry cover (single), cheaper too.

It's also a piece of crap rope that you will be lucky to get 6 months of regular use out of. 

Bump.  I am also interested in picking one up for winter climbing and summer alpine.  

My main concern is handling.  Based on what I have read, it seems like it is initially quite stiff and then softens up with use.  I would like to know how well it handles, after being broken in, compared to other popular ropes in the 9.2-9.5 diameter range.