BlueWater Argon 8.8mm - has anyone used it? Opinions?

I have been wanting a triple rated rope so I snagged the last 60M BlueWater Argon 8.8mm "DoubleDry" from the Great Deals thread a few weeks ago. There isn't much info on it and I can't find any good reviews. Please share your feelings, on this rope or any other topic.

All of my bluewater ropes have been great. I'm confused though. Dont you own this rope?

Not a huge fan of my Bluewater rope. Gives a harder catch than I would expect for a 9.2, flies through the belay device like wet ice on lower, and coils and kinks up if you dont pull the entire rope through the anchor after each pitch. Got it super cheap, but regret it now, going to spring for higher end brands in the future, Edelrid and Petzl have never let me down with ropes. 

Mike wrote: All of my bluewater ropes have been great. I'm confused though. Dont you own this rope?

I do, but I haven't taken it out of the package yet.

I placed an order for an 8.8 Aragon (it's on backorder), based on 2 things:

1st) My love for my old Bluewater Dominator 9.4, one of my best ropes ever till it got chopped by rockfall.

2nd) Love of a great deal. This was a great price. Furthermore, Campsaver just did me an above and beyond solid on an order of hangers. Respect.

I'll be climbing on mine when it gets here, just be careful to ensure that you use a device rated for the size rope, and perhaps double up the biners if you use an ATC (I have DMM Bugettes I love for this size, in fact, I bought an few extra (bought 4, have lost one so far - I was on a trail, dropped it and it fell @300 feet and I didn't find it despite searching multiple times), so my partner has one to use as well when swapping leads on long routes, the range is 7.5mm-9.5mm and uberlight weight - 27g ). In fact, I have been clipping them off to my skinny Beal 9.1 so they are always going out with the rope. 

Many "autolock" style devices are not rated for this small of a line so be careful, ropes are slick when new, and especially if you got the dry version cause it will be even slicker. I have a Camp Matik that is rated for it, but I own 3 Grigri/Grigri 2s that are not.

Billcoe wrote: I placed an order for an 8.8 Aragon (it's on backorder), based on 2 things:

1st) My love for my old Bluewater Dominator 9.4, one of my best ropes ever till it got chopped by rockfall.

2nd) Love of a great deal. This was a great price. Furthermore, Campsaver just did me an above and beyond solid on an order of hangers. Respect.

I'll be climbing on mine when it gets here, just be careful to ensure that you use a device rated for the size rope, and perhaps double up the biners if you use an ATC (I have a DMM Bugettes I love for this size, in fact, I bought an few extra extra so my partner has one to use as well when swapping leads on long routes, the range is 7.5mm-9.5mm and uberlight weight - 27g ).

Many "autolock" style devices are not rated for this small of a line so be careful, ropes are slick when new, and especially if you got the dry version cause it will be even slicker. I have a Camp Matik that is rated for it, but I own 3 Grigri/Grigri 2s that are not.

I have the smaller Smart Alpine (7.5-9.5) and a Beal Birdie which is supposed to work for 8.5-11. 

A free bump for BlueWater and BMO Rescue, I called down to the shop there in Carrollton, GA, and figured I'd save them the ebay fees, pay them directly... scored two new ropes for less than $300, a 70m Argon bipattern (freaking love that rope, awesome lead line) and a 186' (9ft short of a 60m) Icon. They even threw in a nice 50ft tagline for free, def good people to deal with. 

American made, American owned, and cutting out the ebay/distributor/box store middle man makes me happy to support them.

just google "BMO Rescue Carrollton GA" and it should come up (not sure about links here), I love my mammut ropes but always been just as happy w/ my BlueWater cords.

What will you use a 50 ft tag line for?

3mm? Plenty of uses, likely none of them climbing related… or maybe I just short fix really slow ;)

Bought a pair from bmo and have taken out a few times. No falls yet but for me I bought bc they split the difference bw cost, diameter and uiaa falls. They feel great in my hand belaying and no issues rappelling. They have fuzzed up a tiny bit from rappelling but not a big deal.

I have 2 bluewater icons,  their 9.2mm so next size up from argon but I have handled an Argon and actually have a small piece of one that bluewater sent me. 

I have a 70m regular icon and a 60 double dry. My most regular partner has an edelrid hummingbird and my other main partner has a fixe, all are 9.1-9.3mm, the general consensus is the bluewater ropes are nicest/ have the best combo of stiffness, suppleness, etc.. they're holding up fine so far, are nice to handle and are not fuzzing up badly. I also got them both for around 100 bucks each, which is a stupid good deal. 

The edelrid rope is nice but fuzzes up quickly and got incredibly soft pretty fast. That fixe rope that nomad sells is terrible. Its purple and 9.1 I think. The sheath moves separately from the core and is really loose and slinky. Everyone hates it and it was $300. 

I wouldn't hesitate to try out the argon if I needed a skinnier or triple rated rope. I've had good experiences with bluewater. 

I really like Bluewater ropes. It’s a shame that they changed their sheath about ten years back. The old doublepick they had was indestructible. 

I have several kinds of Bluewater ropes and all came from Blackjack Mountain Outfitters (AKA BMO Rescue) who are Bluewater's authorized outlet.  Jon's prices are generally less than BW gives me as an instructor (or as retired military) and BW makes no bones about that.  I suspect that if I pulled out my equipment control log I'd see that I've bought something like 8 ropes from him in the last 3-4 years.

I started climbing in the 1970s through an Army mountaineering course and after a couple decades of not climbing started up again several years ago.  A few years ago I bought an Argon and never climbed with it as I've found that as I moved into my mid 60s I much prefer the control in belaying and descending that I get with a larger diameter rope. So my "go-to" dynamic ropes are Bluewater's Lightning Pro and Accelerator.  Yes, the Lightning Pro is a half kilo heavier than the Argon (at 60 meters), and the Accelerator is a full kilo heavier than the Argon but what the heck!  I'm 6'4" and weigh 240 pounds so I don't like falling on small ropes.

With that said, I sold the Argon, still in the factory bag and box, (here on the MP classified page) so I sent a message to the buyer in hopes that he chimes in.  If I remember correctly he climbs quite often in the Yosemite Valley and he ought to have some insights to share.

If it helps any, one of the instructors I work with is in his 20s and for around two years has been climbing on the Argon as his personal choice.  If I see him this weekend I'll ask him his thoughts now that he's had some time with it.  He's at least as big as I am so the perspective of a large climber may help.

Best regards to all,

Lance

Lance, Glad you are able to back out on the rock!