Sterling VR9.8 vs Edelrid Boa Eco

Does anyone know why the Sterling here is cheaper than the Edelrid while offering the Dry-core feature?  I'm comparing both ropes in the 40m model. I need a rope for leading at the gym but I might want to use it very rarely to do light spring mountaineering on snow (30-40 degrees snow slopes, think Shasta's Avalanche Gulche)

https://www.rei.com/product/150913/sterling-vr9-98mm-dry-core-rope

https://www.rei.com/product/100524/edelrid-boa-eco-98mm-non-dry-rope

So the whole concept of the VR line of ropes is to cut down on cost- they're doing this, without losing any features, simply by making incredibly long ropes to chop up. A significant contributor to rope cost is the human interaction involved, changing spindles (bobbins? Idk), moving ropes, getting machines set, so the only downside of the VR like is a more limited colorway offering. 

Edelrids ropes are all around the same cost as other things on the market, but being bluesign certified (environmentally responsible production) doesn't cheapen the process, and, I imagine, the yarn reuse program likely has some significant man-hours required, which is why the first generation of eco ropes were all sort of mud brown, and now they have aesthetic mixes, that's not an accident. 

+1 for extra cost to make a more environmentally friendly product. 

Most ropes are made 1000+ meters at a time and chopped down (not sure if Sterling is doing even longer runs for this one? like Nathan mentioned).  The Boa Eco, uses left over yarns, so there isn't always enough length on the bobbin to do a full 24 hour run of a rope braiding machine, so as Nathan mentioned, there are a bit more man hours involved.

Also, if you're looking for a rope to drag around on snow, you should really spring for something narrower and with a full sheath AND core dry treatment, such as Sterling's DryXP or Edelrid's Pro Dry/Eco Dry ropes.  A fuzzy sheathed gym rope on snow is going to get wet and heavy fast, even with the Dry Core treatment.  But just my $0.02.

For the record, my Boa Eco has been a fantastic cragging rope and out lasted more expensive ropes that I own. But I wouldn't use it on snow. That's asking for trouble. 

Tyler Gates wrote:

+1 for extra cost to make a more environmentally friendly product. 

Most ropes are made 1000+ meters at a time and chopped down (not sure if Sterling is doing even longer runs for this one? like Nathan mentioned).  The Boa Eco, uses left over yarns, so there isn't always enough length on the bobbin to do a full 24 hour run of a rope braiding machine, so as Nathan mentioned, there are a bit more man hours involved.

Also, if you're looking for a rope to drag around on snow, you should really spring for something narrower and with a full sheath AND core dry treatment, such as Sterling's DryXP or Edelrid's Pro Dry/Eco Dry ropes.  A fuzzy sheathed gym rope on snow is going to get wet and heavy fast, even with the Dry Core treatment.  But just my $0.02.

To clarify, this cost is most noticable for bipattern ropes

Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your experiences!

I did suspect that the difference came down to the Bluesign certification and the yarn re-use program. It's also interesting to see Graham's experience where the Boa outlasted more expensive ropes, which seems to be a pattern for the Boa in various reviews, making the price somewhat justified in quality/durability.

Fwiw I use a boa eco as my gym lead rope, and I love it. I think it's 2(ish) years old and is still a happy camper. My outdoor rope is the cheaper blue BD rope that everyone buys initially and it is noticeably less happy despiteless use, but that could be due to sharp rocks 

I have a boa and love it. Cant beat the environmental factor. Worth a few extra bucks to me. 

For what it’s worth I just purchased Mammut’s equivalent to the boa eco as a replacement for the eco (4 years old) which is now the gym rope. No opinions on the mammut yet, but there is another option on the market for more eco friendly ropes.