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Half rope for rock and mixed climbing
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Now looking to buy new half ropes. I've used single only before and need some recommendations. I'm thinking about the next ropes: 1. Beal Ice line 8.1 Golden dry 2. Petzl Rumba 8.0 Not sure isn't diameter too thin for rock climbing 3. Black Diamond 8.5 Dry I like my BD 9.4 Dry, but haven't seen any reviews about 8.5 Has anybody expirience with one of set? Also any suggestions would be appreciated! |
Jerry Oil wrote: Not sure if this helps, but here are a few of my thoughts and experiences. I have reviewed a few sets of half ropes over the past few years. 1. I tend to find better durability for rock with 8mm diameter and greater. Below 8mm the ropes just seem To get pretty beat up on rock. You know this it seems so I’m just agreeing haha 2. Look for ropes with high sheath %’s to increase durability in rock. For reference I have used 9.0, 8.5, 8.0, 7.7, and 7.5mm half ropes over the years and find the 8-8.5 range is great for rock. 7.5-8 is great for ice. I would recommend checking out the Mammut Alpine Senders in 8.0 or 8.5mm. They have proven to be very durable for me over the years. The rest of the ropes I use nowadays are sub 8mm, but another contender that I haven’t climbed on much but seems to be a crowd favorite is the Beal Opera 8.5mm too. Btw, I used the Black Diamond 7.8mm half ropes (can’t remember the specific name) and I liked them but I think some of the other rope manufacturers make better ropes for a similar price imho PS- I just finished a review of the Sterling Dyad 7.7mm XEROS half ropes which if you need something more ice specific check those out haha |
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Honestly, if I were you I’d just get a skinny triple rated rope. The Beal Opera Golden dry is pretty much as light as most halfs and way more versatile. |
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Bluewater excellence 8.4 I've had great experience with their ropes for holding up over time, handling, soft catches, |
Ted Raven wrote: Triples are great if you actually need them, but they have a lower sheathe percentage (more core to meet single standards). |
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I’ve found the alpine sender ropes wear fast. I haven’t had the Rumbas but I’ve had other Petzl ropes and they’ve been fantastic. Handle well and last a long time. Don’t get two triples if you want halfs. |
Samuel Ammermann wrote: I’ve had two pairs of these and they are really good. They changed the sheath construction between the first pair I had and the second, and the latter isn’t nearly as good. Triple pick to double pick maybe? |
John Sigmon wrote: Get one triple and a one half/twin rated. It allows for every combination. If I don’t need to use two ropes on a pitch, I’m not going to. |
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I test ropes (and just climb a lot) so have been fortunate to use a broad range. I'm a gear snob - enough to worry about in the mountains, gear doesn't need to be another - so I'm quite picky for when it matters. As a general rule I dislike half ropes, but they have their place. In general, you should compare ropes by weight (g/m) and sheath %, as diameter is somewhat subjective in how its measured and reported by companies. I've been really impressed with the Edelrid Starling Protect Pro Dry 8.2: 44 g/m, 42% sheath, and the burly aramid sheath construction really eases the mind on those skinny cords over sharp edges. I think the slight extra stiffness from the Aramid makes them handle and keep from tangling a bit better vs other skinny cords. My general default to buy for when it matters is Mammut, and the Alpine Dry 8.0 has served me well at 42 g/m and 42% sheath. I've also tested the Sterling Xeros line and am impressed so far from what I've seen, I still have some hangover negativity from 10 years ago with their quality so working against that... |
Zach Eiten wrote: Hey Zach or others, any chance you could comment on the longevity of the Xeros "permanent" dry coating? Seems to be the new feature differentiator of these ropes, and I wonder if it lasts longer than other dry coatings. |
James C wrote: I don’t have enough time on them to give a definitive answer yet. I received them in November and just finished reviewing them. I will climb on them the rest of this season and report back. However, right out of the gate I am going to speculate pretty confidently that yes they will last longer. I have used Mammut and Edlerid ropes a lot in recent years for alpine dry ropes. When my edelrid or Mammut dry ropes were brand new and I took them on wet ice climbs generally the sheath would freeze over AND there would be some penetration into the sheath. Not much but still some when new. The XEROS ropes, I shit you not, as soon as we rappelled over the iced over sheath. The ice would shatter away and leave a perfectly dry rope. I have been pretty impressed since a lot of the climbs in Hyalite that I tested them on this January were soaking. |
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Hey Zach, where can we find your review of the Sterling ropes? |
Matze M wrote: Hey Matze, It hasn’t been published online by OPL yet but I’ll be sure to drop the link here once it has. I didn’t use them on any rock during my review. Primarily ice and a little mixed. I have used many 8mm ropes for rock and they hold up well. I think the Sterling Dyad ropes at 7.7mm would be good on ice, mixed, or rock. I generally shy away from using my 7.5mm ropes on rock due to the dynamic stretch and I want to keep them in good shape for ice since I own 8mm half ropes anyways. |
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Super happy with my Mammut 8 Alpines |
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I forgot to mention, Mammut is having a 40% off sale right now including the 8.0 Alpine Dry |
John Edwin wrote: These are great ropes and made me realize I never stated what ropes specifically I used from mammut earlier. I have used the mammut 8.0 alpine senders (new name) for the past 5 years and more recently the mammut 7.5mm alpine senders. I used the mammut 8.5mm alpine senders (Phoenix?) ropes prior to those haha. They have come along with me on many diverse trips and even caught me during my accident. I couldn’t be happier overall with my mammuts |
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For all those asking, OPL published my review of the Sterling Dyad half ropes. https://dirtbagdreams.com/proview-sterling-rope-dyad-7-7-xeros/ |
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Since you are coming single rope back ground not a bad thing to pair a tripple rated rope with a smaller 1/2 rope. I have had 4 Operas used primarlly single with the occasional double for that hard to protect crag pitch. Also good for gear protected mixed. |
