Big wall rope, Protect Pro vs Unicore

I’ve core shot two regular ropes (9.8mm, 9.6mm) in as many walls now among jugging and other big wall shenanigans.

I was looking at unicore ropes with high sheath percentage, and then noticed Edelrid recently released the Eagle Lite Protect Pro, a 9.5mm rope with their aramid fiber tech. Based on their 8.9 equivalent to 10.5mm claims, it should be equivalent to an over 11mm rope.

I’m a super big fan of their smaller ropes with the aramid, I have the 8.9mm swift and the 6mm tag they’ve held up extremely well.

So now I’m trying to decide. Go for the eagle? Or get a 9.7-10.5mm unicore?

If only Edelrid would offer a 9.7 with the aramid and a bonded core, then this would be a no-brainer.

What’s your go-to big wall lead rope?

Buy the Edelrid eagle and let us know how it holds up. 

Like you I have been pleased with my swift. 

What Kevin Said!

when I came back to BigWalls after a 20+yrs off, and had to buy all the gear at once- I just grabbed the Black Diamond 10.2/60m because they said it was for big walls- 5yrs later, a dozen walls- half of them El Cap and it’s still the rope I buy.. (maybe on my 3rd?)

It’s not sexy or light- but I’ve never core shot one.. it’s durable and predictable and has caught some monster whips.. and the Price is Right 

I've been climbing big walls continually since 1995, and I've climbed a wall [or at least attempted a wall] every single season since then.

Far and away, the best dynamic wall ropes I have ever used are the Beal Unicore ropes. The 11mm Apollo is one of the few ropes in the world to pass a UIAA edge test. I hope someone from one of the other rope manufacturers is reading this, because I wrote this one time - that only Beal and Bluewater have a rope that would pass the edge test - and the guy spent ages trying to tell us why the UIAA edge test wasn't a good test, and why his company's rope didn't pass it, blah blah blah. But all he did in my opinion was point out how unbelievably bitchin' it is for a rope to pass a UIAA edge test.

I used to use the Beal 11mm Apollo, but it only comes in 60m lengths so far as I am aware.

I have since switched to the 10.5mm Beal Top Gun in the 70m length, the extra length being handy for big wall shenanigans. This rope is not only burly AF, it is flexible and easy to handle. It's big and fat and heavy and I love it. On those rare occasions when I fall - almost never - it gives you a decently soft catch.

But the main benefit of the unicore technology is that if you do put a core shot in it, the sheath is bonded to the core and it won't slip, so you can escape your dilemma with a reasonably high degree of confidence. You know how on fixed ropes [like the East Ledges descent of El Cap] or at the climbing gym, the sheath at the bottom of the rope gets all accordion-like and nasty? That's because the sheath has slipped over time and use. This will never happen with a unicore rope.

I can't speak for the fancy shmancy stuff, but someone can go out and test it and tell us how it works.

The Beal 70m Top Gun Unicore rope in action on the second ascent of Atlantis, El Cap. Looking back at the camp on top of the Shark's Fin at the base of the Great White Shark. Photo by Tom "Tabarnac" Canac. Click on the photo to see it in high res.  Nice pro, eh?

Oh yeah, here's the view in the other direction - good view of El Cap Tower on the Nose behind him.

So .... do you know how to clean a pitch like this?    

In case you’re keeping score:

Quinn Climbed El Cap in 1994- Pete 1995

Pete Climbed Since then- Quinn Took 20yrs off

Quinn takes Big Ass Whips- Pete never does..

Pete has a book for sale- Quinn does not 

My understanding is the UIAA got rid of the edge test because it did not translate well to the real world, basically meaningless.

Edelrid is trying to get a better, more repeatable, cut test into the test suite.  Their cut test indicates the swift pro is more cut resistant than three typical 10mm rope.  That's why the edelrid eagle is attractive and possibly more cut resistant and durable (?) Than your 11mm rope.

Once upon a time the beal bonded sheath was fancy new stuff. 

Quinn and Kevin make Pete piss himself with laughter and almost spill his beer!  

beal tiger 10mm

I have a 10.2MM ELEMENT II UNICORE 70M 2XDRY that I got for 100$ and it is indestructible. steel cable, yes. Handling, not really

https://weighmyrack.com/rope/edelweiss-102mm-element-ii-unicore-70m-2xdry 

Alright. Some good advice. I think for this season I'll pick up an Eagle to test it out, and a 10.5 top gun as a backup rope to keep at camp if the eagle doesn't hold out. I take two lead ropes with me anyways as its a long drive if one goes.

I'd love for the Eagle to be up to the challenge. I don't want to have to switch back to an old grigri for the thicker rope.

Not worried about bail options -- Will be doing route development so will be static fixing a ton so have exit options if a rope becomes unusable.

Beware the impact forces on the aramid fibre ropes. Robbie Philips colleague took a whipper in the Highlands and ripped some gear in half that was rated for 5kn. I thought that was odd so checked the rope impact forces and they're quite a bit higher for the Edelrid Swift halfs. The Eagle Protect isn't as bad in terms of impact but it's still 17% more than the Beal Karma (and other 9.5-10mm ropes)

e.g. 

+1 for Beal Unicore Ropes. I've been using a Beal Booster III (I do mostly rope soloing, so I need a slightly smaller diameter to play nice with my LRS setup). That thing is shockingly durable.

Thanks for the note on impact forces, Tim. I'll keep that in mind, and switch to the Top Gun or my half ropes if the gear is going to be questionable.

I’ve got a Beal unicore rope I’m very much looking forward to using this spring.  The added security of the attached sheath will be comforting on the upcoming route.  

Jeremy Aslaksen and I use 10+ mm ropes and also try to find the cheapest ones near $100 as the desert is really hard on ropes and sometimes we are stuck fixing for 6 weeks at a time.Rope protectors are also essential along with best practice tie off if overnight or for a week or more. I have also core shot brand new 70 and 80 m ropes on a two day trip so now I stick with 60 meter to match that price point I shoot for. Cheap, 10mm or larger.

pardon my ignorance but where are you finding lead lines for around $100?  just sales and hunting around or do you have a pro deal?

pardon my ignorance but where are you finding lead lines for around $100?  just sales and hunting around or do you have a pro deal?

Philip Bartz wrote:

pardon my ignorance but where are you finding lead lines for around $100?  just sales and hunting around or do you have a pro deal?

Liberty mountain outlet in Utah 

Well, I went with the Beal Top Gun, and it lasted half a wall. Had rock break while aiding on a micronut, and blew a piece before as well resulting in a ~10m fall. The rope raked across an edge and ripped the sheath. Rolled my ankle, so a couple weeks of healing before I'm back on a rope.

Regarding the rope, I was really impressed with it. Extremely good feel for a 10.5mm, ran through newer GriGri like a much smaller rope.

Considering the fall and the edge it was pulled across during my swing, I'm very happy with how it held. Cores are a little scuffed but none are cut. Sheath pulled about 8" and bunched about a meter on each side of the damage. Also re-learned a lesson here, in the scenario I was in it should have been obvious this was a potential in a fall, and I should have found better gear, or put a bolt in to protect it even though there was micro gear to continue aiding.

Cut 10m off the rope and it'll go to crag / spare duty now.

The Edelrid Eagle Lite Protect Pro is now available in Canada so I've gone one on order and will give that a go when we return to the route.

This also makes me wonder about using half/twin ropes when new routing with risk like this, but I don't like the idea of jumaring on those. Not sure there is a good solution. (at least one could run a micro on the other rope as a backup?)

^^ Holy shite! ^^

One wonders what might have happened had it not been Unicore?!