Ok - this I like. Southern are prepared to put their money where their mouth is and are not scared of having their product in the hands of their critics. I was thinking of putting in a bid for that rope, but I'm not really a critic of Southern Ropes, just someone who was around when there was a bad experience on a rope on which I'm sure they've improved since that particular example was bought.

Ah, what the hell - unless someone else bids for that rope, I'll gladly test it and give feedback periodically.

Rob

_________________
--
Rob Thomas
http://www.sml.co.za/
082-652-1490 (all hours but try to be reasonable)

Next question Rob... who you gonna climb with

Well, I was thinking about you. After all, who better to give comparative feedback

_________________
--
Rob Thomas
http://www.sml.co.za/
082-652-1490 (all hours but try to be reasonable)

Ok... why the hell not...

Justin/Ropeworld let the guys at Southern know you got a critic who's willing to put there product to the test. Also let them know I'm very demanding, take a look and see;-)



It will give Southern a chance to wipe the slate clean... well with me at least. If I'm impressed with their product I’ll have no problem saying so at all!

I already have 2 other single ropes that I can put theirs to the test against, if they have no problem with that...
The 1 is a Fat Rock, Edilrid the other is a Lannex. Both are still in a good condition!
However they are both 60m. So if Southern wants to sponsor me a 50m rope I pay for the extra 10m to get 60m.

All tests done will be done with Rob and detailed records and opinions will be kept for publication...

No one in Cape Town has contacted Rope World to test Southern Ropes full climbing sports rope.

www.ropeworld.co.za

www.southernropes.com

I was wondering if Nic could tell us some more about Southern Ropes present climbing rope.

this is ridiculous do you work for these guys or what?

No

I believe that the rope is fine for sport climbing. I would test the rope myself but I am not a critic, so it would be good idea for a critic to test it to put any rumours to rest.

I have no vested interest in the climbing industry.

You can type, but you sure can't read. Stop the 'I believe' crap. Have you climbed on one?

One other thing, the resoling thread from 2005 proves that Drifter is either:
a) learning *GASP* how to use the search function OR
b) just went through every single thread since the dawn of time to find one he can post crap in

I might be a bit cynical, but if old D went with option a (and I sure hope he did) there is hope for this world yet kids.

No I haven't climbed on the rope myself though I have heard from people who have climbed on the rope and they say it is fine.

I have also phoned Southern Ropes and asked them 'Do you produce rock climbing ropes'. Their response was yes. I then asked 'Does this rope stretch' and they said yes.

So you got two groups saying different things, so let the critics test the present climbing rope Southern Ropes produces and lets see if the rope is fine or not.

Their website www.southernropes.com also says they produce dynamic ropes.

For the guys at Southern...

This comes copied and pasted off the Beal website (a great roll model )

The BEAL LAB is not a classical research office

The climbers and mountaineers of the BEAL team are fully integrated into its work. We listen to their suggestions and their test reports, as well as their emotions and enthusiasms, to be imbued with the evolution of the activity.
It’s that which lets us anticipate changes and to be tuned to the needs of climbers.

BEAL LAB is thus a meeting of the practical and the theory. It’s a very light and reactive structure in which the wish to improve the security and comfort of climbers and mountaineers reigns without ceasing.


Have a look for yourself: http://www.bealplanet.com/portail-2006/ ... ue&lang=us

So letting your product into the hands of your customers is going to work in your favour. Rob and myself are no strangers to ropes and rope-work.
It would be nice for you guys comment on this thread, it’s making a few people anxious...

I second the request for the \"ignore\" feature, or even better, an auto delete function for posts by a certain Taker-Of-Postman-Fudge.

For the record:

I didn't say that the Southern Rope dynamic we used didn't stretch.

I didn't say that the rope was not a climbing rope.

What I did day was that the rope did not perform as we expected and that in a (admittedly non-scientific back-yard type test) it appeared to be very similar in its stretch characteristics (and therefore its ability to attenuate impact force) to a static rope by the same manufacturer. I also said that the rope was at least 3 years old and that the manufacturer might have (and probably had) made significant changes to the design and manufacture process since this specific rope in question was produced.

An offer was made (online) to make a rope available for testing. In the absence of any other takers I accepted the offer (online), along with FANTA. I do not know who the individual was who originated the offer (it was posted through Ropeworld whose contact details I don't have at hand) so I couldn't contact them directly, but my contact details are on the bottom of every single post I make, so getting hold of me isn't hard.

Next, FANTA mentions that this thread seems to make people uncomfortable. Why? I'm not slagging off a product - I'm relating my specific experiences with one particular sample of the product. If someone wants to correct my perceptions then the best way to do that is to post a scientific rebuttal. The test data would probably suffice - especially if accompanied by an explanation of the changes made to the rope's design since that specific rope was bought.

Finally, before someone asks why I didn't contact the manufacturer myself when this happened, the reason is that the company I was working for on that particular day was going to do so anyway and they were present at all of this so they had the information.

I await a well thought-out rebuttal or confirmation of what I have said.

Regards

Rob

_________________
--
Rob Thomas
http://www.sml.co.za/
082-652-1490 (all hours but try to be reasonable)

I personally believe in the rope because it has been SABS tested. I believe SABS knows about testing products.

https://www.sabs.co.za/

Hold on guys, before you all take it uppon your selves to solve this dispute, please just realize that Vice Climbing Gear and Southern Ropes are in the process of developing our rope to a point where no one will be able to criticize its credibility. All I can tell you at this stage is that soon we will soon have a rope that is of the highest standard, even compared to the European standards.
As for the testing and the personal reviews, like I said, that is not going to be happening until we are happy with the rope internally.
If you have any questions please drop me a mail
steroids@vice.co.za

Far be it from me to throw petrol on the fire but...



(Emphasis mine, obviously.)

Does this imply that you are not currently happy with the rope?

--A

The rope as it stands now, is SABS tested and complies with all the requirements set for a dynamic climbing rope. We are happy with the rope thus far, but we would like to make a few physical tweaks. The more development that we do, the better the end product. It just makes sense. We are trying to create a product that will be accepted by an already matured (and highly criticizing) market. We need to convince people that our ropes are of the same standard as any other, and this takes time and development. So instead of criticism, how about showing a little support.

I'm looking forward to hearing more on this thread.

I would buy a South African product over an imported one as long as it meets the standards.

Vice/Southern seem committed to providing a safe rope so I say let them prove it! Without knowing too much about the safety standards concerned. If someone can provide an apples for apples result, comparing Southern with another manufacturer, showing it to be inferior then I would accept.
SABS standards are high and I am inclined to trust them.

The main problem here for me is that most people have slammed the Southern for being inferior because its locally manufactured, ie, implying that South African workmanship is kak. I believe that South African companies should be supported as much as possible in order to create more opportunities for South Africans to work in the environment they love. It'll also increase the exposure of the sports themselves.

Question @ Rob T & Fanta- Did you try another rope on that same fall and test the difference?

Im not on any side of the fence, but I won't slam anyone without proof.

P.S. That swing must have been a jol!

_________________
Waynarky
http://www.extremelysa.co.za
Adventure Sports Directory and Mobile Climbing Wall.

Hey, I'm not criticising or supporting anybody. I've never used a Southern rope (use a Beal myself), or even seen one AFAIK. And I'd love a locally produced, less expensive alternative that was demonstrably of equal quality. (Better quality would be even nicer.)

I just wanted a bit of clarification (which you gave, thanks) because your post could have been interpreted as suggesting that there were issues / questions about the rope as it stood, and that you were only now in the process of addressing them. Which in turn would imply that the original concern over the ropes...in terms of their dynamic properties...was indeed valid, that's all.

I for one hope that you succeed in producing such a local rope, and I await 3rd-party test results eagerly.

--A

@ roid/Vice/Southern/SABS/or anybody else who may have it???

Please do post us all the SABS test data to examine; for interests sake. Coz I was searching my ass off last night for any sort of information on the suspect ropes and found absolutely nothing! Not even information on the Southern Ropes website, and they make it; it barely even gets mentioned on their web page! How long have they been making \"mountaineering climbing ropes\"? It must be at least more than three years now. In comparison I had no problem finding the specs of other manufactures ropes

Not directly. We did, however, replace that dynamic with another (not sure which brand - we were using the company's equipment) on a subsequent day and on this replacement rope the impact forces felt less. We didn't do the static hang stretch-test.

Obviously the right way to test is side-by side with a load-cell on the point where you want to measure the forces and compare products and giving all products tested the same test. We were just checking to see how things compared using the equipment we had on site.

Regards

Rob

_________________
--
Rob Thomas
http://www.sml.co.za/
082-652-1490 (all hours but try to be reasonable)

cool, just checking.

_________________
Waynarky
http://www.extremelysa.co.za
Adventure Sports Directory and Mobile Climbing Wall.

I have arranged with Southern Ropes to make available 50/60 meters of their dynamic rope for testing. I have been in contact with Rob Thomas regarding this offer. Southern is manufacturing the rope this coming week and will then make it available for testing.
As Rob had his bad experience about 3 years ago it will be interesting to see how Southern has improved their rope. Fact is all rope manufacturers are continuously improving rope design and quality hence new \"improved\" climbing ropes are introduced to the market each year.
Their static rope has been accepted by the market as high quality with at a good price. It will be great if they can develop a dynamic rope at a competitive prive that is acceptable to the market albeit a market that is rather fickle about what make of rope they prefer.
We will await Rob's report with interest.

Awsome stuff

Now thats what I want to hear

Thank You Guys

Its On!

_________________
Waynarky
http://www.extremelysa.co.za
Adventure Sports Directory and Mobile Climbing Wall.

I know this is a really old thread, but I bought some cheap rope from Southern the other day and they mentioned they manufacture static and dynamic ropes. I found that very interesting. They also have some climbing posters on their shop wall.

RobT or Fanta, what was the outcome/result of the test you did? Did you do it in the end?

We never did the tests in the end; as we did not get the rope offered to us. Weather it be from us not following up with Southern or Southern not being forthcomming with what they offered I forget. If Southern is still willing to offer up a length of rope Rob and I will still gladly accept...

I know southern ropes from a Yachting perspective and in that genre they are good. Someone that can make a rope that holds a kite on a 40ft+ yacht has the ability to make a rope that can catch a human.

However...

Their website (after a quick look, I maybe wrong) does not even mention dynamic / climbing ropes.

So, I did what seemed sensible and sent them a request on their website online 'contact us' form, challenging them to deliver on the promise of a test.

Lets see if they can deliver.

Wouldn't it be great if we can get a safe locally produced dynamic rope at a competitive price? Hell yeah!

Just spoke to Johann at Ropeworld and asked if he would still be interested in having the rope tested?
He said no thanks.

_________________
Climb ZA - Administrator

I'll speak to Southern Ropes directly. Why do we have to go through Ropeworld.
I'll see if I can get a length of rope from them to test. Maybe do a static load test and the UIAA Falls test. I hope they're willing to donate 20m or so

I emailed southern ropes. here's their answer. I referred then to Rob & Fanta, and also two other guys who do this for a living. Lets see what happens.

Wanna contact southern ropes?
http://www.southernropes.com/contact-us

"Hi Frans,

Thanks for the info and interest in our ropes.
Since that time we have made many changes and acquired more machinery from Germany. Our problem at the moment is we have limited capacity as we are struggling to keep up with our export industrial rope sales of similar ropes, so we have never tried to sell into the sport market, but we would certainly be keen to get some accurate feedback from someone credible in that market so that we could perhaps develop it in time.

Regards,

Chris."