I am planning on buying my first rope to be uses for sport climbing.
Is there much of a difference between the various ropes on the market. I was looking at the Beal Edlinger 10.2 x 60m mainly because it was the cheapest in stock on MMO. Is it a good rope? How do you classify a \"good rope\"? Are there special things one looks for in a rope?
Thanx

Again, the are very similarly certified - in my opinion the sheath is very important, you dont want it to become \"fluffy\" and difficult to feed through the belay device. 10.5 can get to thick quickly, 10.2 is a good thickness (enough to put your mind at a bit more ease)

I guess many people will have lots to say about the ropes they prefer, but my 2 cents worth is: a little cheaper is ok, they are all safe when in good condition, so look for something that will stay in good condition the longest. I'm quite impressed with the roca fanatic, mine is a year old and has a lot of miles on it, yet it seems it will last forever I've heard people complaining that its too kinky, but that only happens when my belay buddy uses his fancy pant anka to belay and abseil.

hehehe me again

i own one of these Beal Edlinger 10.2 x 60m. Also got it for my first rope.
it is a decent rope handels whell but it only lasted me a year (ok but it climmbed a lot and wasent treated that well) before i had to surcamsize it becasue of sheath slippage.

I've had two 10.5s (Maxim and Edelrid) and I've just bought a third, the Tendon Ambition 10.5mm 60m. I've never had a worry with them becoming too thick. I bought the Tendon because it was an excellent price and I read good reviews online. I've yet to climb with it, though, so I can't give any feedback. Besides, everyone seems to have a different opinion on ropes and what-not, so who's to know which is actually \"better\"? In my limited experience, the only rope I've actively not liked at all has been a Roca. Way too kinky and stiff. I've recently checked out a Beal, not sure what thickness or model, and it was lovely. So soft and supple!

This prolly hasn't been any help... suffice to say any modern rope will save your life and most are probably pretty similar. Pick one and climb!

personally i hate Beal ropes. The fluff up quickly and get soft spots after a few falls, basically they dont last long. Got a mammut now which is holding up a hundred times better.

OOOOOH where did u get one ?
Did u import it ?
Do they have the eternity or galaxy ?

its a Mammut tusk 9.8. Get hold of Stu at de Bos he is distributing mammut stuff here in SA

How about the Tendon Smart/Ambition, anyone know if these are any good?

I have one and in my opinon it isnt great - it has gotten thick quite quickly and feeding it through a reverso can be an irritation (when you are giving SLACK! ) My first rope was a roca 10.5 and this lasted really well in comparison

So if everyone had to recommend a rope, what would it be?

mammut galaxy/tusk
or the Beal joker

Blue Water - they appear to last forever!

The Dominator 9.4 is great...... handles sport and trad equally well (light enough to be used easily in a double rope system). The sheath seems pretty tough..... mine's been dragged over it's fair share of rough edges, and bundu'd through field upon field of climber's friend, with no notable sheath damage or fluffing!

Be careful of using it with a gri-gri however...... while it performs and catches like a champ (although Petzl advise not to use that small a diameter), it's super-slick - so watch out.

A bit pricey, but well worth it.

Had the dominator for 1 month - found that if you want to lose belay buddies, use that piece of string when working a route... its too thin, and its really a bitch to hold on to with normal belay devices. And about the so called strong sheath, I climbed one easy granite route, and it got frayed like a piece of yarn.

I don't get this bluewater hype... its an avarage, overpriced rope.
With great brands like mammut, beal, edelrid in the country, how can one not know what to buy?

_________________
you have one mouth, two ears. listen more...

Hmmm, maybe you got a dud! .... or I got lucky.

Does anyone know what it means if a rope is a \"program\". On MMA I saw that the Beal Top Gun had a Program one that cost more than the standard but I could not see any difference in the two...

Hi Viruk,

From the Beal catalogue...

PROGRAM SYSTEM to prolong the lifetime of the rope.

A rope with variable flexibility which gives up to double the life in sport climbing use.

A weave with a purpose for each part of the rope and its use.

THE TWO ENDS: Supple weave for the first 1.5 meters for ease of tieing in.

THE FOLLOWING FOUR METERS: A stiffer weave to give better restistance to abrasion and general wear on the part of the rope which sustains the majority of work and rubbing.

THE MIDDLE PART OF THE ROPE: Supple weave for optimum handleability.

Cheers,

Paul

My advice is go to Mountain Mail Order and speak to them.

I was advised to never ever buy a Tendon rope, way too stretchy, unsafe and dodgy.

Well a friend of mine bought one and it is fine. Handles well. Works well, safely held one fall so far.

Different people give different advice, if its your first rope get one of at least 10.2 diameter as you will probably fall much more often at first.

I found the longer I climb the more I fall...

or the more i fall the longer I climb...

Who told you that? My (limited, yes) experience of my Tendon has been positive. And besides, if Didier Berthod climbs with one they can't be that bad, can they?

but did the chicken come first...?

or was it the egg?

_________________
you have one mouth, two ears. listen more...

This fall I plan to climb longer ... (yes I'm bored and two posts to late)

Beware the Program!

Different manufacturers use certain terms to describe certain things they do to the rope. What Beal means by Program is different to what Lanex?Tendon mean by program, for example. So find out from the manufacturer's website rather.

ciao

or how about - "I climb therefore I fall"

I really don't think that anyone's falling for this...

_________________
You have an opinion, so do I. When these differ, please don't confuse your opinion with the truth, nothing is absolute.

haha, sounds like you lot are legends of the fall