Im sort of new to climbing and looking to buy my first rope.
I've been recommended the beal edlinger and a bluewater 10,2 standard.
The prices I've got have about a R500 differance so wanted some advice what the best rope out of the two would be for me, or for that matter any other ropes that come recommended.
Is it worth the extra money (longer life span, safer ect)?
I only do sport routes and climb in dry conditions
thanks..

To me BW has done unexpedtedly AWESOME
I got a Mamut(one of the best in the world) and the underdog BW(back when they where new in SA), and used them both fairly equally, and I unfortunately had to cut soft ends off my Mamut by now, but the BW still goes strong!

I was and still is pleasantly surprised - however, treat your rope well and it will last long!

good luck with the choice!

j

how tight is your budget?

both ropes will work fine and will last for years if well taken care off.

if you need not sell your budgie and live on rice for 6-months to fork out the extra R500 you will be well served by the BW rope. but often the price increase is disproportionate to the quality increase - i doubt that the BW will be a 25% "better" rope than the Edlinger.

mokganjetsi, have you owned both ropes in order to make a fair comparison?

I have had my Edlinger for more than 5 years now and it is still going strong. I recently bought my second Edlinger and have retired my first one to top-roping purely because of it's age and for piece of mind, although physically the rope is still in really good shape.

Take a look at the number of fall factors that each rope offers you and decide whether you are going to pay the extra cash for the extra fall factors, keeping in mind that doing sport climbing, unless you are really going to push yourself, your rope is rarely going to see a full fall factor

Beal has a nice in-depth article on fall factors ::here::

If you own a Grigri, I have been warned to steer away from the thinner ropes, especially the Edlinger as it has some form of protective coating which causes it to slip through the device. The coating does wear off over time and the rope becomes really nice and flexible. For normal ATC's it works really well.

If the extra cash is going to give you more piece-of-mind, go for the more expensive one.

climbing buddies owns Edlingers and BWs and i have climbed with both many times. i know both the ropes are fine for any type of sport climbing a beginner will encounter. how "good" a rope is, is too a large extent subjective - personally i will be happy to pay a few bucks extra extra for a BW, but for a 1st rope on a tight budget i will recommend the Edlinger no sweat.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback. I really appriciate it!!

I regularly climb on a Beal Edlinger and the rope has great durability although it has become a lot stiffer over its life. That said it's nearly two years old gets used loads and it has not been washed. The rope will do the job and for a LONG time showing little sign of wear (under normal conditions), but the 'handling' of the rope defnitely deteriorates. I was tempted to buy another one because they are so affordable. As a first time rope buyer, I would suggest this is one of your best options.

A couple guys I climb with climb on BW and the sheaths don't tend to be as hard wearing as other ropes, with the ends of ropes needing to be cut every so often - they all climb to core though

I currently own a 10mm Edilrid (Hawk?) and its handling is superb. Only had it for a couple of weeks but the rope seems really good (mabey cos it's new). I guess I'll learn about it's durability over the coarse of its life, but I have not heard any bad things regarding wear on this rope.

Ultimately a rope is a rope. As long as it's UIAA rated it is safe for what it is meant to do.

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Hi Kaya

Check out this cool article

Lots of reading, but might help?

That article seems like an extended Edelrid advertisement to me (not surprised since its on sale in the product section of that site).

I've always found the Beal product information really useful, even when considering non-Beal products.

I've been climbing on an Edlinger for just over a year and have been stoked with it. That said, I climbed on it in the wet and I regretted that (gets heavy and doesn't handle well).

I think I'm on the verge of getting a new rope and I'll be getting one that's dry treated. And I think I need to get double ropes too... hmm gear... soooo preeettyyy...

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I don't think, therefore I'm Not