11-mm rope is heavier than a lot of people like to use these
days. 9 mm is nice for expedition work, but has to be carefully
rigged because of its lower abrasion resistance. I'd split the
difference and go for 10 mm. It'll last plenty long and isn't as
stiff or heavy as 11 mm, especially after it gets dirty. I wouldn't
get less than 100 feet or you'll be quite limited where you can use
it, and ropes tend to get shorter over time as they get cut for
various reasons.. An advantage of 200 or 300 feet is that you can
set up a pulley and practice climbing longer distances. 200 feet is
probably a good compromise length. If your rope is too long you
won't want to take it anywhere because it is too bulky and
heavy. So, I recommend 200 feet of 10 mm. Happy climbing!
Mark
At 03:21 PM 5/3/2012, Stefan Creaser wrote:
Yeah, that's what i'd do. 11mm is good, general purpose, rope. If
you *must* use it in a cave then use it at the first pitches so you
don't have to carry it far :-)
Stefan
________________________________________
From: Fofo [gonza...@msu.edu]
Sent: 03 May 2012 14:05
To: texascavers@texascavers.com
Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Rope suggestions
Hi Mal!
Well... for a practice rope I would prefer an 11 mm one, because they
usually take a lot of abuse (by someone new "scratching" the sheath by
not opening completely the cam when downclimbing, etc), and it could be
a shorter one, like 50 ft, since it's going to be used indoors. Probably
something around 100 ft would be good too.
For caving, I prefer 9 mm, since it's lighter. 100 ft would probably be
the shortest length. 200 or 300 ft would be handy also. It also depends
on where you are going to use it!
If you only want one, well, 100 ft of 11 mm would work for the practice
and for shorter drops inside a cave.
Take care,
- Fofo
On 03/05/12 11:54, Mallory Mayeux wrote:
> I'm looking into buying my first rope. (Mostly to be used in my
> apartment, for our informal rope practice nights, conducted using a
> ladder stolen from my apartment complex, and the wall of my upstairs
> loft.) Anyway, I'd like to get something that will be useful for caves
> as well.
> So...suggestions, please! Is 50 foot rope too short for most pits? Or is
> it useful? What brand/thickness would y'all recommend?
> Thanks in advance for what I'm sure is going to be an interesting
> discussion. :)
> Mallory
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Permanent email address is mmin...@illinoisalumni.org
