[moose]

Destroying a rope in 6 months, that is quite impressive! What were you doing with it?

Nothing, that's the problem! Had one go up putting the draws in Seventh Aardvark at Malham back in January. Back on the ground my belayer noticed that the rope had significantly furred up. Thought it might be a rogue draw but checked and nothing wrong. Used another rope for the rest of the day which was totally fine. Sent the rope back to the retailer who forwarded it on to Mammut. They said there was nothing wrong and it was safe. I agree that it was safe, for now, but the level of deterioration for literally one attempt on a route was not OK! I've used the rope for 4 or 5 sessions since lockdown has eased and it has just got worse. No word yet from the retailer but time to cut my losses.

I had a Mammut Infinity 9.5mm (a version with a Teflon coating IIRC) and I had to chop the ends after 2 weeks of working routes at Malham.  And, as anyone who knows me will attest, I am not heavy and very cowardly about taking big lobs.  [and, having seen Toby climb, it seems unlikely the damage to his rope was due to his vast bulk taking massive whippers!]. 

My next rope was a 9.8mm Sterling that impressed me enough to get a 9.4mm Sterling Ion Fusion afterwards - which has handled well and lasted absolutely ages.  Unfortunately it's been discontinued and replaced with a 9.2mm - which seems a bit thin for an RPing rope but I've heard good things about its durability.  So, I'm minded to get the 9.2mm Sterling for my next rope (if I ever sport climb again- can't face hooking up with randoms at the moment, so sticking to bouldering).  They never seem to be on special offer and you could probably buy two Simmonds for the same price but I'm personally happy to pay the extra - mentally amortised over a few years - for more certainty of having a really nice rope for its lifespan.

[TobyD]

For the UK I'd get the decathlon / simond 9.5. it's a decent rope I've used one on several sport trips. It seems fairly durable when fallen on a lot and seems to have a reasonably low impact force, subjectively, I haven't checked the figures.
I think impact force is worth paying more attention to since it effectively determines how comfortable it is to fall off on. Beal ropes have always tended to have a low impact force and handle nicely, but this tends to mean you fall slightly further, and the rope is less durable.
I really haven't ever found that paying more for your rope necessarily gets a much better product. They're all broadly going to be safe, but it's worth digging into the numbers on sheath %, impact force, etc which will give you a reasonable idea of what it will feel like in use.

[spidermonkey09]

Interestingly I had a Mammut rope a few years ago and it was fine for me, lasted ages.

I would also recommend the Decathlon one (green one I think). Strikes a nice balance between handling and durability. The pink one (thinnest) is also very good.

[remus]

Another vote for the simond ropes. I've had the pink one for a couple of years (including more dogging than I'd like to admit to) and only just had to chop it for the first time. It's lasted way longer than I thought it would and I'll definitely be getting another when it finally dies.

[RobK]

Interestingly I had a Mammut rope a few years ago and it was fine for me, lasted ages.

I would also recommend the Decathlon one (green one I think). Strikes a nice balance between handling and durability. The pink one (thinnest) is also very good.

Another vote for the simond ropes. I've had the pink one for a couple of years (including more dogging than I'd like to admit to) and only just had to chop it for the first time. It's lasted way longer than I thought it would and I'll definitely be getting another when it finally dies.

Thanks guys. I do hear lots of good things about the Simond ropes and, at about half the price of the premium alternatives, I will probably opt for the 9.5mm option as my 60m replacement. If I get on with it I might then get the skinny one as a replacement for my 80m which will probably need to be replaced next year.

[cheque]

Mammut ropes seem to vary the most between “model” than any other manufacturer. I’ve had ones that I just couldn’t kill and only retired because it seemed sensible but there are obviously others that fall apart just from looking at them. I don’t know if it’s because they have different factories or what.

[danm]

This could possibly be something to do with Mammut stopping in-house production of ropes in Switzerland in 2016, and now contracting a Czech company to make them instead. Not many brands actually make their own stuff anymore!

[Paul B]

This could possibly be something to do with Mammut stopping in-house production of ropes in Switzerland in 2016, and now contracting a Czech company to make them instead. Not many brands actually make their own stuff anymore!

The Mammut I had issues with will have been before this. Like others have stated I had to chop it ridiculously frequently.

[cheque]

Yeah, could be that they’re all shit now but in the past there was definitely this mixed bag of quality- evident in the reports earlier in this thread.

[Adam Lincoln]

Simon Decathlon ropes. Great handling and amazing value. Wont use any others now. Had one last 3 seasons home and abroad.

[rjtrials]

If you're mostly into redpointing and shorter routes then I wouldn't bother with a very thin rope, especially if you like steep things where you might bounce up if you fall off. Hauling around on a 9mm is a lot more of a pain in the asshands than on a slightly thicker rope.

I have adapted to using sub 9.5 ropes in the last few years by keeping a prussik loop on my dogging draw.

[galpinos]

This could possibly be something to do with Mammut stopping in-house production of ropes in Switzerland in 2016, and now contracting a Czech company to make them instead. Not many brands actually make their own stuff anymore!

It's Teufelberger (Austrian) who make Mammut Ropes. They bought the Scion (Switzerland) production facility off Mammut in the restructuring. No idea if they kept it in location or moved it. Teufelberger also own Maxim Ropes (New England Ropes).

[andy_e]

Question from a string newbie... How does one know when to chop the ends? I was dangling on mine at Am Fasgadh the other day and noticed it had become very stiff and creaky. Is this just old age? The rope is 15+ years old but was barely used between buying it (maybe one massive lob at Kilnsey) and a few years ago.

[remus]

Stiff is probably fine, soft is when I'll chop mine. Typically the sheath becomes quite obviously damaged (very furry, maybe a bit of core visible) when it's time for the chop.

[Will Hunt]

It would be handy to have a proper guide to this. When I'm doing lots of dogging with short falls on the draw, often with not very much rope out, I find that I go through rope very very quickly. I can't help but think that I'm chopping too early.
The sheath is generally furry/fluffy (or sometimes even a bit crusty - like it's been friction burned slightly?) but I've never waited to see core! I try and chop before it gets to a point where you can pinch the rope and not see daylight through the bight.

[jwi]

For single pitch, I tend to wait with cutting until I get a core shot. The main drawback is that when I get a core shot during a dogging session I will either have to abort or lower a loop and pull up a knife to shorten the rope (and I find it slightly freaky to cut ropes when hanging from a bolt). Ropes that I use for multipitch I tend to cut earlier not to have to deal with core shots while on the route (I hear that duct tape is OK for covering core-shots while on routes but I am not that hardcore).

I also would not use a 15 year old rope for anything at all.

[moose]

It would be handy to have a proper guide to this. When I'm doing lots of dogging with short falls on the draw, often with not very much rope out, I find that I go through rope very very quickly. I can't help but think that I'm chopping too early.
The sheath is generally furry/fluffy (or sometimes even a bit crusty - like it's been friction burned slightly?) but I've never waited to see core! I try and chop before it gets to a point where you can pinch the rope and not see daylight through the bight.

I generally keep using a rope if the damage is limited to slight sheath degradation.  For me, the time to chop is when damage to the core is apparent - soft spots in the rope and it no longer hangs nice and straight - usually there are 1-2 metre long sections that are kinked and very floppy.

[Andy F]

Question from a string newbie... How does one know when to chop the ends? I was dangling on mine at Am Fasgadh the other day and noticed it had become very stiff and creaky. Is this just old age? The rope is 15+ years old but was barely used between buying it (maybe one massive lob at Kilnsey) and a few years ago.

Bloody hell, I've probably belayed you on that rope 
Was the lob on Smooth Torquer by an chance?

[andy_e]

Yep, I still get the fear as a result of that incident! Thankfully I had a good belayer eh?!

[andy_e]

I also would not use a 15 year old rope for anything at all.

Interesting... others on here have said it's fine as long as it was stored OK!

[jwi]

I have found that old ropes fray ridiculously fast, when used in anger. I guess they are absolutely fine if you don't plan to fall much 🤷‍♂️

For me personally they are not worth bringing since I have to cut the end after each dogging session

[abarro81]

I chop when I see the core.. I've never still had a long enough rope after 15 years to be worth using, but 10 years seems fine (though as jwi said, you end up chopping more and more the older it gets!)

[andy_e]

This may be a silly question, but I'm full of those... See the core through the sheath? or at the end of the rope?

[abarro81]

Haha, through the sheath. You can usually see it at the end of the rope surely??

[andy_e]

Well that's what I thought, but just wanted to double check... Cheers!