[boulderingbacon]

just did a quick search and couldn't find much on half ropes. what do you guys recommend to get ie make, diameter. length etc. its for my bro and he lives in derby so most of the climbing he does will be around the peaks. cheers

[Paul B]

a mate was selling a pair of 9mm's for 100 quid, new. If price matters thats not bad. Think they are infinity (which are effectively sterling?).

[mrjonathanr]

I like Edelrid but Mammut are another pretty decent manufacturer. 9mm is standard. Wouldn't bother with dry treatment unless you'll be using it much on sea cliffs and/or snow. Bound to be deals around, Needlesports site usually informative.

[stevej]

9mm hasn't really been standard for probably a decade, I don't think that anyone still makes them anyway (if there are any left, needlesports will have them, they probably make some sense if you're going to really rag them and want them to last). The standard go-to rope that everyone on the planet seems to have is the mammut genesis (8.5mm). Anything thinner compromises a lot on lifespan and anything thicker is a bit too old-school chunky. Gooutdoors have had the beal cobra ii (8.6mm but exactly the same weight as the genesis) on and off at £75 for 50m dry and elderid 8.5 ropes sometimes go on offer (got a dry treated for £65 from tiso not long ago). Retail on them all has gone sky-high and offers are less frequent than they were a few years ago so unless you spot a bargain they're likely to be £120+ each for (dry) 50s. Outdoorshop.com edit: theoutdoorshop.com always have decent prices. V12 and outside sometimes have offers too.

Search on ukc for one of the many 'what ropes should i buy' topics if you dare.

[Drew]

If you expand the search from UKB (the B standing for Bouldering - there's a clue) to UKC (I do like to think of it as Uninformed Krapulous Comment) and Google, I'm sure there are a million pages. Anyway here's my 2ps worth:

8.5mm is the new 9mm. Single ropes go down to 8.9mm if not 8.7mm, so don't bother with 9mm unless you want to be 5 years late.
8mm is the new 8.5mm i.e. 8mm means light but not durable but 8.3-8.5mm means durable, but still pretty light.
Dry treated doesn't just mean dry treated. If you're going neat water (liquid or solid) it's a must, but even if not, it will mean the rope lasts longer - it reduces the amount of grit, and dirt which can get into the core.
Heat treated (most manufacturers do this now - Mammut call it Duraflex) will also last longer. Don't ask why, just accept that they will.
The better known manufacturer's (Mammut, Edelrid, Edelweiss, Beal) will perform as they normally do. Lesser known manufacturers won't last as long.
As for length, I'd go for 60m. Half the time you will hate it, but the other half the time you (or your brother) will thank God, Allah, and me that he did. He may even find it saves his life (multiple abs reduced, especially if bolted for single 60m rope).
For most Gritstone outcrops, a single 60m rope doubled over is sufficient.

[TobyD]

8mm is the new 8.5mm i.e. 8mm means light but not durable but 8.3-8.5mm means durable, but still pretty light.
Dry treated doesn't just mean dry treated. If you're going neat water (liquid or solid) it's a must, but even if not, it will mean the rope lasts longer - it reduces the amount of grit, and dirt which can get into the core.
As for length, I'd go for 60m. Half the time you will hate it, but the other half the time you (or your brother) will thank God, Allah, and me that he did. He may even find it saves his life (multiple abs reduced, especially if bolted for single 60m rope).
For most Gritstone outcrops, a single 60m rope doubled over is sufficient.

I'd totally agree with that: dry is only £10-20 more expensive, and your ropes will, inmy experience last longer enough that this will save you in the long run. Buy cheap buy twice as someone or other probably used to say.

If you go climbing in a variety of places, get 60m ropes.

Lower rope diameter / g per m i reckon makes more of a difference through reduced drag than sheer weight most of the time, but i agree with Drew that 8.3-5mm is peobably optimum. Always look at the g per m though as the diameter measurements that ropes are sold under are not standardised, and often don't give you a true comparative picture of the different products.

[boulderingbacon]

Thanks for the replies looks like 8.5 s are the best bet, so I guess I'll get him some of those. Will definitely get dry treated cos my sport rope is and it's awesome. I think I'll get 60m ropes as well always better to have too much length than not enough

[ben87]

http://shop.northwestface.com/index.php?cPath=63_65_180

8.5mm x 60 for under 100 notes. Bought one myself a couple of months back.

[TobyD]

always better to have too much length than not enough

fnarr.    fnarr.