Looking for a rope suggestion

Hi everyone,

I am in the market for new ropes this year and Santa wants to bring them to me. I usually climb on Safety Blue or Hi-vee but I am considering something new. I typically climb DRT with a blakes or a b53 hitch. I have not immediate intention on switching over to SRT in the near future but would like to eventually try split tail climbing. I have read countless threads and havent been able to make heads or tails out of all the info out there. I am considering the following XTC Phoenix, Dragonfly, Lava (Tachyon), BRW by Samson, and Safety blue.

Could anyone comment on likes or dislikes of the previous ropes for DRT and Blakes hitch usage mainly, with the flexibility for split tail use.

If it makes a difference, I use a pantin also.

Thank you all for your time and input.

-Wes

Even though I've only been tree climbing for about 3 years now, I've found myself getting very comfortable using Hi-vee and safety blue, and I am resistant to spend money on something I may not like. If you like it, stick with it. Maybe just get a different color!

I too like the hi-vee and safety blue, but I was wanting something different, that is why I am looking at other options before I purchase new rope. I wish new england made a few more rec friendly colors besides safety blue, hi-vee and now ultra-vee(lime green and white), something more stealthy like poison ivy rope.

Plenty of other threads on this new rope topic.

Out of your list, I've climbed on (and own) hi-vee and tachyon. If you like a thinner rope, I think you'll love tachyon. It is my personal favorite. But I know that a lot of people don't like the thinner ropes. It's a personal thing I'm guessing that you can really only decide after trying both.

This is my current favorite rope Blaze


The price was right. The color is very bright which may be a problem for some people that likes to "blend in"

It works on traditional systems using Blakes or with advanced systems with split tails and it works fine with Mechanical Asccender in SRT (Texas or RADS system) so it is overall a great rope.

New Tribe sells a similar rope to LAVA that is green color and blends well in the forest. (DRAGONFLY 7/16" Static Kernmantle Rope 150 FT at a great price 150ft/$125)

and finally Sherrils has a Special going on right now on Poison Ivy is a rope construction designed for use with advanced climbing tools and techniques, as well as with traditional methods ( Use Code ROPES) when ordering for a 10% discount.

Hope this helps you selecting your next rope.

oldtimer wrote:and finally Sherrils has a Special going on right now[/quote]

Yeah, if you're a cheapskate like me be sure to wait for a sale. Last year I bought some Arborplex (on sale) but a few weeks later they had all kinds of rope on sale and I could have bought Safety Blue for the same price as the Arborplex.

Thanks for you input guys, so if I am correct:
The Blaze, Lava(tachyon), FireFly, and Poison ivy all are good choices for DdRT tied to itself without a split tail and they all hold up to the heat of the blakes without glazing? I climb with gloves mostly is the difference between 12mm and 13mm(1/2") that noticeable?

Sorry to ask all of these questions, I have looked at the other new rope threads but did not find anything conclusive as to using the same rope on itself with a blakes hitch, tons of info and great answers if I were using a split tail is out there though.


Thank you,
-Wes

"Is the difference between 12mm and 13mm(1/2") that noticeable?"

First: the weight and difficulty of packing and logging around a heavier rope is a big deal for most climbers eventually you will want to climb away from your front porch or back of the house trees.

Second: eventually you will want to adopt more of the advanced techniques and buy gear that uses lower size ropes typically 9 to 11 millimeters and your fat rope (13 mm) will not work.

Third: most of today ropes holds weights in excess of 6000 lbs so they are not likely to fail under any normal climbing conditions so buying fatter ropes that are mostly used for rigging logs is not a good idea for a beginning Rec Climber.

Fourth: Buy whatever you feel comfortable with now, eventually (if you are like most climbers) you will end up buying other ropes. The current tendency is towards the lighter multi use ropes that can be used in many configurations.

wes-powell wrote:

Thanks for you input guys, so if I am correct:
The Blaze, Lava(tachyon), FireFly, and Poison ivy all are good choices for DdRT tied to itself without a split tail and they all hold up to the heat of the blakes without glazing?

They're all polyester. Why not use a split-tail? Buy longer than you need and then chop enough off for two split-tails.

"Thanks for you input guys, so if I am correct:
The Blaze, Lava(tachyon), FireFly, and Poison ivy all are good choices for DdRT tied to itself without a split tail and they all hold up to the heat of the blakes without glazing? "

Well you control the chances of "glazing" the rope on fast uncontrolled descends.
Any synthetic rope when used incorrectly will show some signs of glazing sooner or later. That is one of many reasons why every climber eventually moves to some type of split tail set up. You can throw away a split tail that gets damaged (Glazed, cut or whatever) but throwing away or cutting 10 to 20 feet of your climbing rope is not practical due to the cost involved.( $100 plus)

A split tail you can pick for a few bucks for a self tied and knotted piece or pay about 20 plus bucks for one from a store.

The Ropes you mentioned at typically used by Arborists day in and out and eventually are retired due to their heavy use but typically Rec Climbers keep their ropes a lot longer and even then, they are not likely to cut it up in pieces.

I still have and use my first 120ft of "Sportline Rope" (No longer made) and it is about 8 years old and in good shape still.
I also have 200 ft of KMII ( Static Kermantle Rope) 150 ft of Arborplex (Cheap rope); 150 ft or Blaze (Current favorite)and one more a few miscelaneas short ropes used for lowering limbs and tying stuff around.

Ok,

Thank you all for all the input. I think I will try my hand with Poison Ivy because I could see then. I will order more than I need and sacrifice some for use as a split tail. Happy climbing and safe holidays!

-Wes

A few Examples of Split tails materials used on diverse ropes

8 to 10 milllimeter (Not sure the name(Sterling) material)


Hope you all enjoy the photos and better clarify the uses in REC climbing.

A couple of more photos.

Recent Split Tails & Landyard Making Class in Tampa

One more photo.

One last one with Grizzly Machine made e2e Splices