Rope

Try pinging "docteric" with U2U, he climbs this way. You can definitely use either of the ropes you mentioned with prusik ascender technique. Hmmm, ask the question on this board how to go about setting that up. As I remember a Blake's doesn't work SRT. It definitely deosn't work for descending the way it does DdRT.

Though I am curious, have you ever tried climbing DdRT? Tom is a strong advocate for SRT but the path to SRT should probably be through DdRT. Tom what do you have to say about that? SRT strikes me as more advanced technique. One step at a time.

Always have a strong reason based on good information for using a particular technique. Be careful about falling in love before you've even gone out on a date And to further mix metaphors: DdRT is the bread and butter of roped tree climbing. Tom has strong reasons for advocating more use for SRT but he has many years of experience working through various systems and has good reason to be confident in his technique. As a beginner I think you can get in trouble faster attempting to climb SRT without instruction as opposed to DdRT. For instance in SRT the switchover from ascent to descent requires specific steps and is a potential danger point without a strong understanding of the principles involved. In DdRT there is no reconfiguration of equipment to move from ascent to descent. It is true that there is hardware that can handle ascent and descent for SRT but you're talking about using prusiks as ascenders. In that case you would be switching over to a figure eight or other rappel device to descend.

Again, I'd be interested in hearing what Tom has to say about this.
-moss

gotcha, thanks..

sorry didn't mean to implicate Tom in my thought's about SRT, just using his quote...

I've been watching video clips of diff. styles of climbing that I found and SRT fits my style... I know I have to learn it that's why its...


learning slow and low!!,
slingshot

Makes sense Slingshot, go with what you think will work for you. If you want to have the option to try DdRT down the road then Fly, Blaze, Poison Ivy or Velocity would work well both.
-moss

And keep in mind that the cheaper rope is actually more expensive because once you get it, you'll realize it's not what you needed and you'll have to buy the right stuff anyways!

No matter the price of the 3 strand Army/Navy Surplus rope, it's worth it to wait for a proper arborist climbing line.

love
nick

Does anyone know how bad the sportline "square's off" under load or if it does that bad at all. I've seen them talk about that in the catalogs discriptions of ropes. 12strand anyway.

slingshot

Originally posted by slingshot
Does anyone know how bad the sportline "square's off" under load or if it does that bad at all. I've seen them talk about that in the catalogs discriptions of ropes. 12strand anyway.

slingshot

I've never climbed on it and don't know but... If you can spring a few extra bucks for 16-strand rope you're going to love it! I would think that a 12-strand is going to be the lowest performing rope for SRT technique.
-moss

I climbed on Sportline for the first couple of years. It's a good rope, especially for DdRT. I have used it as an SRT rope, but I experienced a mild amount of "squaring" during descents. I use a Petzl Stop as my descender. After being "squared," the rope resumed its round shape the next time I do DdRT. By the way, I didn't notice any "squaring" when I descended on a biner using a Munter hitch. I practice that every once in a while so that I can exit the tree in case I drop my Stop or any other "what if" scenario.

I now climb on Fly almost exclusively. No "squaring" - which makes sense for a rope like Fly that has a core.

Patrick

Patrick, did the Stop stop reliably with the Sportline. I've heard from people that it has the tendency to slip a little.

love
nick

Seems we may have covered this at Rope Milking: www.tci-forums.com/viewthread.php?tid=678

The gist of the question has changed though.
Fiscally speaking, your best deal is still the Sportline as advertised at New Tribe.

However, if the question now has become: better performance and not just price, by all means go with a 16 or 24 strand product.

IMHO the best (general purpose) bang for the buck has got to be Samson Yellow Jacket. At 72 cents a foot, it’s cheep, it runs nice, and is relatively light at 7.3 lb. per 100 foot.

So. . .
If you are looking to get some line on the cheep, stay with the Sportline. You will get your moneys worth. Then later in the season, if you still have the urge, you can invest the bigger $$$ in some 16 or 24 stand “luxury-line”.

My.02Worth

That is the rope that I have been climbing on for 2 plus years now. It is light. does not tangle too much. It works fine on DRT and SRT. Easy to clean on washing machine. I used a portion of the same type of rope to make me a 2-in-1 Safety Landyard which I really like.
Overall I would recommend it for new climbers. Good Deal at 50 cent per foot at New Tribe. I just ordered a new 120 ft of Sportline to replace my old one that is now almost 3 years old but still looks and works fine. I have used and own other ropes ( Arborplex and one from New England KMIII something ) but the Sportline is fine for my tree climbing activities so far. I was going to buy Soem Fly but after hearing all the hassles with "milking " I postponed my purchase until they figure out that problem. Tobe Sherrill brought some Poison Ivy to Oregon and he was very happy w/ that line also. It will probably be my next buy in a year or so,

Nick asked:
"Patrick, did the Stop stop reliably with the Sportline?"

It stopped OK on the Sportline, maybe a little bit of creep (4-6") until the Stop got a good hold/squished the rope firmly. It wasn't a problem.

Patrick

I would say that the group’s supportive posts make it unanimous.
Sportline would be a fine choice for slingshot. All that’s left to do is buy-it, try-it, and post your review.

Your eventual purchase will never become a “bad decision”. As time goes by, you’ll try many different brands of line and will eventually settle for a favorite. Until then, Sportline is a sensibly priced starting point.

Climbing line... Just like beer at a party, you can never have too much!

Well i got my samples of Yale Maverick and Buzzline which are about the same as Sportline but 1/2" dia. They even sent me enough that i can use them for bridges and footloops:D

stuff feels good and tied some knots too that held good.

Maverick is the same red,white,blue and the buzzline is a BRIGHT orange

slingshot

Just read an article on a guy who purchased rope, the guy selling the rope didn't know who made it but it was 9mm 12,000 pound test. RIGHT.
The rope broke with the guy on it rappelling down the cliff. Just rappelling. It broke about 15 feet from the anchor, where it was in contact with the rock. He didn't die but the use of the restroom will be different for awhile.

Well I assume that we are buying rope from reliable sources and not from "cheap retailers" on e-bay or Army Surplus Stores. The fact that the rope "broke" at the point of contact with the rock tells me that some "human error" may also be involved here. I am not a rock climber expert but I assume that rocks friction on ropes is a bad combination.
When we do rappeling on rocks we always use a pad or something similar to protect the rope from the rock abrasion.