I've been using 1/2" ropes till now and never had problems. Are there so many advantages in turning into a smaller and lighter rope? Soon I need to replace my XTC. Thinking of taking an Hi-Vee but even curious to try a YALE Blaze. Any suggestion?
Are you climbing srt. Then use smaller rope. If not use 11mm to 1\2in rope. I have used Fly in 11mm. It is lite for its size. There are other large yet lite ropes out there. SDS
7/16"(11mm) for SRT climbing and 1/2"(12.5mm) for DRT. Personally, I use Velocity (by Samson) for SRT (less stretchy) into the tree when needed, ArborMaster (Blue Streak, Gold Streak or BWR by Samson) for DRT and my work line. You can also use these for light rigging lines (8,100 lb rating) but choose a different color than what you climb on.
I climbed on 1/2" XTC for a while, on 1/2" Blue Streak (hated the waxy feel), and also on 13mm Yellow Jacket. Then I bought a piece of 12mm Lava (Tachyon) and never looked back.
100% agreement on Tachyon. A big benefit of lighter weight ropes like Tachyon is they're much less of a pain to haul up and move the tail of the rope around when you have to, and less rope weight below you overall as you climb. It all adds up to more energy expended when you're climbing a 16-strand 1/2" rope. Even Poison Ivy seems too heavy now.
Blaze is excellent but Tachyon is a little easier to grip.
-Andrew
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