help with buying first rope

[sawsong]

Good day gentlemen,

I need a bit of help with buying my first climbing rope. Ive done searches on here and read a lot, but finding the right answer seems to be eluding me. I was hoping that you knowledgable types might be able to help me.

Originally since my top-roping climbing rope is reaching the end of its servicable life, I had hoped to find an arborist rope that could serve me both in the tree and for some recreational (non tree) climbing. I am not a professional climber, im just learning so the rope wont get a lot of use in either category, certainly not day in day out. for this reason i had contemplated the yale blaze, as an 11mm it would work in both scenarios but is perhaps a bit on the pricey side for my first rope if indeed it wont work so well for me compared to learning on say a half inch rope.

i thought for learning on, a half inch such as the forestry pro with its low price and good reviews would be ideal, however i cant buy it in the UK. With its $60 price tag for 120' from wesspur, it would present me unbelievable value for money, but they want another $60 for shipping it, which seems well over the top for just a rope. my only chance for this rope would be if someone in the states would purchase one on my behalf and ship it to me (clearing customs as a gift) and of course a completely unrelated gift of currency would be exchanged in the other direction, such is the nature of gift giving.

I await your insight.

cheers

Jim

 

[safeT1st]

Virtually Unobtainable in UK

I think you need to look a little harder in your own backyard before resorting to overseas shipping for a length of rope . There must be climbing groups ,search and rescue, someone that knows where to get a suitable product locally . You could even talk to the people at your local firehall , they will have climbing line and know where to purchase it .Good luck .

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

For a beginner a half inch rope will be easier to hold and pull, but won't work as well with a lot of the mechanical devices you might use.

 

[safeT1st]

First rope .

Personally , I wouldn't fret to much over the price of your first rope . According to the use it will see and if well respected it will last a long time . Get yourself a quality line and you will have no regrets .

 

[cwelvy]

Most everyone I have worked around in Northern Cal. uses
Safety Blue.
Safety Blue by New England Ropes is a premium 16 strand climbing line with a unique safety core which warns of excessive rope wear. White or orange available. It is worth the extra $

 

[sawsong]

Unfortunately cost is an object for me, but not in so far as to buy an inferior line. point being, you guys can buy a 120 foot length of arborplex for say $66, for me this would be just over £30, a cost that on top of my university tuition and my vehicle running costs etc i could happily swallow, but i cant find anywhere selling that either.

for me to buy a 120foot length of yale blaze in this country would cost me at the very least £95 so what's that, heading for $200, samson arbormaster about $165, safety blue about $200 too

plus if I buy half inch, I would prefer it cheaper if possible so that I could buy a second rope for top roping, indoor wall climbing etc.

I believe yale blaze is the same price in USD as it is in GBP ~95ish

 

[masterarbor]

safety blue is the way to go. it will last a long, long time.

however, i was impressed with some of the prices on rope @ www.onlinearboristsupply.com. it was recommended to me when i was shopping chipper blades. they also have decent handsaw prices. i recommend you get as many things as you need and combine shipping costs, as shipping was like $20.00 or something. i am not endorsing the quality of these ropes, i have never used them. agree with the previous post that 1/2 inch may be a better beginners rope. 11 mm, although not a lot thinner, is a lot harder to grip. good luck!

 

[sawsong]

OK quick little additional question. I've found some Yale XTC-12 on offer. Not that I shall necessarily be going for this (pending reviews) as the safety blue does seem to be the most suggested thus far, but regardless, should I be looking at 37m (120ft), will that make all the difference over 30m (100ft)?

thanks again to all who have posted so far

Jim

 

[masiman]

OK quick little additional question. I've found some Yale XTC-12 on offer. Not that I shall necessarily be going for this (pending reviews) as the safety blue does seem to be the most suggested thus far, but regardless, should I be looking at 37m (120ft), will that make all the difference over 30m (100ft)?

thanks again to all who have posted so far

Jim

I am not quite sure what "on offer" means. If by chance that means a used or previously owned rope then you need to take care. Your health and life rely on that rope. Saving £10 or even £30 will not even cover the ambulance ride. General advice is to only buy a used rope that you know the history of.

The extra 20ft (7m) can be a difference depending on the climbing. My only rope (120') has served well 90-95% of the time. There are a few instances where I had to make lower tie in points (TIP) because of the height. I have been using doubled rope techniques for most of my TIPs, i.e. 60' max height. If I move the TIP higher after entry, I have to make sure I set a safety knot at the end so I don't rappel off the end.

Arbor ropes and climbing ropes are different. You could use an arbor rope for climbing, but I would want a rock rope for more involved climbs.

 

[sawsong]

I am not quite sure what "on offer" means. If by chance that means a used or previously owned rope then you need to take care. Your health and life rely on that rope. Saving £10 or even £30 will not even cover the ambulance ride. General advice is to only buy a used rope that you know the history of.

Thanks, when I say on offer, i mean at a reduced price. I believe it may be 'what the retailer has left' from the end of their stock from the previous year. Luckily in the UK we have a national health service, those who work in it do sterling work even if the government squeeze it for all it's worth, but anyway that's another story.

Anyone have any experience of the XTC-12?

Jim

 

[masterarbor]

definitely the 120'. you'd be amazed how much you'd miss that other 20'. also, 150' is alot of rope to roll for most jobs. when i cut a line, i usually go for 135' which is fine for big ohio trees.

 

[lumberjack333]

I just bought 120' of the arborplex 1/2" and its working great for me so far, 6 loop prussik holds the line well, been out on it several times now and so far very little abrasion or wear at all. Holds knots well, bowline snugs up nice... only thing I find is that its fairly elastic rope, makes getting off the first 2 or 3 feet footlocking a little awkward. Other than that nothing bad to say about it, good luck!

 

[OLD CHIPMONK]

Safety blue or Blue Streak seems to have excellent strength & very good friction hold. Easy to advance & good decending, very little melt on burn-outs. Our first choice..

 

[JS Landscaping]

I climb on the Blue Streak climbing line by Samson as well. I believe it is one of the highest rated ropes at 8100 lbs. Has a great feel in your hands, holds knots and hitches well, as well as using mechanical ascenders, figure 8's, ect. It also has shown little wear in the 6 months I have been climbing on it daily....definatly look into it

 

[woodchux]

If you can get arbormaster for $165 thats what you should do...

 

[sawsong]

If you can get arbormaster for $165 thats what you should do...

my apologies, turns out i was mistaken on that front too. including VAT and delivery, it comes to £101.41, so what's that... $205 or so?

but I can get XTC-12 for $156 which has come highly recommended by a number of UK climbers that I have spoken to.

 

[woodchux]

12 strand rope is OK if you're on a budget... 16 or 24 strand is much better though if you have the cash.

 

[Dadatwins]

I used Sampson True Blue for many years as a climbing rope, this was at the time before all the different colored ropes came out and it was easy to identify as a climbing line. Now I use Arbormaster and am very happy with its performance. You will probably use a few different type lines before finding one that is comfortable. I prefer the feel of the 1/2" line in my hand, found I had a hard time grabbing the smaller diameter lines available. For a novice climber I would stay with 1/2" and get used to the feel of it first.

 

[Bermie]

I use XTC Plus 16...not having climbed on anything else I can only say its working fine for me, I use 120' standard and have a spare 150' bit too. My first hank lasted three years easily, then retired to a light rigging line.

I feel your pain with the prices! I have to buy ALL my gear from overseas, pay shipping and duty of 22% on top.
I try to combine items in one shipment to save multiple shipping charges, but in the end if you need it, you pay for it!
Although I am NOT going to pay $103 locally for a part that starts off in the US at $30! Add shipping and duty, I still win bringing it in myself. It all depends.

But do your math, if the first cost in the US is way lower, add your expenses, check the final price, add the hassle of long distance purchasing...you avoid paying the local suppliers profit margin...but he may get it cheaper initially for bulk....do the math, if the markup is not too much over what you could do it for, it saves the hassle to go and buy it locally.

Get a good bit of rope,...it's your life after all.

 

[AllCape]

I'd defiantly go with 120' Arborplex. It's on the cheaper side and it's what I buy for all my climbers. I normally ( all going well ) use it for about a year, switch it over to a tag line, than use it for rope tie downs, guy lines or what have you. I've bought over 20 or so Arborplex lines and they've all served my well. If your looking for a more recreational lie on smooth barked trees I would suggest the Sherrill Tree Poison Ivy Lines. It's what I use on big maples, beeches and what not. Great line, easy on the hands, but not that good for rough barked trees.